What are the environmental impacts of textiles and fashion design?
The production, manufacturing, transportation and use of textiles for fashion and interior furnishing applications uses dyes, solvents, yarns (both natural and synthetic fibres), paper patterns and machinery. The main impacts arise from material selection and use, manufacturing processes, the dyes used to print fabrics and the ethical issues around the human labour used to create garments. Some parts of the textiles and fashion industry have focused on the use of organic natural fibres and incorporating recycled fabrics or deconstructed garments into products. These can be useful strategies in reducing environmental impacts, although a life-cycle perspective can reveal other issues that also need to be addressed. In short, we need to take a systematic approach to the whole system.
