While the recycling process can often be laborious, expensive and
time-consuming, with a new generation of conscious consumers emerging, a
top-down approach requiring the collaboration of organisations across the supply
chain is required for textile circularity to become standard.
Stronger calls for environmental protection and rising demand for supply chain
transparency have been accelerating the speed for fast fashion giants and high
fashion ateliers to rethink and revamp their production practices. Coupled with
the outbreak of the COVID-19
pandemic, such trends
toward environmental responsibility have repositioned a circular economy from
the fringes of fashion to being an inseparable part of the
industry.
Sustainable, renewable and ethically sourced clothing has become a need, not a
want.
However, significant problems remain. Scalable “circular”
fashion
is still in the minority, resulting in challenges around stable supply of
eco-friendly textiles amidst a needlessly complex supply chain. In order to
fully achieve a circular economy in the long run, the textile industry need to
work together to find ways to adhere to the three main pillars: repair, reuse
and recycle.
Simply put, fashion has a disastrous waste problem. Retailers and high fashion
houses need to get serious about recycling at every stage of the supply chain,
and COVID-19 may be just the excuse we need to act so quickly and extensively.
Fashion’s waste problem
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Recycling, as a major facet of a circular economy, has been making significant
strides of late. Still, only 10 percent of clothing materials are recycled today
and US consumers on average bin around 37kg of textile waste annually. Globally,
a whopping 92 million tons of clothing is thrown away each year. If we continue
on this course, we will discard over 134 million tons of textiles in 2030 —
equivalent to the weight of 95 million cars. Fashion’s supply chain also relies heavily on large swathes of other scarce resources such as fuel and
water. In total, our industry produces a staggering 1.2 billion tons of
greenhouse gases every year!
In addition to the troubling figures, significant challenges exist for recycling in this
industry. Garments are made from a complex array of fibers and chemicals — often
decorated with accessories — making them notoriously challenging to
recycle.
While the recycling process can often be laborious, expensive and
time-consuming, with a new generation of conscious
consumers
emerging, a top-down approach requiring the collaboration of organisations
across the supply chain is required for textile circularity to become standard.
As trendsetters, brands and designers possess tremendous power to lead this
eco-evolution, Lenzing’s role is twofold — by
providing immediate materials innovations; and by facilitating long-term
evolution to ensure producers, designers and recyclers themselves are prepared
for a sustainable and circular future.
Scalable circularity is no longer a dream
To address dire challenges in the industry, the textile supply chain —
consisting of fiber manufacturers, such as Lenzing; as well as yarn makers,
spinners
and fabric mills — will need to change the way they work and embrace a circular
economy. Similarly, designers will also play a crucial role in driving
circularity through designing products for recycling at the end of life.
With a focus on enhancing industry transparency, it is essential to educate the
industry. Fiber classification services and product labelling — for garments
made of organic
cotton,
organic linen, lyocell or modal fibers, for example — are key starting points.
Innovation in the production of sustainable raw materials, such as the
award-winning close-loop production process used to produce TENCEL™ branded
lyocell fiber with REFIBRA™
technology,
is a good example. By upcycling pre- and post-consumer cotton scraps with wood
pulp to produce virgin lyocell fibers at scale, conventional textile waste is
being turned into viable resources that can be leveraged for textile production.
Several internationally renowned brands — including Wolford, Patagonia,
GUESS and
H&M
— have already incorporated circularity into their clothing collections. By
combining long-lasting designs with quality, sustainable raw materials, garments
become more timeless and durable — achieving longer product life cycles and less
fashion waste in the long run.
Leading mills across the world, for example, are noting current fashion trends
are moving towards cellulose-dominant
fabrics
— which is a prime opportunity for brands to seize the momentum to better
educate consumers on the ecological cost of
products.
Mills are investing in circularity by applying lyocell fibers produced via
REFIBRA technology in different blends, recycling water, advancing production
processes to ensure maximum efficiency and more.
Bigger strides towards a more sustainable future
The promise of circular practices is already evident. For example, at Lenzing,
by setting concrete and ambitious goals, we have witnessed various improvements
in sustainable development. Just last year, Lenzing:
-
Saved 1.9 percent of specific primary energy consumption and 8 percent in
specific greenhouse gas emissions
-
Reduced 30 percent of sulfur and sulfur dioxide emissions, respectively,
from energy production
-
Reduced 7 percent of specific water consumption
-
Increased up to 30 percent of recycled raw material content in TENCEL
Lyocell fibers with REFIBRA technology, where some post-consumer cotton
waste can be mixed with pre-consumer cotton waste.
However, many challenges
remain
before long-lasting, biodegradable and recyclable clothing become industry norm.
As we continue to weather a pandemic, and the industry and brands rethink
longer-term existential strategies, we face a rare opportunity for change — to
future-proof the entire fashion industry for the long run.
Many practitioners engage in this industry because they admire great designs and
have a passion for quality and beauty; yet on top of all the glamour, the
industry also has a crucial role to safeguard our environment for the future of
fashion and our planet. The time has come for fashion brands and the rest of the
industry to address fashion’s waste problem right at its core, and engage in
scaled textile waste recycling.
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Head of Circularity Initiative
Lenzing
Published Nov 6, 2020 7am EST / 4am PST / 12pm GMT / 1pm CET