Hello everyone! I hope that last week’s theme on the silver lining of pollution has been enlightening 🙂 But enough of that positivity, let’s veer back into the negative repercussions of pollution – because that is the grim reality we live in. 

What are textiles? 

Whether you know it or not, you are probably wearing or using some textile product. It is everywhere! A textile refers to any fibre, filament or yarn that is made into fabric and cloth, and the material itself (Whewell, 2020). Similar to the oil industry we covered two weeks ago, the presence of the textile industry can be felt in nearly every aspect of our modern lives. It accounts for a wide range of products we use day in and out, such as bed sheets, sweaters, rugs, safety belts and bath towels, and is the most closely related to clothing. They are even found in “un-textile-like” composition products such as belts and inflatable items where textiles are used as reinforcements (Whewell, 2020).

The boom of textiles

Thanks to the lowered production costs, improved manufacturing techniques and high consumer spending, the textile industry has been experiencing phenomenal growth. The boom of the textile industry came about in the late 20th to early 21st century with improvements in scientific knowledge and mechanical production (Remy et al., 2016; Whewell, 2020). Research and development enabled the development of new fibres (such as synthetic fibres), techniques to improve textile characteristics and quality control, while modern equipment empowered highly cost-efficient methods to consistently churn out high volumes of textile products (Whewell, 2020). As a result in just four years from 2000 to 2014, clothing production doubled (Remy et al., 2016). Furthermore, it is expected apparel consumption will increase from approximately 62 million tons today to 102 million tons in 2030 – that is an alarming rise of 63% (The Conscious Club, n.d.)! 

The textile industry is also one of the most important manufacturing sub-industry for many developing countries like Bangladesh, India, Nigeria and Turkey for propelling economic growth. In Bangladesh for instance, the garment and textile industry employs half of the industrial work force and makes up 77% of foreign export earnings (Dadi et al., 2017).

However, with great economic profitability comes great environmental costs. With planned obsolescence (see our previous post here) and companies eager to refresh their collections, more consumers are buying more but using them less. From 2000 to 2014, people purchased 60% more clothing, but only kept them for half as long (Remy et al., 2016). 

Then, what happens to the discarded textiles? Landfills. 85% of textiles are dumped every year (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, 2018), and about one garbage truck full of clothing end up in a landfill every second (United Nations Environment Programme, 2018). This is unfortunately, just a smidge of the overall pollution coming from the textile industry. 

The giant footprint of textiles 

The supply chain of the textile industry – to transform raw materials into a product consumers purchase – is a very long and complex one (Amutha, 2017). At every stage, pollutants are invariably emitted, contributing to the large environmental footprint of this industry. 

Cotton for example, which is often used as a raw material, is pollutive even during its cultivation stage as it consumes the most harmful fertilisers and pesticides (Fibre2Fashion, 2012), which contaminates the soil. Microplastics and heavy metals may also end up in the soil, damaging the soil condition, crops and eventually on livestock and human health (more on this in the following posts). Various air pollutants are also emitted throughout the textile production process, such as via the combustion of diesel from point source boilers and storage tanks, and diffuse source wastewater treatment and warehouses (Gupta et al., 2017). Air pollutants such as NOx and SO2 released directly into the atmosphere may also transform into more harmful secondary pollutants, with particular matter (PM2.5 and PM10) emitted during the incomplete combustion of diesel (Gupta et al., 2017). 

The most significant problem however, is water pollution, where textile production is the largest source of effluent wastewater (Holkar et al., 2017). We’ll be focusing more specifically on this issue in our following posts, so join us then! 

 

References: 

Amutha, K. (2017) Sustainable chemical management and zero discharges. In: Muthu, S.S. (ed.) Sustainable Fibres and Textiles, Woodhead Publishing, pp. 347-366. 

Dadi, D., Stellmacher, T., Senbeta, F., Van Passel, S. & Azadi, H. (2017) Environmental and health impacts of effluents from textile industries in Ethiopia: the case of Gelan and Dukem, Oromia Regional State. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. 189(1), 1-30. Available from: 10.1007/s10661-016-5694-4 

Fibre2Fashion (2012) Various pollutants released into environment by textile industry. Available from: https://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/6262/various-pollutants-released-into-environment-by-textile-industry [Accessed 27 September 2020]. 

Gupta, B.G., Biswas, J.K. & Agrawal, K.M. (2017) Air Pollution From Bleaching and Dyeing Industries Creating Severe Health Hazards in Maheshtala Textile Cluster, West Bengal, India. Air, Soil and Water Research. 10, 1-10. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1177/1178622117720787

Holkar, C.R., Jadhav, A.J., Pinjari, D.V., Mahamuni, N.M. & Pandit, A.B. (2016) A critical review on textile wastewater treatments: Possible approaches. Journal of Environmental Management. 182, 351-366. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.07.090 

Remy, N., Speelman, E. & Swartz, S. (2016) Style that’s sustainable: A new fast-fashion formula. McKinsey. Available from: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/sustainability/our-insights/style-thats-sustainable-a-new-fast-fashion-formula [Accessed 27 September 2020]. 

The Conscious Club (n.d.) Water and clothing. Available from: https://www.theconsciouschallenge.org/ecologicalfootprintbibleoverview/water-clothing [Accessed 27 September 2020]. 

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (2018) Fashion and the SDGs: What role for the UN? Available from: https://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/RCM_Website/RFSD_2018_Side_event_sustainable_fashion.pdf [Accessed 27 September 2020]. 

United Nations Environment Programme (2018) Putting the brakes on fast fashion. Available from: https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/putting-brakes-fast-fashion [Accessed 27 September 2020]. 

Whewell, C.S. (2020) Textile. Britannica. Available from: https://www.britannica.com/topic/textile/Textile-consumption#ref15947 [Accessed 27 September 2020]. 

Images:

International Trade Centre (n.d.) BB 2011-03-14 Regional integration and the African textile industry. Available from: https://www.intracen.org/BB-2011-03-14-Regional-Integration-and-the-African-Textile-Industry/?pagename=/layouts/three-column.aspx?Pageid=29854&id=45097 [Accessed 27 September 2020].