4. Executive Summary
In 2000 the world’s consumers spent around • UK based retailers are increasingly specifying
US$1 trillion worldwide buying clothes. Around one codes of good practice in labour standards to their
third of sales were in Western Europe, one third in suppliers, but there are difficulties in imposing
North America and one quarter in Asia. these throughout the supply chain, leading to
concerns about working hours, safety and use of
• Today, clothing and textiles represent about seven
child labour.
per cent of world exports.
• Most countries in the supply chain have a legal
• Globally, the workforce in clothing and textiles
minimum wage, but in some cases this is lower
production was around 26.5 million in 2000.
than a realistic minimum living wage – so while
• More than a quarter of the world’s production of the sector offers an opportunity for development
clothing and textiles is in China, which has a fast by creating many relatively low skilled jobs, some
growing internal market and the largest share of workers are unable to escape from a cycle of
world trade. Western countries are still important poverty.
exporters of clothing and textiles, particularly
• In some countries the right of workers in the sector
Germany and Italy in clothing and the USA in
to form associations (unions) to represent their
textiles.
concerns in collective bargaining is suppressed.
• Output from the sector is growing in volume, but
prices are dropping, as is employment, as new The flow of material through the UK: As part
technology and vertically integrated structures of the work described in this report, a clothing and
support improved productivity. textiles mass balance for the sector was calculated for
the UK.
• Growth in volumes is almost entirely associated
with polyester – volumes of natural fibre • 3.25 million tonnes of clothing and textiles flow
production and use having remained approximately through the UK each year – approximately 55kg
constant for several years. per person.
• The sector is freer than for many years following • Of this, around half is imported as textile products,
the phasing out of international quota agreements a quarter as ‘intermediate products’ (mainly
in 2005, but plenty of agreements that distort fabric and yarn) and the rest as fibre (imported or
the free-market still exist – with USA government produced in the UK). Approximately two thirds of
subsidies of cotton farmers being prominent. the imports of fibres, yarns and fabrics to the UK
are man-made.
The major environmental impacts of the sector
• The UK exports 1.15 million tonnes of clothing and
arise from the use of energy and toxic chemicals:
textiles each year, comprising fibres, fabric and
• The sector’s contribution to climate change is some completed products – mainly clothing and
dominated by the requirement for burning fossil carpets.
fuel to create electricity for heating water and
• One fifth of the UK’s annual consumption
air in laundering. Other major energy uses arise
(by weight) of clothing and textile products is
in providing fuel for agricultural machinery and
manufactured in the UK.
electricity for production.
• Consumers in the UK spend about £780 per head
• Toxic chemicals are used widely in cotton
per year, purchasing around 2.15 million tonnes
agriculture and in many manufacturing stages such
(35kg per person) of which one eighth is sent for
as pre-treatment, dyeing and printing.
re-use through charities and the rest is discarded.
• Waste volumes from the sector are high and
• The UK clothing and textile industry employed
growing in the UK with the advent of ‘fast fashion’.
around 182,000 people in 2004 split evenly
On average, UK consumers send 30kg of clothing
between clothing and textiles.
and textiles per capita to landfill each year.
• Water consumption – especially the extensive use The future of the sector: in order to anticipate
of water in cotton crop cultivation – can also be a likely trends in the sector, we conducted a structured
major environmental issue as seen dramatically in ‘Delphi’ study, gathering information from a panel of
the Aral Sea region. experts across the sector. Their major predictions are:
• Competition in the sector will increase, as skill
Social concern has always been a feature of the
levels and investment in developing countries
sector – and campaigns for improved social conditions
continues to grow. Prices in the UK will continue to
for low paid workers in developing countries have
be driven down.
been effective and continue:
WELL DRESSED?
5. • Innovations may include new production sorting procedures will be beneficial in reducing
technologies to reduce the labour requirement of waste and providing useable clothes to developing
garment completion and development of novel countries.
‘smart’ functions.
• Recycling is significant for materials with high
• Pressure from consumers and legislation is likely impacts in the production phase. Technology
to drive increasing demands for environmentally innovations may provide a means to extract
sensitive production. In the short term this is likely longer fibres from used textiles, although a recent
to focus on the use of chemicals but may extend innovative business for carpet recycling failed to
to include re-use of materials and substitution of achieve profitability.
alternative materials.
