Current Issue Related to the Field of Textiles

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Introduction
Fashion has become more affordable to millions of consumers, thanks to textile retailers such as C&A, H&M and Inditex. This is a shift from the once fiercely protective nature of textile brands. Modern high-end designers such as Roberto Cavalli, Sonia Rykiel, Matthew Williamson and others have collaborated with textile retailers such as C&A, H&M and Inditex to ensure fashion-forward styles are brought to the masses. However, with the cheap readily accessible fashion, a major challenge that comes with it is environmental pollution and environmental unsustainability (Rhoades 2). Recycling fibres, fabric or garment is the most sustainable way to address this problem. Recycling existing clothing and textiles to make new clothes is becoming more common. This paper examines the issue of sustainability in regard to textile reuse and how designers and manufacturers are addressing this issue by reviewing an article published in the Guardian, a British daily newspaper, on 24th September 2014.
Analysis of the Issue
According to WorldWearProject, 2.2 pounds (1 kg) of cotton lint takes an estimate of 2,245 gallons (8,500 litres) which is equivalent to making one pair of blue jeans. The use of chemicals, pesticides in addition to water, places the global textile industry amongst the most waste-generating and environment polluting sectors in the world. For example some textile companies present advertisements of apparel made from PET bottles. However, the disposal of those items of apparel after they are no longer wanted becomes an environmental safety issue (WorldWearProject 2).
As a sustainability issue, resources such as fibers and cotton are being recaptured and processed back into yarn, fabric and then to garments that are of a quality as good as that of the garments manufactured virgin-derived materials. This means that most of the raw materials needed to produce garments are increasingly being unused (WorldWearProject 3). A good example is in the production of polyester, which is processed using oil. This means that with time oil will no longer be needed to produce polyester. Technological innovation has therefore been instrumental in the realization of recycling of textile. A number of Swedish companies have presented the first garment in the world made entirely from recycled cotton. The garment will be introduced into the market in the near future. Innovative technologies is playing a major role in representing the next generation of textile recycling.
With appreciation to the role of these technological innovations, it is important to note that technology alone is not enough to bring about a steady flow of resources needed to produce eco-friendly textiles. The biggest challenge is how textile companies will engage the public and put disposal and collection systems in place. With recycling and re-use rates for household textiles and clothing in the UK at around 40% there is still much that need to be done (WorldWearProject 3). In the United States, there are a few communities with textile recycling and re-use programs. About 85% of textile waste in communities where there are no recycling programs goes to landfills. This waste occupies about 5% of the landfill spac...