Inside the narrow lanes of Shahbad Dairy, a suburb outside north-west Delhi, is a concrete maze of houses packed tightly together. Trees are scarce. A breeze is hardly able to pass through these cramped and unventilated alleys, and by afternoon, the heat is oppressive and inescapable.
Poonam and her sister-in-law Ritika, who live next door to each other, ask their kids not to play outdoors under the hot sun. But though the temperature outside is 40C, it feels a lot hotter indoors. The tin and concrete roofs of their houses trap heat. With no windows, there is barely any ventilation.
Had they been men, Poonam and Ritika could have changed into shorter or looser clothing. Instead, tradition dictates that they cover their bodies in multiple layers.
“This material makes you sweat more. It does not absorb sweat,” says Poonam, gesturing towards her salwar kameez and dupatta made of synthetic textiles. This forms a three-piece ensemble consisting of a long tunic, ankle-length trousers and a scarf – the dupatta – draped around the shoulders, neck and sometimes over the head.
As heatwaves become more frequent and intense, experts Dialogue Earth spoke to say wearing natural fabrics like cotton and linen is emerging as a form of heat adaptation. But for many like Poonam and Ritika, they are a luxury, costing double their synthetic counterparts.
Their family belongs to the Dalit community, a historically oppressed group of castes. Despite finishing high school, their father-in-law Paale Ram was pushed into sanitation work because of his caste, cleaning sewers like his father and grandfather before him. His sons do the same work, their family’s economic circumstances reflecting generations of exclusion from better paid and more secure livelihoods. (The Dalit families Dialogue Earth spoke to do not use last names to avoid further caste-based discrimination.)
The family’s earnings barely cover household expenses, leaving little money for clothing.
In Delhi, many of the workers most exposed to extreme heat, including sanitation and informal labourers, continue to come from historically marginalised caste communities. A 2024 analysis by The Hindu notes that nearly 70% of sewer and septic tank workers in India belong to oppressed castes.
For workers spending long hours performing physically demanding labour in hot conditions, clothing matters. But “when income is limited, food and shelter become bigger priorities,” says Afrose Farid, a professor in the Department of Textile Design at Kerala’s National Institute of Fashion Technology.
The cost of comfort
Natural fabrics such as cotton and linen are widely preferred for hot weather because of their superior moisture absorption and breathability, Farid tells Dialogue Earth. Synthetic materials like polyester and nylon can feel uncomfortable in extreme heat, particularly for those spending long hours outdoors or in poorly ventilated homes.
But the cost of polyester and cotton in India differ significantly. Dalit families struggle to reconcile that steep difference.
Paale Ram earns around INR 35,000 (USD 371) a month, while Poonam’s husband, a bus conductor who also cleans sewers, earns up to INR 40,000 (USD 424). Their combined income, for a family of seven, barely covers household expenses and their three children’s education.
“A cotton salwar suit [consisting of a salwar kameez and dupatta] will cost you more than INR 1,000 (USD 10), whereas blended fabric or synthetic fibres will only cost you INR 300,” says Riya, who is also from a Dalit household in Shahbad Dairy. Her husband works on the city’s sewer lines and earns INR 15,000 a month. They have five kids, and buying them clothes made of breathable fabric has been an added expense the family never anticipated.
“Unequal access to comfortable clothing is not just poverty but a caste issue,” says Bezwada Wilson, the national convenor of the Safai Karmachari Andolan, an Indian organisation campaigning to eradicate manual scavenging, which means cleaning human waste from sewers by hand.
Historically, clothing has been a tool of caste discrimination, Farid notes. “Earlier, caste-based discrimination focused on giving them less clothes to wear to humiliate them. But today, they are unable to access proper clothing because of their economic conditions,” she says.
“In India, class is always … going to be affected by caste. You cannot take caste away from class,” anti-caste activist and designer Jay Sagathia tells Dialogue Earth.
Double discrimination
Marginalised communities face “double discrimination” – economic deprivation layered with caste-based exclusion that determines where services, infrastructure and dignity are available, notes Wilson, who is also from the Dalit community.
Many Dalit families working in caste-linked occupations rely on second-hand clothing or local markets that cater to low-income customers, he says. Local markets often reflect assumptions about what poor communities can afford. “Near our houses, we won’t get cotton at all because they know that we are not using this,” Wilson adds.
Despite India being one of the largest producers of cotton globally, with an industry employing up to 50 million people, the fabric remains out of reach for many low-income families.
Sagathia says during visits to craft-producing communities in Gujarat, he met artisans from marginalised communities making intricate garments that were sold at prices they themselves could not afford. “The people who are making it are not able to wear it,” he says.
