Trends

Now clothes must be eco-friendly

Global warming and the state of the planet now also impacts on the clothing industry. There is now a new standard to measure manufacturing performance: how eco-friendly are the garments manufactured?

A company’s green rating can be measured in various ways: the material used (e.g. vegetable dyes), the production method (waste disposal, pollution and environmental impact) and even the distance garments have to travel between manufacturer and end user (less miles travelled means less fuel burnt).

At the recent ispo Winter 07 Show in Munich, Volcom received the Boardsports Award 07 for Ecological Innovation for their Volcom V.Co-Logical series, made with vegetable dyes, organic stains, hemp and other low impact production methods. According to the award jury members this "represents Volcom’s socially responsible attempt to sustain and protect our planet’s rapidly shrinking natural resources by utilizing sustainable alternatives." In addition, 1% of the sales of the V.Co-Logical series will be donated to environmental programs.

In the UK, a new industry body, the RITE group (Reducing the Impact of Textiles on the Environment) aims to promote the sustainable and ethical production of clothing throughout the world with a series of new initiatives, including a conference later this year. It also hopes to develop methods of objectively assessing the ‘greenness’ of textile production, processes, and products.

RITE wants to provide advice and fact based information to minimise the negative environmental impact of the production, use and disposal of textiles and apparel. The founder members are retailer Marks & Spencer, the University of Leeds, and Ecotextile News. A steering committee and advisory panel of senior industry executives from fibres through to brands is now being assembled.

At the new Interstoff Asia Essential textile show in Hong Kong a special trend area was set aside for ecotextiles and fabrics made with sustainable fibres.

But, these eco-friendly initiatives are not limited to textiles and clothing – all kind of industries are looking at more planet-friendly materials and production measures.

In SA, clothing manufacturer Seardel has set up a company, Sustainable Fibre Solutions (SFS), to explore the possibility of using an African plant, kenaf, a member of the hibiscus family, as a natural alternative to synthetic fibres in thermal and sound insulation, automotive components and bio-composite and compressed non-woven materials. In a R100-m joint venture with the Industrial Development Corporation, SFS has now set up operations in the Winterton area, where it has also built a processing plant.