Reduce Recycle and Reuse

In Fashion and Textile

Guided By: Mr. Arnab Sen (Assistant Professor)

Presented By: Abhijit Banik, Textile Design, Semester: VI

Sustain means "to maintain" or "to uphold" and with regard to industrial processes. sustainability means establishing those principles and practices which can help to maintain the equilibrium of nature in other words to avoid causing irreversible damage to the earth's natural resources.

What is Sustainable Design?

 The consumption of natural resources has increased dramatically in the last 40 years with little regard for the environmental degradation caused. It is only relatively recently recognize the unintended consequences of this carefree attitude towards the natural environment. Problems such as global warming, due to increasing atmospheric Carbon Dioxide levels from the burning of fossil fuels, natural resource depletion, toxic waste disposal, and increasing air, water and soil pollution from both agriculture and industry are becoming issues of global importance requiring concerted international action to solve them.

Consequences

Effects toward the environment

In such a scenario, it becomes every individual's responsibility to proactively contribute and participate in the improvement of these problems. Every industrial sector and leading companies in each sector are also now being held to account for their impact on human health and the environment. It is therefore imperative that the textile industry also address such issues within supply chain. At every stage of textile production, vast amounts of energy, clean water and chemicals are used to process the textiles and apparel which consumers demand. In turn these processes generate air, water and soil pollution through oftenuntreated effluent disposal and waste generation which place a heavy burden on the environment.

The waste hierarchy:

Reduce what?
The resources that are used overall (buy less, use less). The resources that are used in manufacturing. The resources that are used in the aftercare of the fabric. The amount of waste that is generated. The materials that are used. The amount of packaging. Reuse what? Dont bin it. Can we use it for something else? Can we choose materials that can be used again? Recycle what? Can we make it into something new? Are there ways of recycling the materials? How easily can it be recycled? Can we use materials that have already been recycled?

 Cotton the white gold is a natural cellulosic seed. Mono cellular staple fibre used for all seasons and numerous end uses. It has been used for wide range of apparels and household textiles. Cotton has many inherent properties like softness, breathability, rnoisture absorbency, strength, drapability and heat-resistance, high wet-strength, non-allergic and non-irritant. It is also dyeable, easy to handle and sew. Naturally coloured cotton totally eliminates the process of colouration as this cotton has a coloured gene present in the lumen or the fibre that imparts natural colour to cotton as it grows and matures. Naturally coloured cotton grown using organic farming methods is the most suitable alternative for a cleaner eco-friendly environment.

Cotton and its Impact

 No doubt that raw material is considered as one of the most important factor affecting product costs in textile industry. The importance of textile raw material is differing according to its type, processing and end-use.

Textile Waste Material

Naturally Colored Cotton

 Coloured cotton was grown and used by mankind as long as 2500 B C and this is evident from excavations at Huaca Prieta on Northern Peruviun coast S. America. The coloured lint obtained from these sites show colours like chocolate, blue, purple, green, tan, mahogany red, red and creamy-white found in four species of genus Gossypium. The tetraploid species G barbadense and G hirsutum were being cultivated in South and Central America as early as 2300 BC. Fibre from these was mainly used for weaving fishing nets.

History

Naturally coloured cotton: Revival trends

In recent years there is revival of interest in organic cotton and naturally coloured cotton as its cultivation and processing is bereft of harmful and polluting chemicals. Despite the fact that coloured cottons have a few limitations. There are number of advantages that go in its favour.

Benefits
Growers of naturally coloured cotton may find less need for pesticides. Coloured cottons have many insect and disease resistant qualities. Wax content in naturally coloured cotton can also be an advantage as it aids in easy trash removal from fibres due to lower inter-fibre friction and fibre-to-trash attachment hence saves time and energy. Naturally coloured cotton is inherently flame retardant as the limiting Oxygen Index value of naturally coloured cotton is higher than conventional white cotton.

