The textile industry is considered as the most ecologically harmful industry in
the world. The eco-problems in textile industry occur during some production
processes and are carried forward right to the finished product. In the
production process like bleaching and then dyeing, the subsequent fabric makes a
toxin that swells into our ecosystem. During the production process controll?ng
pollution is as vital as making a product free from the toxic effect. The
utilization of rayon for clothing has added to the fast depleting forests.
Petroleum-based products are harmful to the environment. In order to safeguard
our environment from these effects, an integrated pollution control approach is
needed. Luckily there is an availability of more substitutes.Eco-friendly
fabricsHemp, wool, organic cotton, soy silk, bamboo fabrics, jute, corn fiber
etc are considered as eco-friendly fabrics due to their availability from nature
with out any harmful effects of chemical or toxics. Moreover, as compared to
other synthetic fibers they are available in a cheaper rate.Textile chemical
processing is shifting to undeveloped countries due to easy availability of
low-cost labor and minimum eco-restrictions. This is also because of various
manufacturing processes undertaken by developed countries and awareness about
the related health hazards amongst these people. However, such measures though
may be beneficial for the employer, but they are unsafe for the society and
therefore their control is very much needed. So, various functions related to
the textile industry which are considered as major factors for eco-friendliness
are mentioned below:Cultivation of cottonCotton cultivation requires large
amount of pesticides, fertilizers and water. With the increasing use of cotton,
22.5 percent of insecticides are used globally for it. Subsequently, this
increasing use of cotton requires approximately 257 gallons of water for one
T-shirt. Pesticides are biologically active chemical compounds, which curtail
the growth of organism like bacteria, fungus, algae, insects, etc. Averting the
augmentations of these unwanted organisms improve the crop yield make the
quality of fiber better. Water if utilized in too much quantity in irrigation of
cotton, can increase the salinity of land and thereby decrease its
fertility.SpinningIn the spinning process, individual fibers float in the air
and thus pollute the atmosphere in the spinning department. Such floating fibers
are dangerous to human beings who inhale it. To minimize the effect of these
floating fibers or impurities, the humidified air which is scattered in the
spinning department is filtered so as to remove these floating impurities from
the air.SizingIn the sizing function, starch is used in sticky paste form to the
yarn to enhance its strength and abrasion resistance. The starch paste consists
of preservations in order to protect it from the attack of microorganisms. Some
preservatives like pentachlorophenol, which are obtained from phenolic and/or
chlorinated compound, possess a toxic effect on human skin. Hence, such
preservations should be avoided. Utilizing a synthetic starch decreases the use
of such preservations, thereby decreasing the health hazards likely to occur
because of phenolic and/or chlorinated preservative.Loom shedThere are two types
of pollutants created by the loom shed, namely floating particles like fibrous
substances and size particles and noise pollutions. If proper measures are not
taken during the weaving operations, oil stains are formed. Before textile
chemical processing, these oil stains are removed in subsequent gray folding
department by applying stain remover. Hence, measures are taken to lessen oil
stains in the cloth and probably the application of carbon tetra chloride based
products should be avoided in stain remover and other textile products.Textile
