Research into the sustainability of consumer textiles by The Sustainability Consortium (TSC) has found that product and process designers in the clothing, footwear, and textiles industry are turning to dematerialization strategies to be both greener and more profitable.
The United Nations Environmental Program (2011) defines dematerialization as “decreasing the material requirements of whole economies.
It requires (a) reducing the material intensity of products and services, i.e. by increasing material efficiency, and (b) especially reducing the use of primary material resources (such as ores, coal, minerals, metals, etc) by improving recycling and re-use of secondary materials (i.e. shifting to a circular economy).”
Dematerialization can be utilised effectively at every phase in the textile and apparel supply chain, from raw material selection to end-of-life. Recycled materials can be used to replace non-renewable resources used as raw materials, technology can be utilised to limit chemical use and material waste in textile processing, and methods can be employed to extend the useful life of textile products.
All three of these strategies lead to the use of fewer natural resources and less energy in making the textile, which translates to lower energy costs for manufacturing and fewer climate change impacts caused by greenhouse gas emissions.
Recycled materials
Using recycled materials as raw material inputs for fibre production has implications throughout the life cycle of textiles. Using recycled fibres means a reduction in the use of non-renewable resources and less product in landfills.
Both chemical and mechanical recycling methods are used to recycle polyester and petroleum-based synthetic fibres. The most widely publicised example of mechanical recycling in the textile industry is the case of recycling PET bottles to form polyester fibre.
The quality for this type of recycled fibre is not as high as fibres produced from virgin materials, however, as a solution to this problem, and as a way to recycle the fibres themselves, chemical methods of recycling polyester have been achieved.
The polymers can be broken down and separated into the original monomers so that high-quality fibres can be re-formed from the original input monomers. This leads to a closed loop life cycle when the garments at the end of their useful life are collected and re-used as input for new textile products.
Limiting excess material usageAt the textile manufacturing and product assembly stages of production, several processes have been developed to aid in limiting the use of excess materials and chemicals.
Software programs are available that produce pattern layouts to achieve the optimum use of the fabric, for example. Use of this technology cuts down on solid waste in the form of unused fabric at the cut and sew phase of production.
Another technology that nearly eliminates this type of solid waste in garment manufacturing is the use of full-garment knitting technologies. The product comes off the knitting machine in full garment form, directly from yarn to finished product. This type of technology combines the traditionally separated processes of fabric formation and cut and sew, while also eliminating the solid waste generally associated with cutting patterns from fabric.
Along with minimising solid waste, the addition of colour and other finishing processes in the production of textiles has been identified as an area of high concern in producing sustainable products. Digital printing is one technology that addresses this challenge. This process involves printing directly on fabric in the same way as ink-jet printing on paper. The technology also allows for the precise application of colour, and prints only the portion of the fabric that will be used to construct the garment. This reduces ink use and also uses much less water than the typical dyeing process.
In addition to adding colour, many other chemical applications are applied to enhance the properties of fabrics, such as wrinkle-reducing, anti-static, and fire retardant finishes. New methods, such as foam and plasma application techniques, have been developed for applying these finishes to the surface of the fabric instead of saturating the fabric. This reduces the amount of chemicals needed to produce the same effect, thus reducing potential impacts related to waste water emissions.
Life-cycle longevity
The period of ‘use’ and the life-cycle in textile products, and especially fashion items, is the most variable and is greatly dependent on the individual user. However, designers and manufacturers can influence consumer use by designing more durable garments and by moving away from designing disposable, low-quality garments.
Companies can also utilise new business models that aid the consumer in addressing their changing fashion and fit needs, while extending the life of the product. Some examples of ways to achieve this include designing garments that are easily modified, providing access to upgrading for style and fit changes, and providing ways for consumers to share or rent garments, especially those designed for special occasions.
By offering consumers quality products and ways to update, refurbish, and share garments instead of purchasing new ones could decrease the environmental impacts, while introducing new service-based business models that aid in maintaining jobs.
Implementing new strategies like dematerialization to improve the sustainability of products can be challenging, as it requires a new way of thinking, and potentially new ways in which information, material, and people interact throughout the supply network.
However, deciding to go down this path of improving product sustainability is an important first step. Furthermore, laying out all of the options before deciding minimises the risks associated with choosing a particular path.
How does an organisation know if it has explored all of the options before deciding? An effective method for minimising risk in decision-making is convening diverse stakeholders to gain diverse perspectives on an issue, such as methods for dematerialization.
The United Nations Environment Program (2005) states: “Finding a path towards sustainable development will require the pooling of diverse perspectives, knowledge and resources. No single individual, organisation, nor even a single segment of global society is likely to, by themselves, identify and implement the solutions to the big challenges humanity is facing today.”
But by working collaboratively to build a scientific foundation that drives innovation to improve consumer product sustainability, including those for textiles, TSC develops transparent methodologies, tools, and strategies to drive a new generation of products and supply networks that address environmental, social, and economic imperatives.
Meet the Authors
Dr. Kevin Dooley is a Professor of Supply Chain Management and a Dean's Council of 100 Distinguished Scholars in the WP Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. He is Academic Director of The Sustainability Consortium, developing science and tools to improve the sustainability of consumer goods. Dr. Dooley is a world-known expert in the application of complexity science to help organizations improve. He has published over 100 research articles and co-authored an award-winning book, “Organizational Change and Innovation Processes”. He is on several journal editorial boards including Journal of Supply Chain Management and Journal of Business Logistics. He has been awarded two patents on Centering Resonance Analysis, a novel form of network text analysis, and is co-founder and CEO of Crawdad Technologies, LLC, a provider of text analysis software for academics of Business at Arizona State University.
Dr. Sarah E. Lewis is the Working Group Director with The Sustainability Consortium (TSC). In this role, she oversees sector working group and research integration strategy across TSC sectors. Her work with TSC focuses on directing research projects and managing member relationships in order to develop the Sustainability Measurement and Reporting System (SMRS). She holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Dynamics and a Master of Arts in French from the University of Arkansas. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biology and French Secondary Education from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Sarah is passionate about identifying and working through challenges at the interface of humans and the environment. An award-winning educator, Sarah is an Adjunct Professor of Environmental Sociology at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and she is the Founder and President of EcoExplique, a consultancy focused on educating communities about the economic value of environmental systems. Sarah is an active member of her community, having served as an elected official on the Fayetteville, Arkansas City Council, and currently serving as a board member of the Illinois River Watershed Partnership.
Christy Cagle joined The Sustainability Consortium in September of 2013 and serves as the Senior Researcher for the Clothing, Footwear, and Textiles Sector Working Group. Prior to joining TSC, Christy worked for North Carolina State University’s College of Textiles as the Director of International Programs, where she had the opportunity to work extensively with national and international textile industry leaders from government, academic, and business organizations. Christy earned a B.S. in Textile and Apparel Management and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Textile Technology Management from NCSU and brings industry-specific knowledge and a global perspective to TSC.