Tough business
The textile industry is not environmentally friendly for many reasons, such as: high emissions, water consumption, pollution and waste. At the same time, people employed in this industry are exposed to violations of their basic human rights. This means that the so-called fast fashion model is currently being criticised and companies feel pressure to change their business models. Simultaneously, the transformation of the industry is in its infancy, and there is no action on the horizon to change this situation. This does not mean no actions at all, but their pace and scale are not sufficient to meet expectations and the growing regulatory pressure, in which sustainable development and the circular economy play an important role. Accustomed to relatively cheap and available clothes, we do not always pay attention to the hidden costs associated with their production.
The need for comprehensive actions
Waste segregation can facilitate the recovery of raw materials, but it will not be effective if, at an earlier stage, attention is not paid so as to ensure that the products offered for sale are properly designed. Already at the design stage and the selection of materials for clothes, companies decide what will happen to them when they turn from used clothing into waste. The longer the composition list, the less chance of recovering raw materials. The type of raw materials and materials we use is equally important. More than half of clothes were made using polyester, a petroleum-based material in 2022. Knowing that plastic decomposes for decades and being aware that the same type of material that is found in bottles is also in our clothes can support the process of selective collection. The way we care for clothes also affects their durability. The longer the clothing is used, the later it will end up in the trash.
The thing here is for all parties to work together. Manufacturers need to step up their efforts to create business models and innovations that make raw materials more environmentally friendly, durable and recyclable. Consumers can be expected to use their clothes more responsibly. We also need places where clothes can be modified and repaired to extend their life. This will require new patterns and habits.
The EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles highlights the current unsustainability of clothing production and consumption patterns and underlines the need to rethink the textile industry. The document sets an ambitious target of "placing on the EU market durable and recyclable products, made to a high degree from recycled fibres, free from hazardous substances and produced in a way that respects social rights and the environment."
Awareness of risks and consequences
Understanding the interdependencies between business processes and consumer choices is fundamental. Virtually everyone uses products offered by the clothing industry. We do this in different ways, using new or used clothing, but we all consume. Reliable knowledge about what results for the environment and people from choosing a specific type of material is still not common. A great responsibility in this respect is borne by companies, which, thanks to their huge influence on purchasing attitudes, can educate about the desired directions of change and the role that business and society have in this area. To make this possible, reliable communication and transparency of processes are needed, and thus admitting that the current situation is far from ideal. Everyone must take responsibility for whether in the coming years it will be possible to reduce the undesirable effects of the clothing industry's activities or whether the challenges will remain unchanged.
The information about the need to segregate another fraction of waste was not met with enthusiasm by the public. It is also difficult to talk about the good preparation of local governments in the sphere of disseminating information about why it is important and necessary or the availability of the infrastructure itself and waste collection points. The fact is that we are drowning in waste, and the Atacama Desert, which is starting to turn into a desert of abandoned clothes that pose a huge threat to health and the environment, is clear evidence of this. Landfilling waste is the least desirable way to deal with it. That is why it is so important to bear in mind at every stage of the life cycle: from obtaining the raw material, through the method of production and consumption, to segregation, that both business decisions and our individual choices have specific consequences for the environment and ourselves as a part of it.
Source
- https://www.circularity-gap.world/updates-collection/just-0-3-of-materials-used-by-the-global-textile-industry-come-from-recycled-sources-with-almost-no-textile-to-textile-recycling
- Future of Synthetics, http://textileexchange.org/app/uploads/2024/04/The-Future-of-Synthetics.pdf
- EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles
- https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/chile-fashion-pollution
Author: Dr Agata Rudnicka
Edit: Faculty of Management, University of Lodz