Toxic fashion in Mexico

A bottled water truck passed under a bridge bearing the slogan - Tehuacán, City of Health. The Mexican city was once known for its mineral springs Photograph: Jo Tuckman/freelance

The Lavacolor laundry in Tehuacán specialises in distressing new denim clothes to make them appear old Photograph: Jo Tuckman/freelance

The untreated waste flows down a canal towards an irrigation channel used by local farmers Photograph: Jo Tuckman/freelance

A worker clears away pumice stone to allow the untreated waste to flow away more easily Photograph: Jo Tuckman/freelance

A worker sorts through a pile of newly sewn Guess jeans in one of the more established factories in Tehuacán Photograph: Jo Tuckman/freelance

Women working in a clandestine denim factory in Tehuacán Photograph: Jo Tuckman/freelance

Farmer Mariano Barragan points at the blue-grey crust left behind by the contaminated water he uses to irrigate his field Photograph: Jo Tuckman/freelance

Farmer Mariano Barragan stands on the peeling blue-grey crust left behind on his field. The crust comes from the water he uses to irrigate the land, drawn from a canal allegedly contaminated by the production of distressed jeans Photograph: Jo Tuckman/freelance

Blue water waste from the Lavacolor jeans laundry in Tehuacán Photograph: Jo Tuckman/freelance

Activist Martin Barrios picks up some of the blue residue piled up outside the Lavacolor laundry that specialises in distressing new denim clothing Photograph: Jo Tuckman/freelance

A man drinks from the only natural drinking water spring left in Tehuacán Photograph: Jo Tuckman/freelance