• The globalised structure of the clothing and
• International campaigns will continue to drive textile supply chain does not have significant
improvement in working conditions for employees environmental disadvantage, as energy used
in developing countries. in transport is proportionately low and the UK
does not have a supply of relevant raw materials.
Developing a more sustainable future: the largest Technology innovations such as 3D knitting
part of the work for this report was a wide-ranging and weaving may lead to economically viable
scenario analysis of various possible futures. The production in the UK, with some consumer
analysis included prediction of the environmental, benefits from increased responsiveness. However,
economic and social consequences of changes in this will only have environmental benefits if
production structure, consumer behaviour, material associated with material recycling.
and process innovations and government influence.
The main findings of the scenario analysis are: Change in the sector to reduce environmental
impact and promote social equity will occur if
• Improvement in the environmental performance of
driven by consumer choice. According to the analysis
the sector is material specific and depends on the
of the report, in order to create change, a consumer
energy and toxicity life-cycle profile of the material.
would:
For conventional cotton products, the requirement
for energy is driven by laundry, but the use of toxic • Buy second-hand clothing and textiles where
chemicals is driven by agriculture. In contrast, for possible.
viscose, energy use is dominated by production.
• Buy fewer more durable garments and textile
• For products in which production dominates products.
impacts, process efficiencies should be pursued
• When buying new products, choose those made
and the impact will be reduced by extending the
with least energy and least toxic emissions, made
life of the product or by re-using materials by some
by workers paid a credible living wage with
form of recycling.
reasonable employment rights and conditions.
• For products in which raw material production
• Lease clothes that would otherwise not be worn to
dominates, in addition to measures to extend
the end of their natural life.
product life, alternative processes or materials
should be pursued. A switch from conventional to • Wash clothes less often, at lower temperatures and
organic cotton growing would eliminate most toxic using eco-detergents, hang-dry them and avoid
releases, at the cost of price rises in the UK. ironing where possible.
• Energy requirements for cotton garments are • Extend the life of clothing and textile products
dominated by washing, drying and ironing. In through repair.
response, wash temperatures can be reduced and
• Dispose of used clothing and textiles through
tumble drying avoided. Novel treatments may
recycling businesses who would return them for
provide resistance to odours so reducing the total
second-hand sale wherever possible, but otherwise
number of washes or allow faster drying with less
extract and recycle the yarn or fibres.
ironing.
Several barriers inhibit the adoption of this behaviour.
• The UK’s current behaviour in disposing of used
In order to overcome these barriers:
clothing and textiles to landfill is not sustainable as
volumes are growing. Incineration is preferable to • Consumer education is vital – to ensure that fact
landfill, as it allows energy recovery and reduces based information on the specific impacts of a
final waste volumes. product are available and understood.
• The second-hand sector is growing and there • Increased emphasis on durability as a
is further demand, so improved collection and component of fashion would support a move
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
6. towards reduced material flow.
• The sector could halve its material flow without
economic loss if consumers pay a higher price
for a product that lasts twice as long.
• New business models with growth in profit
decoupled from increased material flow are
possible where consumers pay for services – such
as repair, novel coatings, other maintenance
services, remanufacturing or ‘fashion upgrades’.
• Technology development may lead to new
means to freshen clothes without washing,
efficient sorting of used clothing, new fibre
recycling technology and new low temperature
detergents.
• The infrastructure of clothing collection could
be improved.
• UK government policy on the environment
should be changed to promote reduction of total
or embedded impacts in products, not just those
arising in the UK.
• The UK’s involvement in negotiating international
agreements on trade could be used to promote
environmental and social responsibility.
Biffaward Programme on SuStainaBle reSource uSe
Objectives
This report forms part of the Biffaward Programme on In order to maximise the programme’s full potential, data has
Sustainable Resource Use. The aim of the programme is to been generated and classified in ways that are both consistent
provide accessible, well-researched information about the with each other, and with methodologies of the other
flows of different resources through the UK economy based generators of resource flow / waste management data.
either singly, or on a combination of regions, material streams
In addition to the projects having their own means of
or industry sectors.
dissemination to their own constituencies, their data and
Background information has been gathered in a common format to facilitate
policy making at corporate, regional and national levels.
