1 / 10

Textiles and the Environment

Textiles and the Environment. Our lives today. During the 20 th century, our quality of life has improved significantly The textile industry has made enormous advances with the development of new fibres, fabrics, products and processes

sibley
Download Presentation

Textiles and the Environment

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Textiles and the Environment

  2. Our lives today....... • During the 20th century, our quality of life has improved significantly • The textile industry has made enormous advances with the development of new fibres, fabrics, products and processes • We now have a huge selection of choices with regards to textiles, but at what cost? • Globally, non-renewable resources are being depleted, air pollution is increasing and the contamination of our waterways is creating ecological disasters

  3. What is Sustainability? • THE CAPACITY TO ENDURE • For Humans, this means the potential of long term maintenance of well-being through the maintenance of our natural world and resources • So, how can we maintain our natural world and resources?????

  4. There are a number of ways that we can help sustain the environment for future generations: - recycle and reuse textile products - use fibres derived from the natural environment that do not deplete natural resources (natural vs man-made) - use Organic fibres (those that are grown without exposure to toxins) – this is known as Green Clothing because of its positive affect on the environment

  5. Sustainable Fabric Types A Sustainable or Green fabric is one that leaves the least impact throughout its lifespan - from creation, through its long life, and once it reaches its usable life's end. Some examples are: • Bamboo fibre • Organic cotton • Hemp • Pineapple husks • Soya • Wool

  6. What about the animals...... • Forty million animals die worldwide every year so that their fur can be used by the fashion industry. • The priority when the animals are killed is maintaining the quality of the fur, NOT the welfare of the animal • Ten million reptiles are killed for the skin each year and are sometimes killed in an inhumane way (skinning and boiling alive) • In silk production, silkworm cocoons are gassed, boiled or roasted whilst still alive

  7. Water Impacts • A lot of water is required to produce fabrics eg. 1kg of cotton can take up to 20 000 litres of water to produce • Cotton production has contributed to the depletion of the Murray-Darling water basin in Australia • The manufacturing processes also take considerable amounts of water • Contamination of water can occur through use of chemicals and pesticides

  8. Air Pollution • Chemicals used throughout the production process let off fumes and gases that are harmful to our environment • We then have to breathe in this contaminated air - what other processes affect our air?

  9. Land impacts • Lack of available space for landfill from massive amounts of textile waste • Soil erosion • Reduced vegetation cover • Destruction of soil fertility • Contamination of the land through chemicals and pesticides

  10. Human Rights • Child labour in all levels of production: • Handpicking fibres • Applying pesticides • Fabric construction • Cheap labour in production processes – SWEATSHOPS...... • Some of the biggest companies in the world use these Sweatshops – is it fair? You Decide!

More Related