Q: We are a small manufacturer of sports apparel (Stanford rowers wear our garments!) and I am looking for a way to repurpose or recycle fabric scraps. Content varies... polyester/lycra, polypropylene/lycra, and already recycled poly/lycra. Thanks!
Asked by Joline Esparza, '81, Seattle, Wash.
The Life-Cycle Environmental Impact of Textiles
Although they fly a little lower on the environmentalist's radar than coal-mine operators or petroleum corporations, textile manufacturers are responsible for their share of environmental woes. The environmental impact of a particular bit of fabric—say, your shirt—depends on the fiber it's made from, how it's cared for and where it ends up when you part with it. Let's take a look at each stage of the process. By the end of the tour, you should be ready to turn everything in your closet green—trust me, it's the new black!
As the consumer information website Green Choices describes, the environmental impacts of clothing production depend largely on the type of fabric. Look at the tag on your shirt: is it made from a plant fiber (most likely cotton, wool or silk) or a synthetic such as rayon, nylon or polyester? According to the Pesticide Action Network, cotton is among the most chemical-intensive crops in the world, accounting for 10 percent of global pesticide use and 25 percent of global insecticide use. Cotton production also requires massive water inputs, and water withdrawals for cotton farming have been responsible for the destruction of entire ecological systems, as in the case of the South Asian Aral Sea. The World Wildlife Fund reports that it takes 20,000 liters of water—about 100 bathtubs' worth—to grow enough cotton for a single T-shirt and a pair of jeans.
Synthetic fabrics have a host of problems of their own. Synthetics manufacturing is an energy and water-intensive process that combines petroleum (not a great start) with any of a range of scary catalysts, including sulfuric acid (rayon) and antimony (polyester). As the chart below illustrates, global demand for synthetics has increased by about 30 percent since 2000, creating pressure on manufacturers to pump out a steadily increasing quantity of chemical-heavy fabric.
Infographic: Cambridge University Sustainable Manufacturing Group: "Well Dressed?" The present and future sustainability of textiles in the United KingdomFortunately, there are alternatives to traditional plant-based and synthetic fabrics. Let's consider the greener shirt you could be wearing. Organic cotton, which is grown using low-impact processes that minimize fertilizer and pesticide applications, is one increasingly popular option. Visit this online database, sponsored by the Organic Trade Association (OTA), to locate an organic cotton clothing line near you. According to the OTA, global production of organic cotton grew by 20 percent between 2007 and 2008, making this material a feasible alternative for many clothing companies. Several of those companies are also embracing less traditional fibers such as hemp, linen, and organic wool. Check out this page from Green Choices for a description of how choosing these materials can reduce your environmental impact.
Environmentalism is also making headway in synthetics manufacturing. In 2001, Canadian-based textile manufacturer Victor Innovatex developed Eco Intelligent Polyester, a synthetic produced without the use of heavy metal catalysts such as antimony. Although Eco Intelligent polyester is currently used primarily in upholstery, you can still reduce your shirt's environmental footprint by looking for clothing that contains recycled traditional polyester. Patagonia is one prominent clothing company that uses recycled polyester in many of their products.
Keep in mind that clothing production has social impacts, too. Workers' rights violations in the textile industry include child labor, sexual harassment, and hazardous chemical exposure. While field and factory practices can be difficult to monitor, some clothing companies have taken steps to protect workers at the beginning of the manufacturing chain. For example, Seattle-based T-shirt company Greensource not only uses organic cotton in their products, but has also paid to build schools for the children of cotton farmers in Pakistan. That kind of commitment to human and environmental health gives new meaning to the phrase "warm and fuzzy clothes."
Unfortunately, though, even the warmest and fuzziest businesses can't fix everything by themselves. Let's look at what happens after you and your shirt meet up. As owner and primary caretaker, you, too have control over whether the little garment runs rampant over the environment. In lifecycle assessments of popular products (described here), Levi Strauss found that about 45 percent of water use and 58 percent of carbon dioxide production associated with a clothing item occurred after sale to the consumer. Most of those impacts accrue as clothing is repeatedly laundered and machine-dried, as noted in this New York Times article. Clean your shirt the green way by using cold water and an old-fashioned clothesline—or just wash it less often. Your friends can take it, right?
Finally, we come to the end of your shirt's natural lifetime and the moment when you send it on to its next adventure. Although Environmental Health Perspectives reports that Americans throw away nearly 70 pounds of textiles per person per year, and textile products comprise a significant wedge of US municipal solid waste (see chart, below, from the EPA), you and your shirt can easily buck the trend.
Your first, best option is to reuse. If you've loved your shirt to the point of no return, welcome a new dishrag to your lineup, or consult the Essential Answer for some craftier inspiration. If your shirt is a little worn and tired but still in working order, see if a friend or family member can use it, or donate it to a secondhand clothing distributor such as Goodwill or The Salvation Army. You should be aware that many donations to these agencies are ultimately sold in developing countries—while the social impact of secondhand clothing exports is largely positive, this Oxfam study describes some of the potential downsides, such as suppression of local textile businesses.
As described in the Essential Answer, if you really can't find new employment for an old garment, you can seek out an industrial fabric recycling business. Although U.S. companies often ship products to recyclers overseas, this study by forward-thinking clothing company Patagonia found that the energy expended in transportation is significantly less than that expended in the creation of virgin fabric. Additionally, Kansas University researchers report that, "the textile recycling industry is able to process 93 percent of [textile] waste without the production of any new hazardous waste or harmful by-products."
Whatever route you choose—so long as it's not the landfill—you can curl up in those cold-washed organic cotton pajamas and sleep peacefully, knowing that you and your shirt were stylishly sustainable right to the end. It doesn't matter what color your eyes are, everyone looks good in green.
Kate Johnson, '10, plans to receive her master's degree in Earth Systems in 2011.