Information about material resource flows through the UK
economy is of fundamental importance to the cost-effective More than 60 different mass balance projects have been
management of resource flows, especially at the stage when funded by Biffaward. For more information, please visit
the resources become ‘waste’. www.massbalance.org
WELL DRESSED?
7. Contents
Executive summary ..........................................................................................2
The world of clothing and textiles ....................................................................7
UK clothing and textiles mass balance ............................................................ 15
Scenario analysis:...........................................................................................21
Location of clothing and textiles production ................................................................................... 30
Changes in consumer behaviour ..................................................................................................... 38
New products and material selection ..............................................................................................44
Influence of government decisions on the sector ............................................................................ 56
Gathering the threads ..................................................................................................................... 64
Conclusions ...................................................................................................67
Footnotes......................................................................................................72
9. The world
of clothing
and textiles
Introducing the way that clothes
and textiles are produced at
present and understanding the
economic, environmental and
social significance of the sector.
THE WORLD OF CLOTHING AND TEXTILES
10. The world of clothing and textiles
We start this report by giving an account of the Rapid change in international
clothing and textiles sector as it is now. The next
section reports on the flow of materials through the
trade agreements
UK associated with clothing and textiles, to provide a Because of the size of the sector and the historical
macro-economic materials account of the sector. The dependence of clothing manufacture on cheap
remainder of the report presents a structured ‘scenario labour, the clothing and textile industry is subject to
analysis’ in which we present various possible changes intense political interest and has been significantly
to the way we make and use clothing and textile shaped by international trading agreements. From
products and explore how these might lead to a more 1974 to 2005, as the skills and infrastructure of
sustainable future. Chinese manufacturing developed while retaining an
advantageously low wage rate, a series of ‘quotas’
The clothing and textiles sector and tariffs were imposed by developed economies
especially on Chinese exports, to attempt to protect
is a major part of world trade their own manufacturing interests. These agreements
The clothing and textiles sector is a significant part of (which will be discussed in more detail later in the
the world’s economy. In 2000 the world’s consumers report) were officially ended on 1 January 2005, but
spent around US$1 trillion on clothing – split roughly the rules of trade remain complicated and continue to
one third in Western Europe, one third in North change rapidly. Regional trade blocs and preferential
America, one quarter in Asia A1. Seven per cent of total trade agreements maintain various distortions to ‘free
world exports are in clothing and textiles. Significant trade’ but the ending of the main set of quotas has led
parts of the sector are dominated by developing to a rapid rise in Chinese exports and a consequent
countries, particularly in Asia, and above all by China. drop in prices for UK consumers. Negotiations over
Industrialised countries are still important exporters China’s accession to the WTO continue to give some
of clothing and textiles, especially Germany, Italy in protection to those threatened by Chinese growth
clothing and the United States in textiles. Developing until 2008. During the period in which quotas were
countries now account for half of the world textile phased out, from 1980 to 2000, average tariffs fell
exports and almost three quarters of world clothing from 10% to 5% in developed countries and 25% to
exports. However, for some materials, processes or 13% in developing. Within developing countries, such
products, other countries have an important role. The as China, there is a proliferation of Export Processing
figure shows how the USA remains the largest world Zones, where some preferential treatment by the
exporter of cotton, despite having only 25,000 cotton domestic government facilitates strong exports.
farmers. Australia and New Zealand are the largest
suppliers of wool and of carpets – which can be made Market distortion from
with efficient machines requiring little manual labour
– many countries including the UK are able to serve a
subsidies remains
significant fraction of their own demand. In addition to protection from low labour cost
countries by imposition of quotas and import
World cotton exports 200/2 tariffs, exporting countries have also supported
their manufacturing industries through allocation
Rest of World USA of subsidies A2. The figure shows estimates of the
21% 37% true cost of producing a pound (weight) of cotton in
2001 – at a time when the market price was around
US$0.45 per pound. USA costs were highest, but
subsidies provided by the USA government brought
down the price artificially – creating grave difficulties
China 1% for developing countries, for whom cotton could be
Brazil 2% a significant fraction of total exports. The USA is the
Greece second largest producer of cotton in the World and
4% the largest exporter – and accounts for half of worlds’
production subsidies.
