Circular Textiles x Climate Action
By: Natalia Papu
Tags: Fridays For Future, Fashion, Apparel And Textiles, Climate Change, Circular Economy

September 20th has kicked off a week of the largest ever Global Climate Strike yet. The youth is leading the way, hollering loud: “Our house is on fire, let’s act like it.’’ And it’s true. We are on fire. We, in the Brazilian Amazonia, we in Portugal, we in Greece and we in the United States . Some of us are not on fire, but under water: we in India, we in Nepal, we in Pakistan, we in Sierra Leone, and we in Nigeria. And this list goes on. The Earth’s temperature has risen approximately 1°C above pre-industrial levels in 2017, largely due to human-induced warming, according to a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), published in 2018. These changes make us both actors and spectators of unprecedented risks, now materialising over numerous populations and ecosystems.

This is not about scaremongering. It is about understanding that, increasingly, natural disasters are emerging from the substantially human-driven changes in climate patterns over the past decades. Every year, we find ourselves overshooting the use of our planet Earth’s resources, especially in countries driving production and consumption.The Earth has started to show us the consequences of this behaviour and it is about time we start taking serious action to change these trends.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Paris Agreement have recognized the ability of humans to influence geophysical planetary processes. We have been doing so in an incredibly negative curve since 1750, without placing due attention on the consequences of our actions. Our economy is carbon-intensive, meaning that the amount of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere is higher than the amount our planet can uptake in its “natural sinks”, resulting in increasing concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere. The main contributor to rising greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions — including CO2, but also methane and nitrous amongst others — is the widespread of fossil-fuel-based lifestyles, accelerated by deforestation, agriculture, changes in land use, and soil erosion.

Of course, we cannot overlook the fact that this economy is also the one that allowed for increased life expectancy and income in certain regions of the world, and hence, has taken millions of people out of poverty and into the middle classes, with access to health and education. Nevertheless, it has also grown poverty and inequality, and degraded the environment and its resources.

The Paris Agreement instils us to limit the temperature rise well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels. The overall question behind all initiatives and frameworks is: can we ensure climate justice for every human being on planet Earth? This entails that we need to think of our economy as embedded within the boundaries of our planet. Equity then becomes an essential parameter of climate action, as action pathways always bare different trade-offs. Even the IPCC report, which lays certain pathways ahead, states uncertainty as to which of them are more consistent with the principle of equity. It is understood that the lack of equity not only has to do with differential bearing of the impact but also with differential contributions to the problem, under-representation in shaping the solutions and response strategies as well as an asymmetrical preparation for future response capacity. The differences present themselves not only between countries, but also within generations and individuals.

It is time to work towards new practices that rethink systemically the interconnectivity required across the globe and between individuals. And if we talk about a life and a global economy within planetary boundaries, what stake does the apparel and textiles industry, and the current and future professionals of which it comprises, have in the climate fight?

The Apparel & Textiles Industry x Climate Impact

Annually, around 103 million tonnes of fibres are produced. It is estimated that the global consumption has reached an average of 11.4 kg of textile fibres per capita. This means that, if we all consumed similarly, each person around the world would be responsible for 442 kg of CO2 equivalent yearly due to apparel and textile consumption. This amount is equivalent to every single person on Earth driving a car for 2400 km.

Oxfam's Second Hand September awareness campaign.

It is estimated in a report by Quantis that the carbon footprint of the textile industry for apparel use is roughly 6.7% of the total global climate impacts a year. When combined with footwear, this accounts for approximately 8.1% of global climate impacts. On other organisations’ reporting, Systain Consulting Gmbh and the Otto Group have jointly researched the carbon footprint of certain textiles and state that the purchase of a 100% cotton t-shirt (220grs) accounts for 10.75 kg of CO2 equivalent, which is equivalent to driving a car for 56 km.

Quantis also points out that the main drivers of the industry’s global CO2 footprint are the dyeing and finishing, the yarn preparation and the fibre production stages across the value chain. The impacts within dyeing and finishing are mostly due to energy-intensive processes reliant on coal and natural gas. While the industry has doubled its garment production between 2000 and 2014, the impacts of production on climate change have increased 35% between 2005 and 2016 and are expected to increase a further 49% from a 2016 baseline.

The significant role that we play in creating, and therefore also curbing, climate emergency is clear. Then why isn’t the wheel moving fast enough when it comes to mitigation and adaptation strategies? Several studies refer to the lack of consumer awareness as a key issue preventing action. Oxfam interviewed 1000 adults in the UK, of which 53% have responded to be unaware of the environmental impacts of fast fashion. Several campaigning groups are tackling this issue through activism, such as Extinction Rebellion in the UK, who have taken the fashion industry on specifically, recently staging a funeral march during the end of London Fashion Week. “What we’re here to do is to increase the level of awareness around climate change and highlight the urgent nature of things” highlights Ecotextile news from Sara Arnold’s words at the Centre for Sustainable Fashion.

Let us look at a recent journey within the apparel and textiles industry; what has the industry been doing so far for climate action?