Why eco-responsible trail clothing?
It is estimated that in 100 years the planet has warmed by 0.9°C[1]. Our generation has already witnessed the consequences of this warming: the disappearance of the ice pack in summer, the accelerated melting of our glaciers, repeated heat waves and forest fires, the acidification of the oceans, and a serious threat to biodiversity.[2]... So when people explain to me that if we don't change our habits, it is possible that over the next 80 years the planet will warm up by an additional 6.4°C, I don't know about you, but I'm not indifferent!
What is the carbon footprint of the textile industry?
When we calculate the carbon footprint of a French person[4]the largest sources of emissions are food (19.5%), housing (19.2%) and car use (16.3%). Clothing comes a little further behind with 6.3% of emissions. Thus, on a national scale, clothing emits more than the airport industry or the consumption of household goods.
Of course, if you are looking to reduce your carbon footprint, a first step would be to consume more local products, insulate your apartment and get around more often by bike! However, even if you apply these changes to the extreme, I'm sorry to tell you that we would be far from it!
Indeed, with 9.9 tons of CO2 emissions per year, the French are still very far from doing what it would take to reach even the threshold of 2°C of additional warming compared to pre-industrial levels (threshold defined in the Paris agreements[5]).
To respect this commitment, there is more or less a consensus that our emissions should not exceed 2 tons of CO2 per year and per capita[6] A hell of a diet!
With 170kg of CO2 per year, clothing would consume 10% of our carbon budget, and it is therefore all about making clothes with low environmental impact.
Made In where?
When we talk about eco-responsibility in textiles, we are struck by the fact that all the debate focuses on the place of manufacture.
It is obvious that this one will reflect the working conditions and deal with the "responsible" part of our problem.
But apart from the fact that we believe it is normal to produce under "normal" working conditions (which is what a Made in EU guarantees), this is not really where the environmental issues are concentrated.
Indeed, the manufacturing part represents at most 10% of the CO2eq emissions, and the transports (if they are not done by plane, which is rare), will represent also hardly more than 10%-12%.
Yes, from the point of view of CO2eq emissions and pollution in the broad sense, it is the material that concentrates all the environmental problems.
Natural please! Really??
This is usually the first question we are asked, "are your clothes made of natural fibers?"
Summarizing the debate to this question is unfortunately far too simplistic.
The manufacture of cotton, for example, does not use hydrocarbons as raw material. However, its cultivation requires tractors, its processing requires machines, and so does the manufacture of yarns... in short, this industrial process is the source of CO2eq emissions.
To know what it is and to compare industrial processes between them, we carry out what is called a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).
LCA as a judge of peace
Some LCAs available on the net show that cotton saves about 41% less energy than virgin polyester. However, it paradoxically releases 39% more CO2eq into the atmosphere (uncaptured emissions).
In addition, it takes 22,000 liters of water to obtain 1 kg of cotton compared to 17 liters to obtain the same amount of polyester[8]! This is a notable difference when one considers that the intensification of cotton production in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan since the 1960s is directly responsible for the drying up of the Aral Sea[9].
These considerations must finally be put in perspective of sustainability and here, the equation is clearly in favor of polyester. For the same density of fabric, polyester will have a resistance 2 to 10 times higher than cotton, which will reduce the carbon footprint per use to a much lower level than a natural fiber, especially if the fabric is likely to be subjected to high stresses as is the case in the trail...
What about recycled material?
The debate is more or less the same, and the first preconceived idea that needs to be killed is that everything we put in the recycling bin is not necessarily recyclable, quite the contrary!
In reality, only a small part of the plastic waste that is put in is. It is usually plastics numbered 1 (PET), 2 (HDPE) and 5 (PP), which can be found on the back of packaging. Do the exercise of looking behind your yogurt pots and other containers and you will be surprised to see what really deserves to end up in the recycling bin!
The plastic commonly recycled in the textile industry is Polyester (PET). It is obtained by a mechanical process (there are chemical processes) from transparent plastic bottles (most of the time, the colored bottles do not enter in this process for dyeing reasons (it makes stains on the threads).
If the use of a recycled raw material allows to save hydrocarbon, the collection process as well as the various mechanical treatments finally add to the carbon footprint of these recycled fibers.
Here again, an LCA carried out on a Newlife yarn made in Italy (probably the European reference in terms of recycled PET yarn) reveals a 32% CO2 saving compared to a virgin PET made in the same place: this is not huge, because added to that the common steps of texturing, milling, warping and weaving, the final saving is only 10 to 15% of CO2eq compared to a fabric made with virgin PET
The energy mix first!
In our opinion, considerations on the place of manufacture of the material and the energy mix used are much more impactful!
Based on IEA figures, we can see that CO2eq emissions per energy produced are 71% higher in Italy than in France (the 5th lowest carbon energy mix in the world).
Conclusion: better to choose a good French virgin PET fabric than an Italian, Spanish or Portuguese recycled fabric!
Other pollution factors
In addition to this carbon pollution, there is other pollution. The dyeing and finishing of textile fibres uses a very large quantity of chemicals. However, not all countries are equal when it comes to treating this waste, and of course the least conscientious are also the main producers[7]!
In short, the textile industry is not always pretty if you are not careful where you put your feet! And it's especially easy to get lost when it comes to buying responsibly. We invite you to take a look at the SloWeAre shop, a platform that lists committed and ethical brands and that will help you build a "clean" wardrobe.
[1]https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%A9chauffement_climatique#cite_note-18
[2]https://www.ecologique-solidaire.gouv.fr/observatoire-national-sur-effets-du-rechauffement-climatique-onerc#e2
[3]https://jancovici.com/changement-climatique/gaz-a-effet-de-serre-et-cycle-du-carbone/quels-sont-les-gaz-a-effet-de-serre-quels-sont-leurs-contribution-a-leffet-de-serre/
[5]https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accord_de_Paris_sur_le_climat
[6]https://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2019/04/11/combien-de-co2-pourrez-vous-emettre-dans-votre-vie-si-le-rechauffement-est-contenu-a-1-5-degre_5448606_3244.html
[7]A New Textile Economy: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/publications/a-new-textiles-economy-redesigning-fashions-future
[8]https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/80e3/da631dd6d7d86d288275c390e63849fc4498.pdf
[9]https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mer_d%27Aral
[10]https://www.amfori.org/resource/countries-risk-classification ;
[11]https://www.francetvinfo.fr/replay-magazine/france-2/cash-investigation/cash-investigation-du-mardi-28-novembre-2017_2478912.html
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