Thursday, May 30, 2013
Eco Textile Factories
Many clothing retail companies have began to introduce new green factories in order to be more more environmentally friendly.
M&S as an example openend one in central Sri Lanka in 2008.
It includes :
This is something i believe everyone should aim to do in the near future no matter the expense.
M&S as an example openend one in central Sri Lanka in 2008.
It includes :
- Energy saving devices e.g. solar panels
- Waste reduction processes
- Healthy working environment
It is made with mainly eco bricks and uses 40% less electricity and saves up to 50% of water a normal garment factory would use. It also provides a holistic medical centre for all 1300 of its workers.
This is all part of M&S PLAN A initiative.
http://plana.marksandspencer.com/
This is something i believe everyone should aim to do in the near future no matter the expense.
Rana Plaza Bangladesh
This is considered the deadliest garment factory incident in history with the death figure at 1,127 with approximately 2,500 injured.
There were 5 garment factories operating inside. Its backlash was immense with mass protests in the streets asking for much safer working conditions and the death penalty for the owner. The Pope referred to it as a catastrophe and said it was 'slave labour' as many of the people who died inside were on a wage of 38 euros a month!
It had massive implications on the brand Primark who have to pay massive compensation for the incident as well as take huge amount of negative publicity. Another impact on the fashion industry is that all retailers are now being urged to sign up to the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety agreement as mass speculation over the structure of the building is now being investigated thoroughly as extra floors were added without any building permission or regulations.
THIS INCIDENT HAS INCREASED PUBLIC AWARENESS TO THE TREATMENT OF WORKERS IN THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY.
But this should never of happened if more interest was taken before hand!
There were 5 garment factories operating inside. Its backlash was immense with mass protests in the streets asking for much safer working conditions and the death penalty for the owner. The Pope referred to it as a catastrophe and said it was 'slave labour' as many of the people who died inside were on a wage of 38 euros a month!
It had massive implications on the brand Primark who have to pay massive compensation for the incident as well as take huge amount of negative publicity. Another impact on the fashion industry is that all retailers are now being urged to sign up to the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety agreement as mass speculation over the structure of the building is now being investigated thoroughly as extra floors were added without any building permission or regulations.
THIS INCIDENT HAS INCREASED PUBLIC AWARENESS TO THE TREATMENT OF WORKERS IN THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY.
But this should never of happened if more interest was taken before hand!
Bamboo
Bamboo is a textile that has recently been used due to many reasons. It is easily blended with other types of fabrics such as cotton, hemp and even spandex to produces garments such as swimwear.
It is:
It is:
- Fast Growing
- Grown in diverse climates
- Re-harvested with no damage to the environment
- Grows quickly/densely
- Minimises Co2
- Produces 35% more oxygen than normal trees
- Slows deforestation
- Biodegradable
- No pesticides needed
- Barely uses water
Although it may seem like the perfect sustainable fabric. There is one small criticism and that is it offer no uv protection and this can be seen as a hinderance when sold as a clothing garment.
But still i believe bamboo to possibly be the MOST SUSTAINABLE FABRIC IN THE WORLD.
Hemp
'Hemp is one of the most environmentally friendly and versatile natural textile plants on Earth - and one of the first textile plants in history.'
I believe it to be one of the best fabrics within the textile industry although its not widely used.
I believe it to be one of the best fabrics within the textile industry although its not widely used.
- No Pesticides/Herbicides
- Incredibly tough
- Uses very little water
- 'UV protective and anti-bacterial and produces 250% more fibre yield per acre than cotton'
This is a fabric for the future and is something that should be looked into by all clothing retail providers.
Recyclable Polyester
- Polyester is made when petrol is refined and turned into man-made fibres.
- Recyclable polyester to an extent is ethical. This is because it turns recycled plastic into fabric instead of all those empty bottles and containers going into landfill for the future generations to deal with.
- By using recycled polyester we use less energy in the production of the fibre.
There has been incidents when people have built homes on old landfill sites and died because of it. This is due to increased methane in the air which could cause the house to blow up at any time.
Water
Water is massively overused within the textile industry due to the massive amount of wastage with cotton farming using the most water out of any fabric.
Approximately 10,000 litres of water is used in the production of only ONE pair of denim jeans. In China polluted water causes 75% of diseases from which over 100,000 die annually.
But the textile industry isn't the only place to focus the blame. Us as consumers can play our part through the amount of washing we do especially at high temperatures. Drying also is a massive contributor.
Approximately 10,000 litres of water is used in the production of only ONE pair of denim jeans. In China polluted water causes 75% of diseases from which over 100,000 die annually.
But the textile industry isn't the only place to focus the blame. Us as consumers can play our part through the amount of washing we do especially at high temperatures. Drying also is a massive contributor.
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