Dye Pollution in the Textile Industry
Dye pollution in the textile industry is a little known but a damaging by-product of clothes manufacturing. Here is how Europe is tackling this problem.
We often hear about fast fashion and its negative impact on the environment, with tons of clothing ending up in landfills, taking many years to decompose. Yet how often do we hear about textile dyeing, and how it is fashion’s biggest polluter, negatively affecting both the environment and our health?
Taking a closer look at some of the facts about textile dye pollution and the issues it causes, we learnt how thousands of synthetic chemicals are required to bleach and brighten our clothes, which are then disposed of in our oceans, rivers and seas. Textile dye pollution is such a severe problem that the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) found that not only is fabric dyeing the second largest polluter of water, but that the fashion industry alone is producing 20% of the world’s wastewater. It is these toxic chemicals which are contributing to the increasing level of pollution, which has a detrimental effect on marine life and the aquatic ecosystem.
Last year, an article by CNN explored the impact of pollution caused by textile dyeing on the environment, as well as on human health. China and Bangladesh are the two biggest fabric manufacturing centers, with the locals suffering the consequences of the pollution caused by textile dyeing, away from the eyes of the Western world. Drinking water sources are being contaminated, canals and rivers are polluted, and surrounding areas are becoming inhabitable because of the adverse effect of the chemicals. The hazard to human health when exposed to these toxic chemicals, increases the risk of cancers, skin irritations, allergic reactions and other illnesses.
Europe throws away 11kg of clothing per person, per year, while also supporting a 40% increase in clothing sales per person over the last 20 years – fuelled by the phenomenon of fast fashion. To tackle this rising problem, the EU’s Textile Strategy will be published in autumn 2021, attempting to address the negative consequences of the fashion industry through a shared framework approach and effective policy making. Organizations across Europe are also collaborating on the challenge, such as the Ellen Macarthur Foundation, most recently launching the Make Fashion Circular initiative at the Copenhagen Fashion Summit. The aim is to work closely with industry leaders, NGOs, policymakers, and brands to create a new textiles economy that will address urgent issues like pollution caused by textile dyeing.
Waste2Fresh, an EU Horizon 2020 funded project that aims to bring an innovative solution to the textile manufacturing industry. Supported by the EU, and aware of the threat and burden that the fashion industry has on our ecosystem, Waste2Fresh aims to address the freshwater scarcity and industrial water pollution problem. This will be achieved by offering commercially viable and environmentally friendly methods by recycling water that would otherwise pollute rivers and oceans with wastewater. By targeting the chemical offshoot problem caused by the current production method, Waste2Fresh will reduce the environmental impact of the production of new clothes and aim to improve the sustainability of fashion.
The EU Textile Strategy aims to increase the rate of textile recycling which is currently estimated to only be 1%. The new framework will empower products and businesses alike to develop textiles that can be easily recycled, remove dangerous chemicals from the production process, and create a classification to encourage users to easily find sustainable textiles. For businesses, this means rapidly changing their supply chains, but also encouraging reuse and repair services to ensure that products can last longer and if necessary, be recycled into new products.
The EU has published a report on the condition of soil and groundwater once contamination has taken place, and what measures they are taking to reduce the impact of this. This monitoring is to be done every five years for the groundwater and ten years for soil.
By monitoring the soil and groundwater contamination for hazardous substances, the EU regulates the sites of the production themselves, as well as keeping an eye on companies that produce textiles to ensure they are taking necessary action to improve their environmental footprint.
There are also regulations in the amount of wastewater permitted per textile generate in the EU, with the limitation of 20g COD/kg of textiles processed. This effectively limits the amount of wastewater generated through the production and regulates companies or sites of production that would cause more harm towards the environment through its business. Both methods are aimed to reduce the amount of waste that would feed back to neighbouring areas and resulting in the possibility of causing harm to those residing on or near those areas.
The EU aims to tackle the problem at the consumer end and initiatives such as the Waste2Fresh technology, supported by the EU, can be applied universally to provide a global solution.
As much as we all love taking out our colourful clothes as soon as spring and summer make an appearance, we might have to reconsider a few things as consumers as well. We don’t know about you, but we love a little colour and being environmentally aware doesn’t mean turning your back to a colourful outfit. As consumers, we can do a lot more than we think. Take a trip down to your neighbourhood’s second-hand shop, resell your clothes instead of throwing them out, look out for sustainable brands, raise awareness about the negative impact of fast fashion and show your support to the amazing organisations and companies working on finding solutions to this issue.