Textile Industry not being Environmentally Friendly

The apparel industry has been around for years and has moved around from the United States to China, Mexico, and Vietnam, but one thing that hasn't changed is the pollution concerns. With the exception of some companies, the apparel industry has not done very much to improve the environmental problems we face today. They create pollution by when they tan leather, it often involves toxic chemicals which end up going into our environment. Making synthetic fabrics such as polyester uses large amounts of crude oil and other materials that release volatile compounds. 32.3 KG of CO2 is used in the life of a pair of Jeans which is equal to a car that drivs 78 miles. according to the Wall Street Journal. According to a June 5, 2005 article in Business Week, the population that is allergic to these chemicals will grow to 60 percent by the year 2020.

When transporting clothes, the clothes goes through many places and equipment. Cotton first shipped from the U.S. and Europe to Asia to make thread and fabrics, then it is shipped for cutting and sewing (in China, India, and Honduras). Some of our clothes have circled the globe twice by the time they arrive in stores. By looking at just the shipping, that alone puts out a lot of pollution, either by ship, plane, train, and even by trucks. Some of toughs forms of transportation use high amounts of fuel to move and create very high amounts of With the total of the pollution being very high with transportation and manufacturing clothes, these companies have to look at other ways to decrease pollution. Either by bring more factories back to the U.S. and creating jobs or reusing/recycling old textile items.

For more information visit the The Wall Street Journal website for the news article