Whether natural, artificial or synthetic fibres, the raw materials used in the fashion industry take a heavy toll on the planet. Starting with the 4% of the world's drinking water used to produce clothing.

If we trace the transformation chain of a garment, almost every stage is a source of pollution: the production of natural fibers with breeding or cultivation, the production of synthetic fibers, the transformation of raw material into yarn (spinning), weaving, manufacturing, distribution with its transport, and maintenance. Thus, one of the phases contributing the most to global warming via CO² emissions is the production of raw materials which concentrates on average 35% of emissions (8% for wool and 72% for an anorak). Furthermore, the dyeing and treatment of textiles are the cause of 20% of water pollution in the world.

Cotton, a scourge for water

Cotton devours water

Cotton cultivation requires a lot of time, lots of sun, 120 days of water to ensure its growth, then dry weather at the end of the growing cycle. These climatic conditions are generally found in tropical and subtropical latitudes. To compensate for the differences in precipitation and its random distribution, farmers use irrigation. In fact, 50% of cultivated areas are irrigated. As a result, cotton is the third largest consumer of irrigation water on the planet after rice and wheat, and ahead of corn and fruits and vegetables. Depending on the techniques used, it takes between 5,000 and 17,000 liters of water to produce 1 kg of cotton.

To find this irrigation water, water was diverted from rivers, lakes and groundwater. In this way, intensive cotton cultivation led to one of the greatest environmental disasters of the 20th century. In the 1960s, the countries of Central Asia (now Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan) were transformed into cotton fields under the leadership of the Soviet Union. Because rainfall was insufficient, the waters of the main tributaries of the Aral Sea were diverted. The Aral Sea lost 75% of its surface area and 90% of its volume between 1960 and 2005, resulting in saltier water, wiping out almost all forms of life and causing an increase in infant mortality, cancer, anemia and respiratory diseases in the surrounding populations.

But water is also needed at all stages of manufacturing, particularly for applying dyes and chemicals. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has designed an indicator, the "water footprint", to indicate the volume of fresh water consumed by the manufacture of a product. This index, which takes into account each stage of the production process, has made it possible to estimate the manufacture of a 250 gram cotton t-shirt at 2,720 litres of fresh water - or more than 13 bathtubs - and at 7,500 litres for the manufacture of a pair of jeans.

Cotton pollutes water

Cotton cultivation requires a lot of water, but also pesticides: it represents 25% of insecticides, 10% of herbicides used and 4% of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers used in the world according to the World Health Organization. All these products end up in drinking water, running off cotton fields into rivers and/or groundwater. Cotton also pollutes during its spinning: the threads are coated with oil or wax to withstand the high demands of industrial weaving machines. And the fabrics must then be washed to remove these lubricants. This highly polluting stage releases a lot of nitrates and phosphates into the water and thus destroys ecosystems.

Organic cotton, better but not perfect

Organic cotton was launched in 2005 by the Max Havelaar association. It helps to better preserve the land, which is not exhausted by intensive cultivation. But for cotton to be much less polluting, it must be allowed to grow with as little irrigation as possible, and care must be taken to ensure that dyeing treatments do not use heavy metals or azo compounds. The white must be obtained using hydrogen peroxide and not chlorine, which is not always the case.

Wool, the most polluting

Sheep, a major producer of methane

Each sheep produces nearly 30 liters of methane every day, which is emitted into the atmosphere. That's much more than their much-maligned bovine friends. Especially when you consider that there are 1 billion of them producing 2 million tons of wool! However, methane has an impact 28 times greater than carbon dioxide on global warming. In New Zealand, the 3rd largest wool producer after China and Australia, 90% of greenhouse gas emissions are due to sheep farming. In addition, manure from livestock pollutes the air, but also the land and water. Not to mention that cattle farming is responsible for deforestation (especially in England and Wales, where land is cleared and trees cut down), and soil depletion (because the animals graze).

Wool processing, highly polluting

After shearing, the wool is cleaned. Because raw wool is heavily loaded with impurities (250 to 600 kg per tonne): organic salts, soil, grease. Washing the wool also results in the evacuation of organic matter and pollutants from pesticides spread on the sheep. This process causes such pollution that the largest wool producers prefer to send this raw material to Asia to be washed. Finally, bleaching, dyeing, printing, finishing also involve the use of chemicals released into wastewater. Fortunately, in Europe, unlike in Asian countries, producers are required to treat their wastewater before discharging it.

Synthetic materials, a major source of microplastics

In ready-to-wear clothing, since 2006, the use of synthetic fibres, mainly polyester (but also polyamide, nylon, lycra) has exceeded that of cotton, because they are inexpensive and more resistant. More than 40 million tonnes are produced per year.

