Why textile care is so important

"A sustainable textile industry is achievable, but requires a complete change in how we handle our fabrics."
- STEAMRS 

As discussed many times before, the textile industry is one of the most polluting sectors, but since the signing of the Sustainable Apparel and Textiles Covenant in 2016, more and more brands seem to be concerned with a future-proof textile industry. Already a great trend, which should be continued by all of us (as consumers)! How can you do this yourself at home? Where to start? You'll read about it in this article! 
 

A brief re-cap of the damage done by today's textile industry

One hundred billion new garments are produced every year. More than half of all clothing is thrown away within a year of production, much of it ending up in incinerators or landfills. The textile industry is - after the oil industry - the most polluting sector. Clothing and footwear production together account for some 8percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, of which clothing accounts for 4 to 6.8 percent . By comparison, global aviation accounts for about 3 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Not only greenhouse gas emissions are a problem. The industry has more abuses: a lot of water pollution takes place due to the dyeing of textiles, and extreme drought is also a consequence due to the enormous use of water to grow crops such as cotton. In addition, working conditions in low-wage countries are often poor because workers are exploited and human rights are not guaranteed.

Extend the life of clothing!

Take care of the garment and textile items you already have!

You yourself can help tackle the polluting fast-fashion industry! Even if you start small, by being less likely to throw away clothes, or furniture. How to extend the life of textiles: 

1). Less washing and drying

The washing machine is one of the most energy-consuming appliances in the home. According to Milieu Centraal, the energy consumption of the washing machine is about 4 percent of the total consumption in the home. The biggest impact on the climate is the energy the appliance emits. Power consumption produces greenhouse gases, so washing contributes to climate change. So it is not very environmentally conscious to wash a lot, but in addition to this, it is also not good for the life of your garments. Textile fibers are quickly degraded and damaged by frequent washing. 

Not only does the climate cheer up when you take a more responsible approach, your clothes will be happy too. It benefits the quality of your clothes, making your items last longer and therefore you need to buy less new clothing. We throw away 70 percent of our clothes because the color has worn off or because it shrunk/stretched during washing. Which is often the result of wrong washing habits we have learned. A shame, because it can easily be done differently!

For example, we often still wash at an unnecessarily high temperature, while the temperature of the laundry has the greatest impact on energy consumption. So the first step to more sustainable laundry is to turn down the temperature knob.

Also, often unnecessary amount of detergent is used. Two aspects you can easily do something about and are of great value to both your clothes and the environment!

Tip: Use long-lasting detergents, wash only when the drum is full

Use durable, sheep's wool Wad dryer balls while drying. These significantly reduce drying time and make garments in the dryer extra soft and less wrinkled. 

2). Avoid ironing

You really can't avoid using an iron on some textiles, but be aware that the heat and force you apply to the fabric with your iron will "crush" and damage the fibers of your fabric. With each ironing, the life of your fabric is already being shortened a bit.

Tip: try using a steamer, or clothes steamer. The hot steam easily removes wrinkles from many fabrics, without damaging the fibers.Burn marks are thus impossible and also the fibers of the fabric are 'lifted' and 'filled' by the hot steam. This makes a garment look brand new and fresh again.

3). Use tools to smooth fabrics

Lint, balls or (pet) hair can make a garment look incredibly unkempt. Make sure you have some tools in your home to rid clothes of lint/hair, such as a lint brush/clothes brush or an electric de-piller. With such tools, you can easily breathe new life into an old/weathered garment. 

4). Want to get rid of clothes anyway? 

Definitely don't throw away your garments! But give them to charity, or turn them in at vintage stores. Buy clothing that is of such quality that it can have a "second" life and you can make someone else very happy too. 

 

"Our tablecloths, towels, but especially pants and T-shirts have the greatest environmental and climate impact after food, transportation and housing."

If clothes last longer, fewer new clothes will be produced, bought and thrown away, argues the European Commission. Indeed, figures show: if we wear a garment from our closet twice as long before throwing it away, it will save 44 percent in greenhouse gases, compared to if we buy/put on something new instead.

Extending the life of clothing by nine additional months can reduce the carbon, water and waste footprint by 20 to 30 percent. 

In our ideal dream world, every garment, should be provided with information about its expected lifespan and clothes should start meeting quality requirements. Currently, EU regulations state that the expected life of a t-shirt is 52 washes. So assuming a T-shirt is washed once a week, it would be expected to last a year. Ecostandard: How ecodesign can make our textiles circular

Pay attention to what quality clothing you buy. The ideal image of a quality fabric or garment:

• must be made of thicker quality (otherwise it will deform or tear too quickly);
• the "color fastness" should be optimal, so that the color does not fade too quickly;
• the zipper should be of high quality;
• the seams are just finished;
• labels and text should be stitched properly;
• easier to reuse, repair, upgrade and recycle. 

The hope of the European Commission is that this will counteract the clothing industry's focus on low costs, rapidly changing fashion trends and a continuous flow of new clothes. So that would mean the death sentence for popular fast-fashion chains like PRIMARK and SHEIN etc. that post more than six hundred new items on its website every day for extremely low prices.