An Innovative Factory Runs Into Sustainability’s Scalability Problem

At Epic Group’s newly built factory in Bhubaneswar, a city in east India, the machines hum a little differently.

One of Asia’s largest apparel manufacturers, supplying Walmart, Levi’s and Uniqlo, among others, Epic designed the factory from the ground up to reduce emissions, conserve resources and protect workers from extreme heat.

Central to that aim is how the facility powers its garment dryers — one of the most energy-intensive steps in apparel manufacturing. Instead of a…