Benefits
Dyeing cotton can be one of the most water energy and waste intensive aspects of fabric finishing. Elimination of the dyeing step in case of coloured cottons can save up to one-half of cost of preparing textiles and also saves the disposal costs for toxic waste dyes. The colours of naturally coloured cotton become darker with multiple launderings as compared to fading of colour that occurs in case of conventional white cotton. The higher the ph used to wash or boil the cotton the darker the colours become. The more minerals in the water the brighter the colours may be. The colours also darken in warm or hot water and when dried with as much heat as possible. It is the heat and the moisture that bring the colour out. Naturally coloured cotton is also suitable for people with sensitive skin as it has minimal amount of chemical treatment.

 Though naturally coloured cotton is not suitable for mill processing due to their short length and strength but can be used effectively in the hand loom sector to promote and produce premium products with hand spinning and weaving. This can be best exploited in our country which has rich traditional heritage of spinning and weaving.

Limitations

To promote and revive enthusiasm amongst consumers and producers in naturally coloured cotton, their unique no-fade' quality, flame retardant and environment friendly aspects should be highlighted as they are a suitable and attractive alternate to conventional cotton.

Scenario
Some coloured cottons of 'Desi' type are indigenous to our country. Some of these are still being grown in isolated pockets in interior areas like Yerrapatti in Andhra Pradesh and is used by locals for hand spinning and weaving. These varieties are short stapled and not quite suitable for mill processing. In view of the success achieved by Ms. Sally Fox of Fox Fibre Inc. and Natural Cotton Colours Inc. USA in developing and marketing coloured cottons, there has been renewed interest in our country for deve1oping good quality coloured cotton. The premium and leading research bodies working for cotton have undertaken many projects to improve the yield, fibre quality and development of new colour by gene transplantation technology.

Recycling
Vintage zippers are creatively transformed into beautiful brooches. The metal teeth highlighting the beauty.

Conclusion
As the above clearly indicates that the interest in naturally coloured cotton is not a mere curiosity but clearly and constructively directed towards bringing this forgotten legacy to the forefront and aimed at providing a niche product to the environmentally conscious green-minded' consumer. Naturally coloured cotton movement has just begun. To achieve desired results, collective efforts would be needed from policy makers, farmers and researchers. Colton Council of India in this regard has funded research project and also suggested certain policies and legislative measures for safe, viable and profitable cultivation of coloured cotton. Application of DNA engineering and cloning technology would further help in improving the available colour palette and fibre properties. Consumer education about the fibres' environment friendly aspects and properties like 'no fade', higher flammability etc. would further provide boost in successful marketing of naturally coloured cotton textiles.

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Asian Textile Journal. March 2010 , Page 25 COLOURAGE , SEPTEMBER 2009, Page 92 http://www.eoearth.org/article/Sustainability Textile Waste-material recycling Part I: Ways and means by G. M. EI-Nouby1*, H. A. Azzam 2, S. T. Mohamed3, and M. N. El-Sheikh4 1Textile Research Division, National Research Centre, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt 2Graduate Students, Industrial Engineering College, Beni-Suef, Egypt 3Quality Control and Production Engineering & Design Head Department, Faculty of Engineering, Minia University, Minia, Egypt 4Professor of Production Technology & Dean of Industrial Engineering College, Beni-Suef, Egyp

Pictures:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. http://nicewinter.org/threehuggers/wpcontent/uploads/2010/08/cotton-4.jpg http://ny-image3.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.92527283.jpg http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3601/3357679613_d258e3303d.jpg http://www.supremetexmart.com/jpeg/organic-cotton-yarn.jpg http://www.babiesculture.com/images/colour%20of%20organic%20cotto n.jpg http://www.goodlifer.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/landfill.jpg shivajivarma.wordpress.com http://betterpanic.blogspot.com/2009/07/how-long-does-it-take-trashto.html http://www.stylehive.com/bookmark/reserved-for-quidividigirl-red-floralbrooch-by-zippinning-1148202 http://www.offbeatearth.com/paper-art-makes-a-statement/

References

GO GREEN
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