The processing and making of textiles in one of the most polluting industries in the world!
Sustainability is difficult to simply define. We need to consider three aspects:
Economy
Society
Environment
Sustainability is when something has been made using earths natural resources that can be regrown and is essentially never ending. i.e. sustainable forms of energy: solar power, wind power, hydropower, thermal energy etc.
Defining Sustainability: The ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level.”the sustainability of economic growth.” Avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance. https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/sustainability
In what contexts is sustainability an issue:
Energy: There are both sustainable and non-sustainable sources of energy and our society for the most part uses non-sustainable sources of energy i.e. fossil fuels. that severely damage the environment.
Methods of construction/building: buildings consume 20 – 50% of the physical resources, according to their environment. Buildings are also a direct cause of pollution because of the emissions produced in them or their impact on the ground. To better this problem architects need to try and use more durable, reusable, and recyclable materials. https://www.activesustainability.com/construction-and-urban-development/sustainable-building-materials/
Methods of transportations: There are many methods of transportation that are not sustainable, and their sources of fuel are all man-made sources that’ll eventually runout, which is why now slowly people are creating electrical cars, or solar powered vehicles which are more sustainable and create less pollution.
Packing Materials: There are many materials use in everyones daily life that are large contributors to the pollution in the environment and effect nature, however the products are most of the time more economically sustainable so they are used i.e. plastic bags, plastic can holders (anything plastic), cans, bottle caps, etc. These are all examples of non-sustainable materials that damage the environment on a daily basis.
How do you think sustainability might be addressed in relation to the production and consumption of textiles and other manufactured products?
There are many small retail companies, that aren’t very big or well-known which create many eco-friendly and sustainable pieces.
thredUP is a company that is eco-friendly is known for upcycling all their products. Upcycling: the process of transforming by-products, waste materials, useless, or unwanted products into new materials or products of better quality and environmental value.
Reformation is another company which, uses sustainable products, pay living wages, has a plus size line, and purchases carbon offsets AKA funding for projects that help reduce greenhouse gases, companies do this to help reduce their carbon footprint etc.
Agricultural farmers and textile farmers typically use the crop-rotation agricultural method which is the most sustainable form of agriculture.
Crop rotation is the practice of planting different crops in the same area at different times of the year or in different years. This method reduces pesticide and herbicide use, as well as fertilizer use, and there for wears down the crop fields slower.
https://sites.google.com/a/salinehornets.com/sustainable-agriculture/methods/crop-rotation
Climatex is a company which pays attention to recycling, environment, health and energy in the design of its products. They have come up with a new innovative form of industry that creates sustainable and 100% recyclable textiles, their upholstery fabrics are return to the production cycle, consumption, and renewal after their useful life.
https://www.lead-innovation.com/english-blog/sustainable-solutions-in-the-textile-industry
Aircrafts are a huge cause of CO2 emissions ever year, the United States contributed 23.5% (202.5 million tons) of global CO2 total emission of 2017. The heavier or bigger the aircraft the more CO2 emissions. Lantal (a textiles for transportation company), developed a new type of aircraft carpet that is significantly lighter than conventional aircraft carpets. Depending on the aircraft type and route profile, airlines can use this type of carpet to reduce their CO2 emissions per aircraft per year by around ten tons alone!
https://www.lead-innovation.com/english-blog/sustainable-solutions-in-the-textile-industry.
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