The toxic price of leather, 2014On the banks of the Ganges River in northern India lies the largest producer of leather products in the country. Kanpur’s leather is exported across the world, with 95% of it destined for western markets. It is now notorious for having some of the country’s worst water, laced with toxic chemicals from tanneries’ waste effluent. The grey water is used by local people and channelled onto local farmland, poisoning the soil, and entering the food chain. An array of health problems now afflict locals who suffer from bio-accumulation of toxins over decades.

Photograph: Sean Gallagher