The textile industry is comprised of a diverse, fragmented group of establishments that produce and/or process textile-related products (fiber, yarn, fabric) for further processing into apparel, home furnishings and industrial goods. Textile establishments receive and prepare fibers; transform fibers into yarn, thread or webbing; convert the yarn into fabric or related products; and dye and finish these materials at various stages of production.

The process of converting raw fibers into finished apparel and non-apparel textile products is complex; thus, most textile mills specialize. Little overlap occurs between knitting and weaving, or among production of manmade, cotton and wool fabrics. Textiles generally go through three to four stages of production that may include; yarn formation, fabric formation, wet processing, textile fabrication. The flow diagram below shows some of these general steps in which fibers are processed to manufacture textile goods.

Textile Flow Chart - Taken from EPA Office of Compliance Sector Notebook Project: Profile of the Textile Industry page 14. To print all flow charts and associated text descriptions of production steps go to this document.

The following table provides a listing of some of the waste streams that may be generated at each level of textile processing.