Design To

Reduce Chemical
Impacts
Rayed Barkat , Assistant Professor - BUFT
 FASHION & CHEMICALS

Chemicals are one of the main components in our

clothes. They are used during fiber production, dyeing,
bleaching, and wet processing of each of our garments.
The heavy use of chemicals in cotton farming is causing
diseases and premature death among cotton farmers,
along with massive freshwater and ocean water pollution
and soil degradation. Some of these substances are also
harmful to the consumer
 FASHION & CHEMICALS

Toxic substances in our clothes

Chemicals are used in every part of the textile production
for making fibers, bleaching and dyeing fabrics,
etc… When they arrive in the shops, our clothes still
contain a lot of chemicals, even clothes made of "100%
natural" fiber. Our skin is our body's largest organ and
absorbs anything we put on it, including chemicals in our
clothes. These can present a real danger to our health.
 FASHION & CHEMICALS

How are they harmful?

A Greenpeace study for the Detox Campaign has
identified 11 chemicals frequently used to make our
clothes that contain toxins, carcinogens, and hormone
disruptors which should be banned, but currently aren't.
Some Studies show that certain chemical substances
contained in pajamas, can be found in a child's urine
5 days after wearing those pajamas for one night.
 FASHION & CHEMICALS

A recent study found hazardous chemicals in 63% of the

items tested from 20 different textile brands (including
fashion giants).
FASHION & CHEMICALS
FASHION & CHEMICALS
FASHION & CHEMICALS
 Design to Reduce Chemical Impacts

This strategy is about appropriate material

selection and processes for any product to
minimize environmental impacts.
“One cupful of pesticides and fertilizers are used in
the production of the average t-shirt” (Observer,
2005)
 Design to Reduce Chemical Impacts

Examples:
• Seek organically produced materials
• Use mechanical technology to create non-
chemical decorative surface pattern
• Create effects to replace materials and
processes known to be harmful
 Design to Reduce Chemical Impacts

Fibers to Use:
The to use are “eco-friendly” fibers, which means
that their production process has a low impact on
the environment and meets at least half of the
below criteria:
Design to Reduce Chemical Impacts
 Design to Reduce Chemical Impacts

Fibers to Avoid:
The fibers to avoid have one or several of the
below notably negative environmental impact. We
consider these impacts serious enough to try to
discard these fibers from our wardrobe:
Design to Reduce Chemical Impacts
 Organically produced materials

1. Bamboo—Bamboo is a hardy, highly renewable grass

and is generally grown with few chemical inputs. The
fabric also has natural antibacterial properties, breathes
and is biodegradable. However, toxic chemicals may be
used to turn the plant into fabric. The Federal Trade
Commission mandates that companies using this
process label their products bamboo-based rayon.
 Organically produced materials

2. Organic cotton—More than 25 percent of the world’s

pesticides are used in conventional cotton production.
Organic cotton is grown without toxic, synthetic chemical
inputs. Look for natural dyes or colored cotton to further
reduce the amount of chemicals dumped into our
ecosystem.
 Organically produced materials

3. Industrial hemp—Hemp is rapidly renewable,

requires little or no pesticides, grows without fertilizer,
requires minimum attention, doesn’t deplete soil nutrients
and is easy to harvest.
 Organically produced materials

4. Recycled polyester—This fiber is made from cast-off

polyester fabric and soda bottles, resulting in a carbon
footprint that is 75 percent lower than virgin polyester.
Recycled polyester contains toxic antimony, but some
companies are working on removing it from their fabrics.
 Organically produced materials

5. Soy cashmere/silk—This fabric is made from soy

protein fiber left over after processing soybeans into food.
The soy may be genetically engineered unless noted on
the label.
 Organically produced materials

6. Tencel—Tencel is made from natural cellulose wood

pulp and is fully biodegradable. It uses Forest
Stewardship Council-certified wood pulp and less-toxic
chemicals in a closed-loop process.
 Organically produced materials

7. W00l—Wool is renewable, fire-resistant and doesn’t

need chemical inputs. Look for chlorine-free wool from
humanely-treated animals. Organic wool is increasingly
becoming available: it is produced using sustainable
farming practices and without toxic sheep dips.
HOWEVER
 Organically produced materials

Even these choices are not clear-cut. These types of

fabric represent positive change, but have drawbacks.
Clothes production in general has environmental impact,
including:
Energy—It takes agricultural energy to produce natural
fibers and mining or processing for synthetic fabrics.
Energy also is needed for production, processing and
shipping of the fabric and finished product.
 Organically produced materials

Toxic chemicals—pesticides, dyes and bleaches and

chemical processing are used for fibers like bamboo or
rayon.
Land/natural resources—Natural fibers can require
large areas for production and synthetic ones typically
require petrochemicals.
Water—Nearly all fabrics require some water use during
production, with cotton requiring the most.
 Replacing harmful materials and processes

Waterless Dying Techniques:

Thanks to dry dyeing, a waterless dyeing technique, this is
possible now. This process makes use of carbon dioxide to dye
textile materials. A super critical liquefied form of carbon dioxide
dyes fabrics, providing same results as the conventional water
based methods.

The dry dyeing method, a pioneering work of a Dutch company in

textile dyeing, does not make use of water at all. Super critical is
a state where matter can be expanded into a liquid or heavily
 Replacing harmful materials and processes

pressurized and converted to gas. When carbon dioxide is

heated to over 31°C and pressurized to above 74 bar, the super
critical state is then achieved. Carbon dioxide's liquid like
densities proves to be beneficial for dissolving hydrophobic dyes
and the gas like densities, have low viscosities and diffusion
properties.

The supercritical carbon dioxide technique is already being used

in apparel dry cleaning, and has proved to be by far the best,
most gentle, and the cleanest method to do so. There are various
 Replacing harmful materials and processes

reasons as to why carbon dioxide is the best supercritical fluid for

the dry-dyeing technique. It is a naturally occurring inexhaustible
resource, physiologically compatible, and relatively inexpensive.
Carbon dioxide is readily available, is biodegradable, and does
not release any form of volatile organic compounds. Moreover, it
is non-toxic, non-flammable, and non-corrosive. These merits
make it a very viable dyeing alternative. The biggest merit of
using carbon dioxide is that it can be recovered, and reused
again from the process of dyeing, making it a cost-effective
option.
 Replacing harmful materials and processes

This method of waterless dyeing is also used for printing on

garments. The water-based dyeing techniques involve drying the
garment, once it has been colored, while this new innovative
technique eliminates this process altogether.
Questions?