Over 26 million people work to
Australia
10% produce clothing and textiles
Estimating the number of people working in these
Africa Uzbekhistan sectors is extremely difficult, due to the number of
12% 13% small firms and subcontractors active in the area
Source: ICAC 2001 and the difficulty of drawing boundaries between
WELL DRESSED?
11. sectors. According to the current (2006) statistics of Employment in clothing and textiles by country
the UNIDO (United Nationals Industrial Development
8
Organisation) Industrial Statistics Database (INDSTAT)
around 26.5 million people work within the clothing
and textiles sector worldwide A3. The data base
contains the most recent estimates of employment 6
within each country, typically using data between
1998 and 2002 – so more recent studies (for instance
a 2005 ILO report A4) quote different figures, with
4
Market and producer prices for cotton 2000/0
0.8
2
0.6 0
China
Pakistan
Bangladesh
India
Indonesia
EU + Med.
Americas
Other Asia
Market price 0.45
0.4
Million employees Textiles Clothing
Source: UNIDO INDSTAT database 2006
higher labour costs tend to have more employment in
0.2
textiles.
The ILO estimates that employment in the sector fell
from 34.2 million in 1990 to 26.5 million in 2000
0 – a decline of around 20% A3. However, these losses
China
Benin
Pakistan
Trukey
Australia
USA
were unevenly distributed – with rapid decline of the
sector in the USA and EU but growth in several Asian
US$ per pound of cotton countries. Direct employment in both sectors leads
indirectly to further employment – in services and
Source: ICAC, Survey of the cost of production of raw cotton, 2001 associated industries and by the ‘multiplier effect’ – as
those earning in this sector will spend their earnings
estimates of employment in China as high as 19 on other goods.
million. Of these 26.5 million employees, 13 million
are employed in the clothing sector and 13.5 million Around 70% of clothing workers are women A5. In
in the textiles sector A3. These figures are only people the garment industry, women typically sew, finish
employed in manufacturing – not retail or other and pack clothes. Supervisors, machine operators
supporting sectors. Thirty six countries employ more and technicians tend to be men – who earn
than 100,000 people in the sector, of which China (at more. Conditions for workers vary. Employment
7.5 million employees) is clearly dominant. Four other opportunities have generally been concentrated at
countries employ more than one million people and the bottom of the supply chain, in the lower range
30 of the remaining 31 countries are grouped into of qualifications and, very often, in countries with
three regions and shown in the figure. South Africa is limited alternative job opportunities. These factors
excluded, as it doesn’t fit the geographical grouping, have contributed towards maintaining wages in these
and data for other sub-Saharan African countries are sectors at relatively low rates.
uncertain, but estimates of employment in French
speaking Africa are as high as two million. (The In some areas – such as Export Processing Zones
INDSTAT database contains no figures for Pakistan and around the world – credible work policies prevail.
the estimates given here are taken from an ILO report.) However there are still millions of people at the end of
the supply chains employed precariously. A box story
Brazil, the Russian Federation, the USA, Vietnam, Italy in a later section of this report describes particular
and Japan all employ more than half a million people conditions in Bangladesh, where the clothing sector
in manufacturing in the clothing and textiles sector. accounts for more than 70% of their total exports.
The distribution of employment between clothing and
textiles varies by country, but generally countries with
THE WORLD OF CLOTHING AND TEXTILES
12. The sector is increasingly India is the second largest exporter of textiles,
but various analysts have referred to the need to
dominated by Asian countries modernise textile machinery in India before businesses
In the past five to ten years, employment in the sector in the sector can compete effectively with those in
has increasingly been concentrated in China, Pakistan, China.
