The LA Textile Show kicked off today with several education seminars and received lots of foot traffic on the 7th and 13th floors. I went to "Megatrends: Moving towards Sustainability" seminar because the "green" trend is becoming more and more widespread. You see it all around; eco-friendly doggy bags, sustainable architecture & even the plastic water bottles I buy have modified its design to be more eco-friendly. So I wanted to find out more about how designers/manufactures can become sustainable and pass on the knowledge to you.
The seminar was presented by Nicole Bassett who is a consultant for Textile Exchange, a global organization providing increased value to sustainable textiles market. Bassett pointed out that our knowledge of the world has changed dramatically since 1954. We thought that resources were abundant, whereas now, they are scarce. There is also an increasing number of people who want to know, Bassett said. These people want to know what is in the products that they're buying. As a result, designers/manufacturers need to listen to their Stakeholders. These include people who are internal (investors) and external (clients).
The textile industry is important to everyone. It's in the clothes you wear, the car you drive, and the home items you use. It is projected that the world will have 9 billion people by 2050. And the textile industry needs to satisfy all of them.
Here are some interesting facts:
- It takes 700 gallons of fresh water to make 1 cotton t-shirt
- In 2009, the world used 3 trillion gallons of fresh water to product 60 billion kilograms of fabric
- Textile waste occupies nearly 5% of all landfill space
As a result, it is important that the textile industry turn to sustainable opportunities to satsify a demand. How? Here are some examples:
- Reusing materials for new products
- Design for disassembly
- Turning to reneweable, biodegradable materials such as bio-based polymers, corn, soy, castro beans
- Re-exploring better, finer fibers
If you have more questions or are interested in moving towards sustainability, please contact:
Daren Abney
Textile Exchange
daren@textileexchange.org