Petroleum based

Polyester is the most widely produced synthetic material. However, 70% of its production comes from oil, a non-renewable fossil resource. This production represents approximately 40% of the textile industry's greenhouse gas emissions, particularly due to the gases emitted during the oil extraction and processing phases.

Washing, a source of microplastics

The biggest environmental impact of fashion is not due to raw materials, production or transport, but to the washing of clothes, especially those made of synthetic materials. In addition to the amount of water and energy used and the discharge of detergents, these fibers release microparticles of plastic, which are then released into the oceans where they take decades to degrade. More than a third (35%) of microplastics released into the oceans come from the washing of textiles, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This represents 500,000 tons, the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles.

Artificial materials, an alternative to be improved

Artificial materials are the different categories of viscose obtained from natural resources such as wood cellulose (bamboo, corn, soy, beech or eucalyptus). Presented as sustainable and biodegradable alternatives to cotton and polyester, viscose made from bamboo, eucalyptus or wood (marketed under the name Modal) are promising, but their production has negative effects on the environment.

They promote deforestation

To provide the wood needed to produce these artificial materials (5 million tons), 70 million trees are cut down each year – an average of 140,000 hectares – and only to meet the demand of the textile industry. In addition, farmers, who practice monoculture, destroy biodiversity. Indeed, these monocultures, which always draw the same nutrients from the soil and exhaust it, force farmers to use pesticides and fertilizers.

A polluting transformation

The viscose process is very water-intensive during its manufacture: 400 to 11,000 liters of water to produce 1 kg of viscose. The wood pulp, dissolved in caustic soda baths to obtain a flaky mass, is mixed with carbon disulfide to make the paste used throughout the process. Finally, the filaments obtained are cooled in a bath of sulfates and sulfuric acid. These aggressive chemicals, which remain partly in the fabrics made from viscose despite the treatments (dyeing, printing, finishing, washing, etc.), are toxic for both the workforce and the consumer.

Tencel, the ecological fiber

Lyocell, born in the United States in the 1970s, which became the registered trademark Tencel (by the German company Lenzing AG which exploits it), is an ecological fiber created from eucalyptus, bamboo or hardwood pulp. It is made from wood fibers from sustainably managed forests (PEFC-FSC certificate), whose trees consume little water. Eucalyptus only needs the amount of rainwater to grow, without pesticides or intensive irrigation systems unlike cotton. In addition, the yield of Tencel is ten times greater for the same cultivated area than that of cotton. Its patented manufacturing process is also cleaner than viscose. The cellulose, dissolved in a non-toxic solvent (Amine oxide), is recovered and recycled at 99.77%. Lyocell has a low environmental impact thanks to its production in a quasi-closed loop circuit.

3 eco-responsible solutions

How to opt for cleaner fashion?

1- Choose linen, hemp or Tencel

2- Prefer organic textiles

There is only one organic textile label : GOTS. This very demanding label ensures that cotton, linen or hemp are grown without insecticides or pesticides; 91% less water is used for organic cotton compared to conventional cotton throughout the production chain (artisanal and non-systematic irrigation, no pesticide spraying which reduces water consumption, etc.); decent working conditions and wages for farmers and employees (fair trade); ecological dyeing, no bleaching with heavy metals, but with hydrogen peroxide.

Beware of the Oeko-Tex label. Very often highlighted, it certifies that the finished product (clothing or fabric by the meter) has been tested in a laboratory to verify its non-toxicity. But it does not certify that a fabric is organic, and the ecological and ethical aspects are not controlled. Conventional cotton can be Oeko-Tex certified even though it was grown with pesticides, potentially manufactured in questionable conditions, etc.

3- Switch to recycled, upcycled and second-hand

The use of recycled cotton in fact makes it possible to reduce all these environmental impacts (compared to virgin cotton): global warming, water consumption and pollution, energy consumption, respiratory effects, etc.

The same goes for synthetic fibers recovered from used clothing.

But this industry is still in its infancy. For now, the emerging trend among young consumers is to consume second-hand clothes : thrift stores, purchases on platforms like Vinted, etc.

As we have seen, buying a garment made of natural and noble materials, such as cotton or wool, is not necessarily a more ethical and ecological purchase. One thing is certain: we must forget about synthetic materials which, in addition to often being of poor quality, are extremely polluting in both production and maintenance.

It is high time to read textile labels as we do for food products. While this approach requires time and education, it is the only way to raise awareness and build a more responsible textile industry.