Bangladesh, India, Mexico, Romania, Cambodia and
Turkey. All of these countries, apart from India, have Developing countries account for almost three
shown increases in clothing and textile employment quarters of world clothing exports and for half of
from 1997 to 2002 – the global decline in employment world textile exports. Many Asian garment investors
in the sector is equally marked in countries such as the drawn by the African Growth and Opportunity Act
USA, Europe and the Philippines. Employment in the (AGOA), a preferential trade agreement signed with
clothing and textile sector in EU25 countries fell by one the USA, have set up garment factories in Kenya,
million to 2.7 million from 1995 to 2005. A further Lesotho and Swaziland. However, Africa has seen the
one million job losses in the sector are anticipated in worst job losses since the end of the Agreement of
the next five years. Textiles and Clothing (ATC).
However, for many smaller developing countries, Despite the dominance of the Asian countries, around
which are small exporters on a global scale, clothing six million people are employed in the European and
and textiles exports are their dominant form of Mediterranean area. Mainly this is due to the trade-
external earnings. In Bangladesh, Haiti and Cambodia off between low labour costs (Asia) and proximity
clothing and textiles account for more than 80% to developed markets (European-Mediterranean)
of total exports. Similar high figures apply to the and companies such as Inditex have developed new
proportion of the country’s manufacturing workers models for clothing supply based on rapid response
employed within the clothing and textiles sector. to changes in fashion with clothing sourced near
to purchase. In Bulgaria the clothing and textiles
The figure below shows typical earnings in the industry, which has a history spanning two centuries,
clothing sector in different countries. Strikingly, wage retains a competitive advantage over neighbouring
rates in India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan are lower than countries through cheaper labour A6. However, this
in China. However, China continues to dominate advantage may be eroded once Bulgaria joins the EU,
the sector because of a build up of competitive as imposition of EU rules on employment and trade
advantages including short lead times, efficient may increase costs as has happened in Hungary and
logistics, a more experienced and skilled labour force, Poland. Bulgaria is also likely to see an increase in
a better power infrastructure (with fewer power imports of cheaper Chinese apparel and textiles as has
outages) and more investment in capital equipment. occurred in Romania since the phasing out of quotas.
Economies where clothing and textiles account Hourly wages in clothing industry
for a significant part of exports earnings from
the export of goods in 200
Pakistan 0.23
Tunisia 41 Sri Lanka 0.57
Sri Lanka 55
India 0.71
Mauritius 57
China 0.86
Lesotho 70
Mexico 1.75
Pakistan 70
Hong Kong 5.13
Bangladesh 83
Germany 10.03
Haiti 84
USA 11.16
Cambodia 85
US$ per hour
% of export goods earnings from clothing and textiles
Source: ILO 2003
Source: UNCTAD
10 WELL DRESSED?
13. The sector is becoming manufacture of technical textiles A8, such as those for
protective clothing and medical use.
more integrated
Setup and switch-over times and costs have Despite the exit of manufacturing in clothing and
traditionally led to large batch manufacture of clothing textiles from the UK, the sector continues to be highly
with long lead times – fashion shows for summer valuable, as the biggest profits in the sector are at the
clothing are held in the autumn to allow six months end of the supply chain – in retail and branding. The
for manufacture. However, this pattern is rapidly cost and price structure of the sector globally is now
changing – with customer demand for so called characterised by there being the potential for high
“fast fashion” where stores change the designs on profit from innovation, marketing and retailing but low
show every few weeks, rather than twice per year. profit from sourcing, production, assembly, finishing,
This emphasis on speeding up production has led packaging and distribution.
to concentration in the industry with fewer larger
suppliers – to take advantage of economies of scale In supplying finished goods to end consumers,
(for instance in purchasing) and to simplify the number multiple store retailers dominate this sector – selling
of relationships that must be maintained by retailers. 70% of clothing in Western Europe and 85% in the
USA. The top five department stores in the USA
This trend is now more noticeable in the clothing delivered about half of its total sales A9 .
