What is, after the oil industry, the most polluting industry in the world?
You come across it every day, it’s in your house and you even wear it on your body every day, day and night. Okay, maybe not always at night… Wondering what it is...? It's textile!
After the oil industry, the most polluting industry in the world is the textile & apparel industry. From growing the plants which produce the fibres to create textiles, extracting the oil to create oil based textiles such as polyester, producing and dyeing the textiles up to using and discarding the finished products, all steps in the supply chain create a huge impact on the environment and on the people working in this industry.
With a projected population growth to anywhere between 9 and 11 billion in 2050, combined with the global increase in prosperity, the consequences of ill-managed and non-sustainable textile supply chains will be disastrous for both the environment and people.
It sounds pretty gloomy, but there are positive developments!
Yes, I must admit, it sounds pretty gloomy and the challenges that we, as humanity are facing are enormous. But there are also positive developments in the textile & apparel industry which will move us in the right direction.
These developments are divided into two categories.
- Making the existing sources of fibres more sustainable
- Finding new fibres with a better footprint.
1. Making existing sources of fibres more sustainable
There are many raw materials we use to create textile. They can be roughly divided into natural fibres and man-made fibres. Natural fibres are wool, silk, cotton and hemp. Man-made fibres are mostly made from oil and have chemical names such as polyamide, acrylic, polyester, elastane or Lycra. No matter which fibre is used to create textile or apparel, all have an impact on the environment. One more than the other.
If we take cotton for example with a market share of 48% of all fibres used, the impact from growing the cotton up till manufacturing the textile is impressive. To grow traditional cotton, you need vast amounts of water, pesticides and fertilisers. After harvest, the cotton is treated with an array of chemicals to prepare the fibres for processing and in a later stage, the fabrics are dyed with even more chemicals.
To make cotton more sustainable, a number of leading NGOs and corporates have been working on improving all aspects of cotton growing and processing. For example BCI and Fairtrade, which support cotton farmers with better farming practices, reducing pesticide and fertiliser use, reducing water consumption and improving quality and yield. The result is a better and more environmentally friendly production process, with at the same time a substantial increase in their income enabling farmers to provide better for their families.
© Asim Hafeez / WWF - UK
2. Finding new fibres to make textiles
Besides creating a more sustainable production process of natural fibres, the industry is also looking at new natural fibres from various sources. Since oil-based fibres will most likely disappear because of future increased scarcity and costs of oil, the textile industry is advancing rapidly with finding new fibres to create textiles. Some of which you would have never thought possible of creating fibres for clothing. For example:
Bamboo
“One of the most versatile raw materials on the market, bamboo grows quickly, easily, and is a completely renewable and sustainable material. The use of bamboo has already reduced the devastation of widespread deforestation and requires fewer pesticides and less water to grow. This makes it an excellent alternative to cotton and other synthetic blends. The material can be woven to a thread as fine and smooth as silk, or woolly yarn as warm and soft as cashmere.”
Hemp
“This non-psychoactive member of the cannabis family is definitely a lesser-known clothing alternative with some promise. In recent years, mainstream designers such as Calvin Klein and Stella McCartney have begun using this material in their products, while smaller unknown designers are also picking up this trend. It requires far less water and fewer pesticides to grow than cotton. This fibre also requires even fewer chemicals in the manufacturing process than bamboo. One of the biggest hurdles comes from the U.S. government is that hemp is not legal to grow in the United States, so the majority of this material is imported from China.”
Lyocell
“Sustainable origins surround this biodegradable fabric, trademarked Tencel. Made from the wood pulp of the eucalyptus tree, this material is largely imported from South Africa and is rapidly rising in popularity as a common textile. It is used to form stretchy knit garments, as it is quite comparable to rayon. It can take on many forms and textures once blended with other fabrics. The only downside of this textile is that it can be quite difficult to dye, resulting in the use of harsh chemicals.”
Flax
“The more we study this fibrous plant, the more we learn about its health and environmental benefits on the country. While flax seed is commonly recommended as a dietary supplement, little was known about its other uses until recently. The grain is used as a food source while the fibre is now being used as a cotton-like material. The flax fibre blends create a soft and strong textile suited for knit garments. Right now, it is most commonly used in linen, but the Hanes garment company is considering introducing it to its products in the near future.”
Source: www.bambooki.com
Other sources of fibres
Besides the above-mentioned fibres, there are many other sources such as milk, soy waste products, nettles, tobacco waste products, coffee grounds, citrus waste products and even algae. There are a lot of sources of fibres suitable to create textiles. The question remains, can they be produced economically, sustainable and in large enough supply to meet global demands. Many fibres still require hazardous chemicals in processing the fibre, although recent developments show promising results for a pure bio-based cultivation and processing of some fibres. The future will tell.
A textile fibre made by extracting cellulose from citrus fruits.
Conclusion
So although the future might seem gloomy, there are positive developments that will transform the world we are living in. It will take time and a lot of effort, but the need to become sustainable will only increase with time.
I regularly write content for ChainPoint, a supplier of software for creating sustainable supply chains, and I must admit it is not always easy to know all details and still be able to write positive content. With this post, I hope I have made you more aware of your impact and hopefully it will help you in making better sustainable choices.
Check out our industry page on textile & apparel, showing the possibilities with ChainPoint in improving textile supply chains and also the use cases from BCI and Fairtrade Cotton.