The pandemic has exposed the global economy to immense distress, hampered multiple production systems, and left the workplace breathless for several months. The textile industry has not been immune to this situation, and despite the fact that many workers in the sector are beginning to have access to vaccines and to return to work, concerns today are focused on how to produce.
Sustainability practices have environmental, social, and economic impacts not only in traditional industries, but also in industries crucial to the economy such as the textile industry. Textile manufacturers have the ability to seek alternatives to reduce costs, protect the environment, and generate goodwill.
Sustainability is the exercise of using business practices and manufacturing methods that do not destroy natural resources. This is a concept capable of reaching all sectors of the planet when done thoroughly and effectively.
The size and importance of the textile industry
Much attention and ink is spent every day reviewing or discussing the most popular and well-known industries on the planet. It is common to see newspaper articles, and news on television or radio, about technology, automotive, or energy businesses.
But little attention is paid to the textile industry, one that is responsible for almost everything we wear in terms of fashion, since it is used for footwear or the garments we wear, but also some of the materials in this industry, like cotton and its derivatives, are used to make paper money, soap, cellulose to make cosmetics, or car tires.
At the beginning of the 20th century, this industry represented 2.5% of world merchandise trade, and 3.3% of world trade in manufactures. By 2020 according to data from Grand View Research, the size of the global textile market was worth $ 1000 trillion, and it is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 4.4% between 2021 and 2028.
The increase in demand for apparel from the fashion industry has had a lot to do with the growth of the sector.
Sustainability in the textile industry
Considering the scope of the textile industry, sustainability is not just an important concept, but companies have a responsibility to make a big environmental difference. Sustainability is often associated with reducing, reusing, and recycling, encouraging people and businesses to reduce their consumption of resources, such as water, land, or oil.
According to recent studies by Global Fashion Agenda & The Boston Consulting Group, the textile industry has many reasons to place an emphasis on sustainability, including reducing costs, protecting the environment and the sustained goodwill of its customers for the ecological practices.
One way to achieve this is for the materials used for a textile to determine not only the structure of the value chain and the supply chain, but also the possibilities for recycling. The more materials and chemicals used, the more difficult subsequent recycling will be and the higher the consumption of resources.
New research in the textile sector points to ways in which resource consumption can be optimized and cleantech products can be developed to conserve resources on their own. The application of textiles such as solar collectors, pollutant filters, or insulating material, offers great potential for innovation.
This is why GK in its textile division has had this in mind and works in
terms of achieving a more sustainable production technology. Their companies are
committed to environmental responsibility in all its operations, and to working in a
responsible way towards a better world.
Since being the largest producer of recycled yarn in the region, improvements in facilities such as the implementation of solar panels to save energy, or maintaining its vertical manufacturing production integrated efficient, prove that they are sustainable with the environment.
Nowadays, higher quality materials with a longer useful life have begun to be sought, such as eco-textiles and recyclable materials that are increasingly important not only in the textile industry, but also in the fashion industry.