sector with the growth of ‘full package’ companies
that are able to supply quick time delivery orders Consumers are accustomed to
to big retailers. Downstream textile finishing and
dyeing processes are being integrated into textile
increasing variety at low prices
weaving factories and further integrated with clothing In the UK in 2004 we spent on average £780 per
manufacture and the distribution networks. Such head on clothing and textiles, of which around £625
integration supports rapid servicing of the demand was on clothes. Total spending on clothes in the UK
for ‘fast fashion’ by avoiding the build up of stock in 2005 was £38.4 billion of which £24 billion was
characteristic of long supply chains and providing on women’s, girls and infants clothing, £12 billion
shorter lead times. There is also a trend towards on men’s and boys’ clothing and £2.4 billion on
investing in increased capacity and introducing “new accessories, hire, cleaning, tailoring, etc.
industrial robotics” – substituting expensive labour
with novel technologies. A variant of such single From 2001 to 2005 spending on women’s clothing
company vertical integration also in evidence is the grew by 21% and that on men’s by 14%. During the
development of clusters of businesses supporting each same time – as the end of the quota arrangement
other through Regional Integration A7. approached in 2005 – prices actually dropped by 14%
Despite rising fuel prices, distribution costs throughout UK retail sales of clothing
the sector are dropping, as logistics companies 700 10%
become more efficient at managing the flow of goods
across wide distances. 600
8%
UK production is increasingly
Annual increase in spending [%]
500
Per capita spend [£GBP]
focused on niche products
6%
400
The UK had a dominant role in the clothing and
Average increase
textiles sector in the early 19th Century but has seen
= 4.8%
a steady decline – with a symbolic withdrawal of 300
4%
Marks and Spencers’ demand from UK clothing and
textile manufacturers in the 1990’s. Activity in the 200
sector in the UK is now focused on design more than 2%
production – but potentially the UK may also serve 100
as a source of innovation, particularly for niche or
high quality products. An example of this is the UK’s
0 0%
strength in wool production which has traditionally
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
been recognised for delivering state of the art goods
to international market such as Japan and the USA. Per capita spend [£GDP]
The UK is also developing competitiveness in novel Annual increase in spending [%]
‘nanotechnology’ coatings and smart functions to be
Source: ONS
applied to clothing and textiles and in the design and
THE WORLD OF CLOTHING AND TEXTILES
14. in real terms, so sales by volume increased by 37%.
Thus, over four years, the number of garments bought
per person in the UK increased by over one third A10.
Price indices for consumer goods and services
160
Price indicies [1995 price = 100]
140
120 manufactured to add value and sold as fashionable
items. However, most are baled and shipped for resale
in Eastern Europe, the Middle-East or Africa. Second-
hand garments bales are sold via a commodity market
100
to traders and then to stall merchants for resale at
local markets.
80
A small fraction of the collected textiles is shredded
and converted into wipes or carded and mixed with
other fibres to be re-spun into yarn. An example of
60 such a yarn is that developed by Annie Sherburne with
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
50% recycled 50% virgin wool.
Food Housing
The second-hand clothes trade in developing countries
Alcoholic drinks Transport
creates some employment A11 and is an important
Clothing Communications
Source: ONS [1995 prices = 100]
Second-hand clothing is
worth $1 billion per year
After the consumer use phase the life of a garment
or textile product is not over. Some clothes and
textiles are taken to recycling clothes banks operated
for example by the Salvation Army (which also has
door to door collection), Traid, Oxfam, or many other
members of the Textile Recycling Association.
The goods are transported to recycling plants to be source of low cost clothing. The trade is only a small
sorted. The best quality garments are sent for resale fraction of global trade in clothing (about 0.5% of
at charity shops and a small number of items are re- the total value) but in many African countries it has
a significant proportion of the market, up to 30% of
the total value of imports and 50% in volume A10. This
raises a concern that second-hand clothes inhibit the
development of local industry. However, at present
trade in second-hand clothing is falling as a share of
total clothing imports due to the increase of cheap
imports from Asia.
