Textile mills are one of the most environmentally harmful kinds of factories in China, using vast quantities of water and energy and oft en emitting what the Natural Resources Defense Council's Linda Greer calls a "noxious cocktail" of chemicals.

Fierce competition to off er lower prices, consumer demands and increased government regulation has started to push some factories to be more effi cient by reducing their chemical, water, and energy consumption. But many factory owners remain reluctant to pay for proper treatment of the chemicals they use, preferring to simply dump them into nearby rivers and lakes.

Here's a brief introduction to what goes into making your clothes — and what it can do to you if it is allowed to leak into the environment without proper treatment.

- DANIEL CHINOY