Textile Insight

IN THE MARKET | SYFA CONFERENCE A Call to Action 8 • Textile Insight ~ May 2019 textileinsight.com Encouraging Robust Industry Involvement & Collaboration in Sustainable Practices. By Trish Martin Today less than two percent of PET bottles are recycled in the U.S. ustainability is defined as product creation that meets today's needs without sacrificing the future. A 2005 survey of corporate executives showed that fewer than 10 percent considered sustainability to be important or worthy of a place on senior management's agenda. Just 12 years later, that number had skyrocketed to 70 percent. The textile industry is rushing to catch up. The Synthetic Yarn and Fabric Association (SYFA) focused on sustainability during its recent Spring Conference entitled "A Sustainable Thread," held in Charlotte on April 25-26. Two years ago, at this same event, a SYFA board member urged members to take sustainability seriously because even yarn and fiber manufacturers soon would be held accountable. His prediction was correct. Apparel brands and retailers are leading the charge and their calls for textiles that do not negatively affect the environment have grown to unprecedented volumes. Karen Leonas studies sustainability and circular economy issues "from molecule to market" at NC State's Wilson College of Textiles. Her department works with industry on environmental topics including Life Cycle Assessments through to consumer attitude surveys. " T h e i n d u s t r y i s late to sustainability," Leonas stated. Textile representatives have been noticeably absent from several high-profile sustainability reports, most notably the oceanic microfiber pollution topic (hence the unfortunate name.) While clothing contributes only a portion of the estimated 500K tons of plastic fibers polluting the oceans today, sensationalized communications have convinced the public otherwise. Several states are considering legislation in response to public concerns and the industry needs to mobilize to shape evolving laws. To address the problem, Leonas encouraged the formation of supply chain consortiums that could include other relevant groups like washing machine and laundry additive manufacturers. However, the synthetics industry still must work to minimize its environmental shortcomings such as polymer degradation, recycling infrastructure constraints, water and air pollution, natural resource utilization, and waste reduction. Mike Todaro of the American Apparel Production Network (AAPN) reported on its 2016 survey of brands and retailers rating suppliers from the West and East. Western manufacturers scored substantially higher on ethics and transparency versus their Eastern competitors. However, points for innovation were markedly lower for the West. "We took that as a challenge," said Todaro. He shared the progress being made to expand the breadth and strength of the textile network throughout the Americas, especially in Honduras, Brazil, and El Salvador, with progressive knitters and ink jet sublimation printers who can meet the quick-turn demands of brands and retailers, not to mention their escalating sustainability requirements. AAPN is also taking the lead in "raising the apparel IQ of retailers" in an effort to help young buyers make more responsible apparel procurement decisions. AAPN presents education sessions at their meetings and recently hosted a Carolina Mill Tour where buyers learned the technical side of fiber, yarn, and fabric design and production. Sanjay Mehta, Indorama's sustainability platform manager, also encouraged robust industry involvement in the sustainability conversation. "Synthetics manufacturers must learn to design for the next life, not just end of life," he warned. That means that environmental innovation cannot stop at polymer degradation to support responsible disposal but most extend farther to polymer recover and recycling to avoid disposal of any kind. Chemical PET recycling technologies, both established and emerging, have the potential to recreate virgin quality rPET from even low-grade reclaimed PET. However, PET recovery is a bottleneck that constrains these innovations. Today less than two percent of PET bottles are recycled in the U.S., significantly less than the recycling rate in China. In order to meet the rPET goals stated by brands like Adidas and Ralph Lauren, the recycling rate in the U.S. needs to jumps at least fourfold. It's not a problem for textiles alone. Food and beverage packaging companies are also under pressure. Synthetic fiber makers could view the packaging industry as either a powerful collaborator or as only a serious competitor for scarce raw materials. The SYFA conference attendees pitched in. They dropped their plastic badges into a bin to be reused at the Fall Conference on November 7-8 in Charlotte. l S In an effort to reduce and recycle, attendees at the recent SYFA Conference pitched their plastic badges into a bin to be reused at the Fall gathering in November.

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