processing regarded as non-eco-friendly Use of chemicals like potassium
dichromate, sodium hypochlorite or peroxide and sodium hypochlorite in the
preparation process of desizing, scouring and bleaching with their related
wash-off stages, produces heavy Biological Oxygen Demands (BOD) in the
effluents. Chlorine is not used in bleaching because it creates halogenated
organic substances, of which some are suspected to be carcinogenic, e.g.,
chloroform.For decreasing BOD, it is recommended to choose the size recipes
offering a low COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) and BOD value. A change from pure
starch to synthetic starch decreases BOD because of starches by approximately 90
per cent.Wool industry uses chlorine? based compounds for anti-shrinking
dealing, and such practice also generates toxic effluent. For removing rust
stains in bleaching, before bleaching the cloth is treated with oxalic acid. The
oxalic acid is lethal to aquatic organisms and it increases COD and BOD to a
significant level.Peroxide bleaching requires a stabilizer to ensure identical
and monitored bleaching during the bleaching operation. Optional stabilizers
such as Aminio Tri Methylene Phosphoric Acid (ATMP), Hydroxy Ethyidine
Disphosphonic Acid (HEDA), Diethylene Triaminc Penta Methylene Phosphoric Acid
(DTPMP) and Ethylene Diamine Tetra Methylene Phosphoric Acid (EDTMP) are also
being suggested as peroxide stabilizers.DyeingGerman legislation consumer goods
ordinance states that, "No articles of dresses (textiles, shoes, leather) and
bed linen can be put in trade, if they have been colored with azo dyes that can
release one of the twenty named amines". Currently the list has been extended to
24 amines. The prohibition includes a variety of other commodity goods like
leather components for furniture, seat covers, etc. The prohibited amines have
been categorized as amines of the MAK Group-III A 1 and III A 2.MAK Group III
AI: (workplace exposure): Carcinogenic amines: Benzidine, 4-chloro-o-toluidine,
2-naphtylamine and 4-aminodiphenyl.MAK Group III A 2: These materials are tested
only on animals and they have been proved carcinogenic. A variety of amines in
these types are: a-toluidine, o-dianisidine, o-tolidine, o-aminoazotoluene,
p-chroanneline, 3' dichlorobenzidine, 2-amino,4-nitrotoluene and 2,
4-toluylene, diamine. This group also includes materials that may perhaps
produce health hazards.Some dyes form carcinogenic amines on reduction in dyeing
and hence they require to be strictly evaded as per stipulation in a number of
countries, considerably for increase of BOD/COD and hence, these dyes also need
to be avoided for use in dyeing. Most of the known producers have stopped making
and marketing dyes creating carcinogenic amines.High fastness direct dyes should
be chosen in such a way that applying copper or chromium salts in their dyeing
is avoided. Cationic dye fixing agents utilized for direct dyes and reactive
dyes should have low formaldehyde content and low BOD. During reactive dyes the
use of urea needs to be lessened. Instead of extremely contaminated sodium
sulphide other agents such as hydrol or hydroxyl acetone should be used while
dyeing with sulfur dyes.In polyester dyeing, the carriers and leveling agents
utilized should not be supported with chlorinated or phenolic composites.
Carriers supported with chlorobenzene are highly toxic and more or less
carcinogenic. The leveling agents that contain chlorobenzene as well as per
chloroethylene or trichloroethylene are carcinogenic compounds, and therefore
they should be avoided.With regards to the direct, vat, sulfur and reactive
dyes, dyeing processes need huge amount of salt to achieve good exhaustion of
dye-bath. This leads to an increase in the dissolved salts in effluent water.
