How does textile affect the environment

Europeans use nearly 26 kilos of textiles and discard about 11 kilos of them every year. The new strategy aims to address fast fashion and provide guidelines to achieve high levels of separate collection of textile waste. Under the waste directive approved by the Parliament in , EU countries will be obliged to collect textiles separately by The new Commission strategy also includes measures to support circular material and production processes, tackle the presence of hazardous chemicals and help consumers to choose sustainable textiles.

The EU has an EU Ecolabel that producers respecting ecological criteria can apply to items, ensuring a limited use of harmful substances and reduced water and air pollution.

The EU has also introduced some measures to mitigate the impact of textile waste on the environment. A more sustainable model of textile production also has the potential to boost the economy. Launch the search.

The impact of textile production and waste on the environment infographic. Created: - Share this page:. Lead MEP on the circular economy action plan. Share this quote:. Facebook quotes. At each stage of spinning, there are different types of wastes like blow room waste, carding waste, dropping, sliver waste, draw frame waste, ring frame waste, and soft and hard wastes.

Weaving waste: The yarns that are left on the cone after warping are called weaving waste. In the warping creel section, there will always be a little amount of yarn left on the cones.

Sizing waste is another kind of waste in a weaving unit. After sizing wastage, comes the problem of knotting wastage. Knotting is done to ensure all the warp ends of two beams are available for attaching together.

Beam residual wastage is another kind of weaving wastage. When a weaver beam is finished, a small amount of warp yarn remains unused on the weavers beam and it is not possible to finish it. Auxiliary selvage wastage is also a common weaving wastage. Auxiliary selvage is a fake selvage used to hold the weft yarn during loom beat up period.

Knitting waste: The art of knitting is either handmade or machine made. It is a complicated process and any fault in the technique of loop creation results in wastage. On acquiring an order, the merchandiser makes a sample, which is run for trials and to check proximity. This results in waste samples. Different kinds of knitted defects like stains, bareness, thick and thin yarns, stripes, hole, slub add to the knitted wastes from industry. Dyeing waste: The batches with shade variation, crease marks in dyed fabric, difference in shade from selvage to selvage, are usually thrown as waste in the dyeing industry.

Clothing waste: The different processes like cutting, bundling, sewing, finishing, printing, embroidery, etc. Among all, the cutting section produces the maximum waste. Solid waste: The majority of this type of waste originates from other sources during operations like transportation, bale openings, servicing process and housekeeping. The waste under this category includes:. Synthetic fibres: Micro fibres may be less expensive than natural ones and easier to produce in large quantities.

These synthetic fibres are mostly made of polyester, which is plastic and a by-product of petroleum. The process of changing petroleum into polyester is a long, toxic process. These fibres can take up to years to decompose. Synthetic fibres are used in 72 per cent of our clothing.

They pose health risks to consumers. Polyester is strongly linked to hormonal disruption and even for the formation of breast cancer cells. These are known to be non-degradable. Most of our waterways have become clogged with these and most fishes examined have been found to have synthetic nylon in their intestinal tract. Seabirds too have been found dead, and the cause of death is ingestion of synthetic fibres.

Rayon is made from processing of wood pulp. The technique may look safe and non-toxic, but it depletes huge volumes of wood from forests, causing an imbalance in nature. Polyester and nylon are the most commonly used synthetic textiles that are hazardous and made from petrochemicals. They create huge volumes of waste water, which is non-biodegradable and not eco-friendly. The production of nylon emits nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas times more dangerous than the ozone layer than carbon dioxide.

Nylon is hard to recycle, making it hard to decompose, and therefore, leads to landfills. The replacement of more undyed natural fibres or materials dyed with natural dyes that are sustainable in nature should be prescribed as well as adopted. Energy utilisation greenhouse gas emissions: Ten per cent of annual global carbon emission is generated by the apparel industry.

Various types of greenhouse gases are emitted during the production, manufacturing and transporting of textiles. Synthetic fibres made from fossil fuels are making the industry very energy intensive. The solution is to choose natural fibres, to buy less, buy better quality, mend clothes and buy clothes made in countries powered more by renewable energy.

Soil degradation: Soil is the fundamental component of the ecosystem and healthy soil helps in absorbing carbon dioxide. The depletion of soil nutrients leads to crops with low nutrition content leading to a human population with low immunity and various diseases. The fashion and textiles industries cause soil pollution. Excessive grazing by goats for their wool, adding excess chemicals to get textile fibres, deforestation for making rayon, are a few examples. The alternative is to use biodegradable textile fibres.

Rainforest degradation: Every year, hectares of forest lands with enormous amounts of plantations and species are brought down by forest fire, or as a means of expansion for industrialisation. In addition to this, the trees are also explored for making rayon, modal and viscose, which are now replaced by lyocell. Textile supplies the vital material essential for survival. Even though production involves pollution, it is important to shift to a circular economy in place of a linear economy.

The waste generated in all stages ending up in landfills was common in the last century. Nowadays recycling, redesigning, upcycling, downcycling, restoring, repairing, reusing and reducing are some of the techniques used by the industry. Consumers should be aware of the choices they have and also try to become part of the sustainable chain. Green consumerism has changed the face of the textile industry, which is now recognised for its efforts taken to reduce wastage and infuse eco-friendly practices.

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If you wish to reuse this content on web, print or any other form, please seek for an official permission by writing to us on editorial fibre2fashion. They are used during fiber production, dyeing, bleaching, and wet processing of each of our garments. The heavy use of chemicals in cotton farming is causing diseases and premature death among cotton farmers, along with massive freshwater and ocean water pollution and soil degradation.

Some of these substances are also harmful to the consumer see section about toxicity. Choose organic fibers. Choose sustainable brands.

Always wash new clothes before using them for the first time. The global fashion industry is generating a lot of greenhouse gases due to the energy used during its production, manufacturing, and transportation of the millions garments purchased each year.

Synthetic fibers polyester, acrylic, nylon, etc. Most of our clothes are produced in China, Bangladesh, or India, countries essentially powered by coal. This is the dirtiest type of energy in terms of carbon emissions. Choose natural fibers. Buy less, buy better quality, mend clothes. Buy clothes made in countries powered by more renewable energy. The soil is a fundamental element of our ecosystem. We need healthy soil for food production but also to absorb CO2.

The massive, global degradation of soil is one of the main environmental issues our planet is currently facing. It presents a major threat to global food security and also contributes to global warming. The fashion industry plays a major part in degrading soil in different ways: overgrazing of pastures through cashmere goats and sheep raised for their wool; degradation of the soil due to massive use of chemicals to grow cotton; deforestation caused by wood-based fibers like rayon.

Choose fibers friendly to the soil. Every year, thousands of hectares of endangered and ancient forests are cut down and replaced by plantations of trees used to make wood-based fabrics such as rayon, viscose, and modal.