The fashion industry has become synonymous with fast fashion, excessive waste and poor working conditions. Many consumers are now looking to reduce their environmental impact and choose clothing that is ethically produced. But even if you don’t care about the environment, there are very real costs associated with the chemicals used during the dyeing process. Dye manufacturers have been hiding behind proprietary formulas for years, refusing to be transparent about how their products impact our health or environment. Fortunately, there are some changes on the horizon for this industry and consumers should demand them.
When it comes to sustainability, fashion is drowning in its own colors. The textile and clothing industries need to stop hiding the process in which their products are made. If they don’t, we’ll continue to see harmful chemicals being dumped into our rivers, lakes and oceans by the truckload every year.
A handful of chemicals are responsible for most dye pollution: one type of blue dye called methylene blue, which is used to color denim jeans, reactive red 4B, a bright orange colorant used in textiles, metal-based pigments such as titanium dioxide used in paints and europium oxide green GGG, an additive that makes fluorescent dyes glow under ultraviolet light. Dyes are the most polluting part of the textile industry. They’re used not only for dying our clothes, but also for printing logos or text on them. Dyes are made from petroleum or coal tar and are often used in large quantities. When you buy something new, it is usually colored with a dye called disperse orange 3 (DO3), which is made from petroleum. The DO3 then spreads out over many products like plastic bags, toys and food packaging containers because these materials are made with plastic materials that contain polymers that can absorb the DO3 compounds into their molecules.
Transparency is a good thing in general, and it can also help improve the entire supply chain. For example, if you can see what’s happening at every step of production, then you’ll be able to make sure that your clothes are being produced in ways that are safe for workers and gentle on the environment. This means better working conditions for them (no more toxic chemicals), less waste from discarded fabric scraps and dyes, fewer pollutants released into our air and water the list goes on. If transparency improves environmental sustainability at each stage of production, then why don’t we have more transparency?
We need a more transparent supply chain, where the ingredients of our clothes are disclosed up front. Consumers should be able to read labels and understand what they’re buying, so they can make choices that align with their values whether that means choosing something free of chemicals or buying a product made in an environmentally sustainable way. This is also important for producers who want to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability by using natural dyes and other techniques that don’t harm the environment.
Leave a Reply