Therefore, new dyes are being made, which would need less salt dilution for
achieving dye fixation.PrintingAs in the case of dyeing, in printing too, colors
chosen should be non-toxic and not based on forbidden amines. Dyes with high
fixation properties and modified printing process requiring fewer washouts are
recommended to be applied in printing. Use of kerosene in pigment printing has
been significantly decreased, but it should be totally removed.The use of urea
has also been lessened by substituting it with other ingredients and modifying
the printing methods. Citric acid in disperse prints should be substituted by
optional chemicals. For nylon fabric printing phenol is utilized to a
considerable extent, therefore it is suitable to replace it by diethylene
glycol. Application of formaldehyde based on fixers for enhancing fastness of
pigment prints should be limited so as to decrease free formaldehyde in final
fabric.FinishingChemical formaldehyde based cross-linking agents applied to
cellulosic textiles for crease resistance and dimensional stability are the most
toxic chemicals. Free formaldehyde may be discharged from resin-finished fabrics
either because of un-responded formaldehyde in the product in cross-linking or
while storage of the finished fabrics. Many countries set various tolerance
limits for free formaldehyde according to the end use of the treated fabrics or
garments. Presence of formaldehyde in the atmosphere and in waste-water is
regarded as highly toxic and to overcome this trouble, formaldehyde scavengers
(chemicals which neutralize toxic effects of formaldehyde) are to be used.Among
the various procedures, finishing presumes significant importance because the
value addition is understood by functional finishing of cotton in fabric or
garment form to reveal advantageous properties. Some of the most important
finishes are easy care, durable press, wrinkle-free finishes, softening and
enzyme/ bio-finishing.Approaches for eco-friendly practicesAny organized
approach to move production towards clean production should have the following
steps:Prevent: To 'prevent' is to give up a process or product in favor of
noticeably improving the environmental situation.Decrease: This can be attained
by reducing the pollutant load, exhaustion and fixation of dyes close to 100 per
cent and responding to water and energy requirement.Re-utilize: Re-utilization
of the dye bath is a vital deliberation under the pressure of dwindling
resources. This has now turned into pragmatism because of addition of new
auxiliaries, modern filter technology and spectrophotometers that calculate the
substance of the dye in the dye bath accurately.Recycle: This recycling of
natural fibers is achievable, but it has a limitation of application because of
natural degradation. Synthetic fibers can be recycled by melting down and re
granulating with or without applying fresh granules. This perhaps is most
acceptable to 'green' organizations, but is limited due to lack of uses for the
material recycled.Eco-factorsWith respect to clothing textiles, the phrase
'ecology' can be classified into three groups:1) Production ecology, which
includes: . Cultivation and harvesting of natural synthetic fibers. . Production
of regenerated and synthetic fibers. . Production of yarns, twisted threads and
fabrics. . Finishing.Garment production by using fertilizers, growth regulators,
crop protection agents like pesticides and a range of textile chemicals,
auxiliaries and finishing agents.2) User Ecology, which is related to the
clothing textiles and the substances that give them beauty and performance
characteristics during application.3) Disposal Ecology, which refers to the
disposal of textiles after application i.e., to-recycling composting, dumping or
incinerating in a manner that ascertains the least probable environment
effect.The related factors for eco-standards are: Formaldehyde, pesticide,
carcinogenic dyestuff, skin neutrality, heavy metal content, -pH, fastness to
perspiration.Eco-IabellingEco-standards and eco-labels are quickly started to
have significance in arrange to have a successful expert and market promotion in
the apparel and textile industry. For the delivering eco-labels particular
standards should be set, i.e., these measures are developed on analyzing the
product's whole life cycle beginning with the selection of raw materials
progressing through the stages of production, packaging, distribution, use and
disposal after utilization. Some of them are as described below:OEKO- TEX
Standard 100:For research and testing in the field of textile ecology, the OEKO-
TEX standards were given by the Austrian Textile Research Institute and the
German "Hohenstein Research Institute".The OEKO-TEX standards have described a
variety of norms and limit values for different classes. They can be described
as follows: . Product class I: Defined for babies and infants up to two years of
age. . Product class II: This class is defined for textiles that come into
direct contact with the skin and cover a large part of its surface, during
usage. . Product class III: The class includes textiles which do not come into
direct contact with the skin or cover only a small part of its surface during
application. . Product class IV: This class covers furnishing materials which
are used for decorative purposes.MST (Markenzeichen Schadstoffgeprufter
Textile):This is a product label, which is to be used for products that are made
in Germany and referring only properties of textiles.Trademarks for textile
tested harmful substances:MUT: This is a trademark for textiles that are made by
environmentally sound protection methods (VVUT). It needs acquiescence of
certain rules in their manufacture.GUT: This eco-Iabel was established by
well-known companies in European carpet industry. GUT exists for "Gemeinschaft
Umweltfreundlicher Teppichboden." It is an association for environmentally
friendly carpets with an objective of maximizing textile floor-coverings and
their protection cycle.GuW: It is a seal of Eco-friendly Furnishing Fabric
Association.CLEAN FASHION: It is an Eco-label introduced by private companies
related to textiles.STEILMANN: This is an Eco-Iabel of the most prominent German
Textile Company.GREEN COTTON: A label based on an internal evaluation system
that considers social, ecological and toxicological values.ECO MARK: This is an
Indian eco-Iabel.Function of ISO 14000The ISO 14000 series of international
standards have been made to tackle issues dealing with environment today. The
main aims of ISO 14000 are: . Protection of natural resources. . Reduction and
abatement of waste and emission. . Constant improvement in environmental
performances. . Efficiency in process by application of the best available
technology. . Compliance to national and international environmental laws and
convention.Eco-managementIn India each state has its own pollution control
authority. This authority mainly deals with water pollution by textile industry.
