Kit Willow joins a chorus of voices calling for change.
The cost of mass production in the apparel industry is often talked about in terms of the financial impact on independent local retailers. But what about the implications for sustainability and ethical supply?
The UN and the World Health Organisation (WHO) has estimated that today, 77 million cotton workers suffer pesticide poisoning each year.
To put this figure into perspective, that’s around three and a half times the current population of Australia who are being exposed to poisonous chemicals every 12 months.
According to Clean Cut co-founder and author of Sustainability with Style Lisa Heinze, also undertaking a PhD at the University of Sydney, cotton is a large propagator of the issues that stem from the production process.
“Cotton and polyester are the two most popular fabrics produced worldwide. In 2010, they accounted for 85% of world fibre production and each have specific pollution concerns.
“Cotton uses large amounts of water and pesticides. Cotton production accounts for 25% of the world’s insecticides and 11 per cent of the world’s pesticides.”
Heinze says that many of the chemicals used in fabrics have been deemed hazardous by the WHO, yet it’s still business as usual for the factories pumping out garment fabrics on a mass scale.
So, where is the vast concentration of business located?
The trail leads to China.
In 2012, NGO Greenpeace embarked on a mission to unravel the scale of pollutant chemicals caused by fabric production and unearthed some startling facts about China’s burgeoning textile industry.
Following its investigation, Greenpeace reported that there are more than 50,000 textile mills currently operating in the region, with Guandong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shanghai and Shandong as the major hotspots for factories.
The organisation zoned in on Shaoxing County in Zhejiang Province to present its case against the grim reality of pollution caused by the industry.
As the largest industrial textile hub in China, the region reportedly produced around 17 billion metres of fabric and over 130 million clothing items in 2010.
The manufacturing process is a rigorous journey through chemical fibres, weaving, dyeing, garment and home textile making.
Despite the fact that this process accounts for an estimated 58.5% of its local industrial economy, the toll it takes on its population’s health could be compared to a ticking time bomb.
The report revealed that of the 70 surface water-monitoring points in Shaoxing, 51.7% do not meet water quality targets.
David Jones ethical sourcing manager Jaana Quaintance-James said this could have dire effects on the factories’ surroundings.
“Hopefully most of the time, there are proper water treatment plants in place. If they’re not there or not being used properly by the facility then the water sources around them can be effected quite negatively.
“For example, the factory might put the effected water in the river nearby and obviously, that has an impact on fish species and the overall marine biology wellness of the water and the supply.”
From a retail perspective, Quaintance-James agrees the fashion industry is starting to cotton on about where fabrics come from and consumers want answers regarding better choices.
“I think many consumers would think we should just be able to rate one on top of the other, but really it’s not black and white.
“You have to look at it from a life-cycle perspective. So obviously cotton has a huge impact, because we use so much cotton in the world. Cotton is a highly utilised fabric and it requires huge amounts of water and obviously conventional cotton uses a lot of pesticides and so forth in its growth process.
“Then actually if you think about it, cotton is a lot easier to recycle, so the fact that you have to balance those two things – it’s got high energy and high water usage to make it, but then the end of life process is a lot easier for it to become something else.”
She also believes that as consumers become more conscious purchasers, there are some myths surrounding eco-friendly alternatives.
“I think an example I was thinking about is bamboo. It’s an extremely high density product so it’s great, it grows really easily and you can get a lot of it out of a square metre.
“It’s often held up as quite eco-friendly but actually, it requires quite a lot of chemicals to turn cellulose into a fibre and they’re quite toxic and then there’s the run off and potential impact on waterways.”
Heinze says that if shoppers and retailers want to action sustainable trade, there are a handful of eco-friendly alternatives to cotton and polyester that are fairly accessible to brands.
Organic cotton is becoming the focal point for a lot of major retailers and in fact, Heinze reveals that H&M has even overtaken Walmart as its largest buyer globally, pertaining to its 2020 goal of using 100% organically produced cotton.
What about the others?
Heinze lists hemp, wild silk and recycled fibre, particularly polyester, as some of the best materials for designers and retailers to start sourcing if they wish to develop strong ethical and sustainability practices.
Lyocell is also high on the list, with 99 per cent of the chemicals used in production salvageable for reuse in following batches.
In terms of recyclable fibres, she ticks off big brands such as G-Star and Lululemon as two major retailers who are “readily sourcing” the materials.
For example Lululemon currently incorporates Vitasea – a yarn derived from seaweed into lightweight garments such as t-shirts.
As well as being a naturally derived fabrication, the company also believes it has durable characteristics such as retaining shape after repeated washes.
At home, Australian designer Kit Willow Podgornik is gaining traction with the launch of her label KITX, which has nestled into the market as a destination for sustainable and ethical luxury fashion.
Podgornik reveals there have been some major learning curves along the way and echoes similar concerns as Heinze and Quaintance-James.
“Chemicals are used in the agricultural process and this is where the early process of a fabrics journey begins. Chromium 6 is used in tanning leather – mainly in very poor communities, polluting water and the health of communities. Cotton, due to the sheer volume of consumption and the deadly insecticides and pesticides used to kill insects on cotton crop is one of the largest contributors to environmental damage and human diseases.”
KITX currently uses materials such as tencel, which according to Podgornik is created using a lenzing closed loop system resulting in no toxic run off. She also pinpoints linnea, hemp and silk as favourable options that are reasonably easy to source.
“It takes time but there are solutions out there.”
The issue of time is a big one for David Jones, as Quaintance-James explains that the retailer is only at the starting line of the race to strengthen its position as a forward thinking business.
“It’s a hugely complex thing. I think David Jones is pretty much at the beginning of its journey – we haven’t done as much on this as we would like if you look at the companies who are much further ahead in managing these issues than we are; the big international retailers.
In her role, one of the biggest challenges for Quaintance-James lies in juggling approximately 1100 suppliers and figuring out how to streamline the production process and secure systems and strategies that adhere to an ethical code.
Although she said it will be an ongoing and ever evolving journey, there is a strong focus on David Jones’ private label collection.
“I think the easiest one to start with for us is organic cotton. Five years ago, it was more expensive than conventional cotton, so whoever was doing it was more niche and it was a much harder sell.
“Presumably, just because of the scalability and availability, it has dropped a little bit and is almost on par with conventional cotton. It’s also highly represented across the private label range so that’s where we’re focusing on.”