Why recycle and use recycled and organic fabrics?

Simply put, we are facing a series of major global issues. We don't have enough planet to sustain our lifestyles. Research shows that we will need 5 planets to sustain North Americas current level of consumption. The textile industry is considered as the most ecologically harmful industry in the world. The eco-problems in textile industry occur during some production processes and are carried forward right to the finished product. In the production process like bleaching and then dyeing, the subsequent fabric makes a toxin that swells into our ecosystem. During the production process controlling pollution is as vital as making a product free from the toxic effect. The utilization of rayon for clothing has added to the fast depleting forests and opened the door to the development in natural sustainable fibers like organic Cotton, recycled cotton, recycled polyester, Hemp and Bamboo fibers.

There are many ways to recycle textiles, and most textiles are recyclable. Textile recycling is a growing worldwide business that assists many less fortunate people in various parts of the world and also provides raw materials for the manufacture of textile goods. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 2.5 billion pounds of post-consumer textiles are recycled annually in the United States.

Increasingly, consumers expect environmental friendly clothing and demand it of their favorite brands. Any business can take steps to reduce its footprint to appease consumers (green washing), but successful firms will turn sustainability into competitive advantage. For these firms in the apparel industry, there are numerous opportunities to save the planet while saving cash and other resources. BTI has helped several large mills implement sustainability as a corporate initiative.

The textile industry is among the most essential consumer goods industry. We all need garments and other textile products such as clothing, footwear and bags etc. However, the textile industry is also accused of being one of the most polluting industries. Not only production but consumption of textiles also produces waste. To counter the problem, BTI works with the large textile and apparel mills for reducing their negative contribution towards environment. One of such measures is textile recycling- the reuse as well as reproduction of fibers from textile waste.

Ninety- nine percent of textiles are recyclable. Unfortunately, a large portion of textiles still ends up in landfills. Four million tons of textiles wastes are sent to landfills every year. If all the recyclable textiles were removed from that mass, only a small amout of textile waste would remain each year.

Textile recycling is for both, environmental and economic benefits. It avoids many polluting and energy intensive processes that are used to make textiles from fresh materials. Key benefits to recycling:

• The requirement of landfill space is reduced. Textiles lead to many problems in landfill. Synthetic fibers don't decompose. Woolen garments do decompose but produce methane, which contributes to global warming.
• Pressure on fresh resources is reduced.
• Leads to balance of payments as we buy fewer materials for our requirements.
• As fibers get locally available, they don't have to be transported from abroad thus reducing pollution and saving energy.
• Lesser energy is consumed while processing, as items don't need to be re-dyed or scoured.
• Waste water reduces as it does not have to be thoroughly washed with large volumes of water as it is done for, say, raw wool.
• Demand is reduced for textile chemicals like dyes and fixing agents.