baldul+fix+it



Fashion is most commonly known for being new, fresh, extravagant and radical. Fashion goes hand in hand with high cost, luxury, and exotic. Organic cotton, wool, cashmere, silk, and fur. The more difficult it is to acquire and produce the more fashionable and desired it becomes. Fashion involves lots of fabric which uses up many resources for materials and production. According to the World Bank, 20% of industrial water pollution comes from textile dying and manufacturing and in this water waste over 72 toxic chemicals are added just from the dying process. (Raybin) Fashion also involves lots of waste and pollution from production to the end of its life in a dump. According to a study in the UK, about 700,000 tons of fabric is burned or dumped in a landfill each year and that 70% of it is still suitable enough to be sold as second hand clothing. (Collins) Fashion’s contribution to pollution and waste is large and unnecessary.
 * Problem **

There are many unsustainable problems in the Fashion industry but there are a few simple ways, with existing technology, to make the dying process and disposal of clothing more sustainable because it will reduce the demand for virgin resources and reduce the amount of pollution created and energy used.
 * Solutions **

Reuse process (Collins)
 * · **Water Recycling** – All types of textiles are chemically treated and dyed in plants. An Italian study was done on methods to efficiently removing chemicals and color from textile plants’ waste water that can be done feasibly in house on a scale that can keep up with the industry demands. By using the process of oxidation treatments in house eliminates polluted water discharged into rivers or shipped over to processing plants. This would eliminate Fashion’s impact on river pollution, dead fish, unsafe drinking water, and carbon dioxide emissions in the transport of dirty water. The plants would be constantly reusing the same water instead of constantly taking in fresh, clean drinking water.The two best oxidation methods found were ozone and electrochemical treatment. Ozone is the best treatment plants can use to eliminate color and chemicals at a low cost. The process eliminates 95-100% of color and 60% of chemical oxygen demand which allows the plant to complete even the most difficult dying of light colors with this reused water. Electrochemical treatment eliminates 80-100% of color and 70-90% of chemical oxygen demand, as well as sulfates and chlorides. This method is a potential alternative once is it modified to be cost-effective for the industry. (Ciardelli)
 * · **Textile Recycling** – After an article of clothing becomes too small or out of style it still has potential to be used. Old textiles can be recycled and reused as second hand clothing, filling/insulation, cleaning cloths and other low-grade products or skeins of reclaimed fibers. The US can adopt a system of curbside textile recycling similar to the UK. It can also build reclamation factories like the ones in Prato, Italy to make the new products and fibers. A study that did a summary of the various recycling methods found that, “ the reuse of 1 ton of polyester garments only uses 1.8% of the energy required for manufacture of these goods from virgin materials and the reuse of 1 ton of cotton clothing only uses 2.6% of the energy required to manufacture those from virgin materials.” (Collins)

Overall, the stakeholders are everyone who is involved in the process of buying and selling clothing. With the implementation of water recycling, the people involved would be the dying factories that would have to purchase and utilize the equipment and as a result the overall water quality for drinking and ecosystem in rivers will improve. With the implementation of mass textile recycling there will be a need for entrepreneurs or existing businesses to start up recycling plants. The government could get involved to enforce this and waste management groups could get involved to do the collections and recycling as well. Creating textile recycling plants in the US could create job opportunities for the unemployed and reduce the country’s reliance on foreign textile imports.
 * Stakeholders **

There are many potential barriers. The first one is to get people to recycle old clothing. Instead of throwing it out people need to get into the habit of bringing it to a collection site or putting it out with their typical recycling pick up. People would also have to be accepting of products coming from reused material and would have to consider eco-friendly fashion stylish. The other hurdle would be implementation. Plants would need to be built and run that can handle the intake of the millions of tons of clothing. It would be a learning process, but doing something now will help the US develop a working system before the need is too great.
 * Potential Barriers **

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 * Links **
 * Organic Fashion Company **
 * Gre **** en fashion blog **
 * Detailed Textile Recycling Methods Study **

Ciardelli, Gianluca. "The Treatment and Reuse of Wastewater in the Textile Industry by Means of Ozonation and Electroflocculation." // Water Research // 35.2 (2001): 567-72. // Science Direct //. Elsevier Science Ltd., 27 Nov. 2000. Web. 20 Nov. 2010. . Collins, Michael, Simon Gandy, Paul S. Phillips, Garth D. Ward, and Anne C. Woolridge. "Life Cycle Assessment for Reuse/recycling of Donated Waste Textiles Compared to Use of Virgin Material: An UK Energy Saving Perspective." // Resources, Conservation and Recycling // 46.1 (2006): 94-103. // Science Direct //. Elsevier B.V., 2 Sept. 2005. Web. 20 Nov. 2010. . Raybin, Aaron. "Water Pollution and the Textile Industry." // AirDye //. 30 Sept. 2009. Web. 26 Nov. 2010. .
 * Sources **