Waste Management in Textile Industry

The existence of human beings on earth is the result of a fortuitous set of circumstances in

which conditions for development of the species were present so that evolution could take

place allowing us to reach our present state of being. Our tenuous continuation could be

jeopardized at any time by changes in these conditions, and this far-reaching effect could

result from shifts which might be totally insignificant by cosmic standards. They could

bring about, for example, our inability to breathe, or stay warm or cool enough, or grow

the food we need. Thus, we are only able to survive because our planet provides all the

sustenance we need without major effort on our part. We can broadly define this set of

conditions to which we are exposed as our environment. One of the minor ways by which

we reduce the risk of premature extinction is to guard our bodies from excessive

temperature fluctuation by the use of textiles. Textiles are also used to make life more

comfortable or convenient for us. Without them, we would find life harsher, and probably

not survive with the same life expectancy as we do now.

Textiles are manufactured to perform a wide range of functions and are made up of

different types of fibres mixed in varying proportions. In general, applications of fibers

belong to the following three broad categories: apparel, home furnishing, and industrial.

Most of the fiber products are for short term (e.g. disposables) to medium term (e.g.

apparel, carpet, automotive interior) use, lasting up to a few years in their service life.

While the textile industry has a long history of being thrifty with its resources, a large

proportion of unnecessary waste is still produced each year. Commercially, textile waste

generation is influenced by the production of textile goods, higher the production, the

greater the amount of waste. This is in turn a function of consumer demand, which is

influenced by the state of the economy. While this may have a...