Experts opine on reducing textile carbon emissions

18 Dec '09

2 min read

At present, China's textile and garment industry is facing double "green" pressures at home and abroad. Clothing with 'carbon labels' are now seen on shelves in the retail stores in the United States and some other environmentally conscious developed countries.

So, how does the Chinese garment industry rise up to face the challenges posed by this new development is the moot question asked by enterprises. Experts are of the opinion that to begin with, industry should make a start from fashion fabrics.

Carbon emissions will be high, if the garment industry widely uses fabrics made from man-made fibres and can be reduced to a great extent, if the industry uses main raw materials like silk, cotton and linen which have lower carbon emissions in their production cycles.

The second proposition is to reduce use of chemicals. The production process of textiles necessitates the use of a variety of dyes and chemicals which increase carbon emissions. The propagate use of natural and environmentally-friendly agents

The introduction of carbon tariffs in developed countries will to a certain degree, force Chinese enterprises to rigorously research into energy-saving and emission reduction technologies.

Companies should seize this opportunity to develop and invest in emission reduction technologies with an aim to reduce costs and increase competitive advantage They can also introduce new materials of energy-saving environmental protection in production such as, filtration materials and applications.

As we all know, unsold clothes not only take up money and inventory space, but also increase carbon emissions. Therefore, enterprises should develop production plans by strictly following market demand, reduce their inventories to near zero levels and reduce the time lag from production to consumers.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India