Alum is used in the textile industry as a way of making dyes bind to cloth.
Britain's textile industry has declined markedly especially in the cotton, jute and linen production.
Later, it secured a near-monopoly in the still more profitable trade in alum, vital to the textile industry.
The chips were exported mainly to Japan for making dissolved pulp and cellulose derivatives such as rayon, used in the textile industry.
China is the world's top producer of cotton, but a strong local textile industry also makes the country the largest cotton consumer and importer.
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