The aim is to ensure that the effluent water being discharged into city sewage,
stream, river or sea is not harmful to human, animal or plant life. In order to
get the parameters of effluent water to suitable standards, the effluents are
treated by effluent treatment plant.For controlling air and noise pollution in
India, the pollution control authorities have taken subjective steps. It can be
stated that basically no steps are taken by pollution control authorities to
control air and noise pollution in textile industry.In the case of toxicity of
textile products, the awareness is increasing in India due to rigid rules and
regulations being set up by developed countries. It has forced Indian producers
to fulfill these rules and regulations for attracting exporters.In
eco-management systems followed in textile industry, water utilized for washing
is re-used. Also the caustic soda used in mercerisation is recovered and
re-used.Water pollutionTextile industries use the maximum amount of water. In
the industries, water is contaminated with different chemicals and auxiliaries,
which are used for producing textile goods. These chemicals are
non-bio-degradable and their elimination before releasing the water is
important. The polluted water is unsafe for fauna and flora due to high
temperature, odors, turbidity, colors and toxic chemicals.Controlling water
pollution:Water pollution is controlled by treating the effluent water in three
ways: a. Primary treatment includes neutralization and elimination of suspended
solids by sedimentation, flotation, flocculation and coagulation techniques. b.
Secondary treatment process is done by the presence of micro-organism developed
at the surface of sewage, sludge in the presence of chemical nutrients such as
urea and super phosphates. c. Tertiary treatments include:Chemical oxidation:
Some inorganic from insolubles precipitate over restricted ranges of pH.Carbon
oxidation: Activated carbon has a surface area, which can absorb a huge quantity
of organic materials. Use of carbon can be reactivated; it is extremely useful
in eliminating the pigments and dyes, which cannot be eliminated by
coagulation.Management systemFor putting into practice the various measures for
eco-friendly process of textile unit, the management has to finalize its
clear-cut eco-policy. It should recognize that for proper implementation of
these measures additional cost would be involved. As in the case of other costs
there should be constant attempts to decrease these eco-costs, but at the
expense of eco-standards the textile unit needs to maintain.ConclusionTextile
industry plays a vital role in the Indian economy. It constitutes nearly 30 per
cent of India's exports. Globalization of Indian textile industry makes it
necessary to analyze its production techniques, procedures and product qualities
to satisfy all international eco-standards.In different textile production
processes, steps should be taken to ensure that these processes are done
chemically, but do not create any toxic effects. For making sure that the
effluent created complies with the standards set by effluent control
authorities, appropriate changes in recipes should be made, effluent treatment
plants should be set and re-use of effluent wherever viable should be made. The
process of management should be designed in such a way that proper control on
choosing and purchase of input materials are inbuilt in the system itself. The
cost of effluent treatment is measured as inevitable. Any effort to decrease
this cost should not be made by diluting' eco-standards. Suitable audit system
should also be introduced by textile units, which ensure that eco-standards are
realized.Fibre2fashion - Free Industry Article section offers Free Textile
Articles, Free Textile Industry Articles, Free Textiles Industry Reports,
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