What is Sustainable Textile? Why is it Necessary?

Sustainability; The ability of an industry or organization to function for an indefinite future without depleting primary resources. Any industry organization; It is responsible for the environmental, social and economic aspects of the resources and workforce it uses in the production process. The principle of “Sustainability” is adopted so that the existing resources and workforce can continue the production process not only today but also in the future.

Three Dimensions of Sustainable Textile:

Environmental Dimension:

Among all industries, the textile industry is the second most polluting industry in the world. The textile industry causes 20% of the world’s water pollution and 10% of carbon emissions. At the same time, 21 billion tons of garbage is produced by the textile industry every year. In addition to all these wastes, a high amount of natural resources is spent. It takes 20,000 liters of water to produce 1 kilogram of cotton.

Sustainable Textile aims to minimize the damage to the environment and resource expenditures so that production can continue as it is now years from now. For this, textile organizations adopt the industry model that causes the least damage to soil, water and air by managing waste. The environment is not polluted by composting or recycling wastes.

Social Dimension:

Textile companies ensure that human resources are sustainable by being sensitive to the environment while producing. Waste management prevents people from being adversely affected by environmental factors. But this is not enough to maintain the productivity of the workforce. Industrial organizations should prepare suitable working conditions for their employees. They should take an active role in social assistance organizations in order to protect the social interests of other people who are likely to participate in future production activities as labor force.

In addition, textile manufacturing organizations pay attention to the fact that the materials they use as raw materials contain as few chemicals as possible or be completely organic. The fact that the plants from which the fabrics and yarns are produced contain harmful substances such as pesticides causes the products to harm human health.

Economic Dimension:

A textile company that has adopted the principles of Sustainable Textile breaks new ground in production methods. It uses technology for both harmless and more efficient production instead of traditional inefficient production methods. It also contributes to economic development by providing regional employment.

Standards of Sustainable Textile:

Of a textile company; “We are a sustainable brand.” In order to be able to say that, it must meet certain universal conditions. The fact that the brands meet these conditions can be proved by the certificates issued by certain evaluation institutions. The leading institutions in the world that issue “Sustainable Textile” certificates are as follows:

C2C (Cradle to Cradle): Cradle to Cradle, a California-based organization, ranks companies as “Basic, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum” according to meeting the desired conditions. The ratings are related to the health and ecological use of materials, their ability to be recycled, carbon management, water management and biodiversity, etc. made according to the criteria.

SAC (The Sustainable Apparel Coalition): Within the body of SAC, a non-profit society, there are members from Turkey including İSKO, American Environmental Protection Administration, textile companies, trade associations and academic institutions. They measure the sustainability performance of textile companies through standardized tools called the Higg Index.

OEKO-TEX: STeP includes a 4-stage certification system: Made in Green, Eco Passport and Detox to Zero.

TEXTILE EXCHANGE: Textile Exhange, a non-profit organization, offers standards in various categories to make the textile industry sustainable.

GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard): The GOTS certificate, whose purpose is to accurately inform the end consumer, provides information about the organic material used in the product it is on. The GOTS label, which can only be found on products containing 70% or more organic material, also guarantees that the environmental effects of the dyestuffs and chemicals used are controlled.