Synthetic clothing could also become more ubiquitous in India through government schemes to boost the textile industry. In 2021, the government began offering companies incentives totalling over INR 10,000 crore (USD 1.1 billion) to expand production of manmade fabrics such as polyester, acrylic and viscose. Government officials told industry publication Apparel Resources earlier this month that the scheme could be extended by several years to accommodate more applicants.
Unequal impacts of heat
For five to six hours a day, 60-year-old Paale Ram wears a uniform made of synthetic materials to carry out his sanitation work, which involves shovelling waste from open drains near hot paved surfaces. Though it’s a simple vest worn over clothes, it traps heat, he says.
“The vest sometimes suffocates me. It is easier when I wear softer clothes in which my body can breathe while I work outside,” he says. Paale Ram has fainted twice this summer, often feels dizzy and says his eyes have been hurting. He has also had frequent bouts of diarrhoea. These symptoms have been associated with heat exhaustion.
He owns two weathered sets of cotton kurta pyjama – a long tunic paired with loose trousers – which he alternates wearing to work. “I am not sure when I can buy my next set of clothes.”
According to Sagathia, such suffering shows how labour itself is valued, and whose comfort and safety is prioritised. “If you come from an oppressed caste, your body is … disposable,” he says. Heat protection is rarely treated as part of occupational safety for informal workers, of which many belong to oppressed castes.
Beyond clothing, multiple factors intensify heat exposure for workers, like Paale Ram, in caste-based occupations, says Wilson. These include poor housing conditions, limited nutrition, irregular sleep and restricted access to water. Caste discrimination further deepens heat vulnerability, he adds; sanitation workers often cannot request drinking water while on duty due to continuing practices of untouchability.
At home, it is not any easier. The family bought a second-hand air cooler after months of saving, but “it only makes the air more humid”, Poonam says.
Then there is the added layer of gender. Women face expectations around modesty, having to wear saris, dupattas or work uniforms over garments. “The number of layers a woman wears in such settings is much more, and they are more affected by heat,” says Farid.
“We ensure the kids are at least wearing cotton clothes. Their bodies are more sensitive,” Poonam says.
Desire vs durability
Dependence on synthetic clothing is not necessarily down to preference, says Wilson. “Polyester and nylon clothes are often the preferred choice, despite the discomfort, because they are more durable, so people don’t have to keep buying clothes,” he notes. Cotton garments wear out faster with frequent use and washing than synthetic fabrics.
Market research from consulting firm IMARC points to the dominance of polyester clothing in India, with nearly 62% market share in product demand due to its durability, cost efficiency and versatility.
Dalit families Dialogue Earth spoke to acknowledged that cotton turns soft after multiple washes, making it more comfortable to wear. But Poonam says clothes washing is not a priority for her family, as their current daily water supply is only half of what they need, and most of it is for drinking.
Clothing needs more thought
“Heat is pushing oppressed communities into another layer of vulnerability”, Wilson says, adding that heatwaves are not experienced equally.
Both Wilson and Farid note that discussions on heat protection often focus on infrastructure such as fans, coolers and air conditioning, while clothing is rarely seen as a form of protection. Yet for those from marginalised communities working long hours outdoors, who already face barriers to accessing relief from heat, clothing is often the first source of protection against extreme temperatures.
“They are the ones working in open skies, under extreme weather conditions. With climate change, their occupational heat exposure will only increase,” says Farid. “Nobody is looking properly at the last person who’s harvesting, or who’s working in the farm, or in the hot sun,” she says. “We need clothing designed specifically for these conditions.”
For Sagathia, clothing cannot be separated from basic rights. “It’s part of our roti, kapda aur makaan (bread, clothing and shelter),” he says.
However, experts Dialogue Earth spoke to caution against treating natural fibres as a silver bullet. While cotton and linen are generally more breathable than synthetic fabrics, neither can fully protect outdoor workers from the prolonged exposure to extreme temperatures that many now face. Farid notes that sweat takes a long time to evaporate from clothes, making them heavy in the meantime.
“A more sensible option is a careful blend of these fibres where the best properties of each fibre create a comfortable experience for people wearing it,” says Farid. Being blended means they will also be more affordable than pure cotton clothing, says Farid.
Back in Ritika’s home in Shahbad Dairy, her four-month-old has woken up. She tries soothing him in front of the air cooler, but the baby is inconsolable, crying through much of the afternoon. The heat refuses to die down even after the afternoon passes.
Every few months, Ritika’s mother sends cotton clothes for the children. “It is impossible to make them wear synthetic clothes,” she says. “They take them off out of irritation. They also can’t sleep.”
