The present and future sustainability of clothing and textiles in the ...

What are the major effects?
For the base case (making the products as we do
now) and each scenario we have calculated a set of
environmental and socioeconomic indicators for the
T-shirt and the blouse. The results are shown on
the two world maps – which to some extent act as
‘graphic equalisers’ – showing how the different
measures change with the scenarios and between
countries. Each measure is scaled consistently on
both figures. Comparison of these measures gives
us various key insights into the consequences of
each scenario, and from the analysis we can make
recommendations for future action.
Transport energy drives the
impact of location decisions
For both products, the proportion of life-cycle energy
used in transportation is small, so changing production
location has only a small global environmental effect.
The use of novel technology to produce T-shirts
shows additional benefits on a global scale – as
yarn is converted directly to the product without the
intermediate stage of flat fabric. The three measures
of environmental impact are all highest in the UK,
driven by use of electricity for washing and drying,
but the figures in the USA are also high – around half
of those in the UK. These impacts are principally due
to the use of diesel in agricultural machinery and the
requirement for electricity to power machines used for
carding, combing and spinning cotton fibre into yarn.
Energy use in producing fertilisers and insecticides in
the USA, is relatively unimportant. However, later on
in this report, in the theme headed ‘New products and
materials selection’ we will explore the significance
of these agricultural chemicals in generating
environmental impacts associated with toxicity.
New business opportunities with flexible technologies
Computerised seamless knitting machines combined with
CAD (Computer Aided Design technology) offer a significant
opportunity to achieve ‘mass customisation’ in the clothing
industry, without increasing costs and optimising the material
usage thus reducing waste. The combination of technologies
can enable the delivery of a whole garment while allowing
the product to remain digital until final manufacture. Digital
communication of designs may also allow a clothing
manufacturer to distribute production machines to multiple
locations, such as retail stores, all over the country. Production
and retail could then take place in a joint facility. This allows
the customer to be involved in the design of the garment.
3D design technology allows the simulation of true-to-life
garment and fabric draping using an ‘Avatar’ – a personalised
body created by scanning techniques that form a virtual 3D
garment over a virtual body using a 2D pattern input. This
ensures that the lead-time in getting the prototype right is
reduced and gives a customised final sample which is errorfree
E1 . Novel digital pigment ink printing technologies can
also be added to enhance this form of product innovation E2 .
Technically feasible but not profitable: the recam carpet recycling story
In the last half of the 1990s the EC Brite Euram recovery project
RECAM (Recycling of Carpet Materials) achieved remarkable
technological results. During the €5.5 million project a closed
loop system for recycling of carpet materials was developed.
The system had huge potential: the partners involved in
RECAM (research institutions and producers of carpets and
chemicals) estimated that it would be technologically possible
to recycle more than one million tonnes of European carpet
waste per year. A life cycle assessment study also looked very
promising: implementation of the complete RECAM system
would reduce all the examined environmental effects by more
than 50% compared to current practice at the time. The system
included collection of carpet waste, automated equipment
for sorting (based on near-infrared technology), mechanical
recycling of wool and polypropylene and mechanical and
chemical recycling of polyamide.
the total amount of carpet waste land filled in the USA by
more than 100,000 tonnes per year. However, in the autumn
of 2001 the commercial plant in the USA closed indefinitely
due to higher than expected production costs combined
with unfavourable business and economic conditions. From
an environmental textiles perspective the RECAM project was
a huge technological success, with significant environmental
benefits, but under current economic conditions the project
has so far failed to be profitable and therefore sustainable E3 .
As a spin-off from the RECAM project a $100 million
commercial-scale plant was established in Augusta, USA.
The plant was designed for mechanical and chemical
recycling of polyamide carpet waste to recover the monomer
caprolactam. It was anticipated that the facility would reduce
32 WELL DRESSED?