Sustainable textile industry practices and environmental impact

Sustainable Textiles

Textiles were some of the first goods to be manufactured through industrial production in England and the United States. "Typically requiring low initial capital investments and a large, low-wage workforce, industrial textile production has proved an easy first step on the road to industrial development, and has brought with it all of the mixed blessings of large-scale industry ("Projects and Outreach," GreenBlue, 2007). Manufacturing textiles was cheap both in terms of the labor and the materials it required, but the boon to capitalists and consumers came at a substantial price to the environment. More and more, the concern about the deepening 'ecological footprint' that human beings are leaving upon the earth as a result of the industrial revolution spawned by the textile industry has motivated individuals to recycle everything from plastics to paper products.

Sustainability, or the concept that human beings in the future will be able to live in a similar fashion to the way we do now, if we find ways to make production less environmentally damaging, has become an issue of increasing importance in the textile industry, although it has come rather late to the recycling movement. To ensure compliance with environmental standards, most U.S. townships across the nation participate in a recycling program, and when consumers buy recycled paper products, they can be reasonably sure of the origins of these goods. But what about textiles? There are no recycling bins for these goods, except for the occasional charity donation box.

The dyes and chemicals released during the manufacture of most new textiles seep into the water table and soil, and the chemicals released into the atmosphere by textile manufacturing plants, such as formaldehyde, sulfurous and nitrous compounds interact with the air and produce acid rain. "Textile packaging, drums, and toxic chemicals are dumped into landfills. Even the used fabrics themselves are a problem. Many can't be recycled because of their mixed-fiber content" ("Sustainability in textiles: An Overview," the Worsted Witch, 2006). Fashion, a famously disposable art, creates mountains of disposable, non-recyclable goods in the form of clothing.

Consumers who are concerned about the environment, and who conscientiously recycle and buy recycled products may not similarly understand the impact of their textile purchases. However, despair is not the answer -- rather, education is key. Consumers can still use their buying power to enact changes. 100 of largest companies manufacture more than 90% of the world's products, thus if these companies reformed their processes and made them more sustainable, then the impact of the industry upon the world could be substantially reduced ("Market Transformation and Sustainability," Institute for Market Transformation to Sustainability, 2007).

Textile environmentalist watchdog groups like GreenBlue rate companies based upon the safety of chemical and material inputs, energy efficiency, water efficiency of production, and recyclability of the product produced ("Projects and Outreach," GreenBlue, 2007). Although the U.S. has no official standard about sustainability regarding textiles, the recent United Nations conference on climate change has generated interest in the potential of sustainable textile manufacturing processes to reduce carbon emissions, as well as EU mandated pan-European emissions trading which could encourage manufactures to minimize energy consumption at manufacturing locations ("Sustainable textiles urged at UN Conference. PR Wire. 2007)

One problem for consumers wishing to alter their buying patterns and vote with their dollars is there are few coherent standards exist industry-wide for textiles, and the U.S. federal government's standards for what makes a crop organically grown are vague. One of the few textile-specific standards is provided by the Wool Products Labeling Act of 1939, which defines recycled wool using woven or felted wool that is again woven into a fiber, whether it is used by or sold to consumers (Dadd, 2007). Unsatisfied with current standards, industry watchdog groups have created independent rating systems. The Institute for Market Transformation to Sustainability, rates products as: "Sustainable, Sustainable Silver, Sustainable Gold & Sustainable Platinum" depending on how they make use of innovative technologies to reduce waste and create a recyclable final product ("Sustainable Products," Institute for Market Transformation to Sustainability, 2007).

Some companies, perhaps sensing a business opportunity, have tried to use the green textile movement to their advantage. DuPont and other chemical companies have targeted a potentially hopeful resource for the future in the form of enzymes, which can be very effective in fiber preparation, pre-treatment and value-added finishing as catalysts. Because enzymes work "even under mild conditions and do not require the high energy input often associated with chemical processes," they offer a more ecologically friendly way to treat fabrics than harsh formaldehyde or chlorine ("Textiles and leather," Industrial Sustainability, 2007).

It may sound paradoxical that enzymatic chemicals can make the industry more sustainable. Another paradox of the industry is that natural fibers such as cotton and hemp may not be as eco-friendly as one might expect. For example, in the United States, about a third of a pound of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides are required for the process of growing enough cotton for a T-shirt, and in California, five of the top nine pesticides used on cotton are cancer-causing chemicals (cyanazine, dicofol, naled, propargite, and trifluralin) ("What's the Cotton-Picking Idea?" The Worsted Witch, 2006). Up to 40% of cotton grown is wasted between the harvest and the manufacture of garments (Dadd, 2007). Using organically grown cotton is one way to ensure that wearing this 'natural' fiber does not contribute to ecological damage, although even this label is controversial, as organic farms may still leave a substantial ecological footprint, depending on how their goods are shipped, and how far. Organic does not necessarily mean friendly to the environment.