Why Textiles Matter

Did you know that the textile industry is said to account for 10% of global emissions – more than aviation and shipping combined? Perhaps it’s not so surprising when fabric waste equivalent to every 4th–5th garment is discarded already during production. Add to that what is consumed and some clothes worn only a handful of times before being thrown away.

When it comes to finished garments, there is much we as individuals can do. Looking at the waste hierarchy, the first step is to minimize – to shop with care, with both mind and heart connected. After all, it takes just as many resources to produce a sweater costing €10 as it does one costing €100. The real difference lies with you, in how you treat these two garments. Nature and its resources provide either way, but one of them will likely last far longer thanks to your mindset and the way you value it. Here we see the first step in the waste hierarchy: minimize.

When you eventually grow tired of your more expensive sweater, the likelihood is much higher that it will be reused by someone else – step number two. Because the quality, not always but often, is higher – and because you have cared for it with more attention – it will remain in good enough condition to be reused, repaired, redesigned, or altered.

After that comes material recycling – the step when the garment’s design no longer fulfils its function, and it’s time to recycle the fabric itself. This is where different recycling techniques come in: mechanical and chemical. There are other methods, but they are still at the research stage. Today, two methods exist on an industrial scale: mechanical and chemical recycling.

Mechanical recycling is the older method, but for decades it has struggled with poor fiber quality, leading to downcycling into products like stuffing, insulation, or nonwoven materials. However, in recent decades significant progress has been made – both in tearing machine technology and spinning techniques. Fibers can now be processed more gently, and spinning methods tailored for shorter fibers have been developed.

The other technique, chemical recycling, faces different challenges. It requires large, homogeneous volumes of textiles, consumes considerable amounts of chemicals, water, and energy, and changes the natural fiber itself – for example, cotton becomes viscose or lyocell.