1 WELL DRESSED?
15. Clothes and textiles come for human hands able to handle and sew all kinds of
fabrics, a task that is still complex for robots. Instead,
from oil or natural fibres the industry has relocated in pursuit of cheap labour
Clothing and textiles products begin as fibres – which (often women) – for whom a low paid job performing
are either natural (e.g. cotton, silk, wool), man-made repetitive tasks in a factory is more attractive than any
(made from cellulosics, e.g. viscose) or synthetic (oil of their other options.
used to create polymers, e.g. polyester, acrylic and
nylon). The figure shows the breakdown of world However, due to innovations in knitting machines,
demand for these two types of fibre over 15 years knitwear is increasingly made by machines – delivering
– showing that demand for natural fibres has been seamless whole garments. Some other production
approximately constant, while demand for man-made technology innovations include laser cutting of fabric,
fibres has nearly doubled A12. The second figure shows automated sewing machines that ‘learn’ operations
that within this man-made category, growth has been from humans and ink jet printing of fabric or made-up
driven by demand for polyester. garments.
Manufacture of textiles begins with spinning the Integration of computer aided design and
original fibres, which are relatively short and thin, into manufacture in the whole supply chain is being
yarns. These yarns are converted into fabrics (often flat developed to reduce lead times and improve the
sheets), by one of two processes: weaving or knitting. quality and performance of products. Recent research
The ‘flat’ fabric must then be formed into a ‘3D shell’ in the industry has aimed to transfer technologies
to be useful as clothing. from the automotive industry to use ‘new industrial
robotics’ to reduce the need for expensive labour.
From the design of a garment to the pressing and This is economically attractive for manufacturers in
packaging of a finished product a range of processes developed countries with high costs – but potentially
are required – each with different requirements for will remove important employment opportunities in
capital, technology and labour: designing, pattern developing countries.
making, grading, nesting and marking, cutting,
sewing, quality inspection, pressing and packaging. The sector has also seen a rapid adoption of novel IT
There is continuous development of technology at solutions for production system control and virtual
all levels of these activities aiming at reduced labour design, stock control, replenishment and real-time
intensity and quicker delivery. However, in 300 years monitoring of fashion trends.
of innovation, no technical substitute has been found
Man-made fibre production by type over time
World demand for natural and man-made fibres
40
80
30
60
20
40
10
20
0
1979
1982
1998
2000
2002
2004
0
1990
1995
2001
2004
Million tonnes per year
Million tonnes per year
Polyester
Other natural fibres Nylon
Cotton, wool and silk Acryllic
Man-made fibres Cellulosics
Source: Textiles Intelligence 2005 Source: Textiles Intelligence 2003
THE WORLD OF CLOTHING AND TEXTILES
16. and textiles have a legally defined minimum
Major environmental impacts wage, but social campaigners assert that there
are related to energy use is a difference between such a ‘minimum legal
wage’ and a ‘minimum living wage’ – it may not
and use of toxic chemicals be possible to escape from a cycle of poverty with
only the minimum legal wage.
Companies face three forms of pressure from their
consumers: shareholder expectations, customer loyalty • Precarious employment: use of repeated temporary
and ethical pressure. There is considerable evidence contracts or the absence of any employment
in the UK that consumer interest in ‘ethics’ is growing contracts combined with delayed payment and
– and so business interest in developing and managing the absence of employment benefits, is common
‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ is also growing. practice in some countries.
• Sexual harassment: campaigners for women’s
The major environmental issues associated with the
labour worldwide report cases in which women
sector are .
are threatened by their superiors and unable to
• Energy use in laundry, production of primary complain A1, without risk of losing their jobs.
materials especially man-made fibres and in yarn
manufacturing of natural fibres.
The major occupational health issues associated with
• Use of toxic chemicals which may harm human the sector are exposure to:
health and the environment – in particular in
• Hazardous chemicals particularly in cotton
conventional cotton production.A13
production, wet pre-treatment, dyeing, finishing
• Release of chemicals in waste water and making up.
– especially in wet pre-treatment, dyeing, finishing
• Fibre dust, especially when processing cotton,
and laundry – which may harm water based life.
giving rise to the respiratory disease termed
• Solid waste arising from yarn manufacturing of byssinosis.
natural fibres, making up and disposal of products
• Noise associated with yarn manufacturing, knitting
at the end of their life.
and weaving.
Social implications for the • Monotonous repetitive processes in making up,
leading to injuries amongst sewing machinists.
clothing and textiles industry
In both sectors there are still many concerns about
the quality of the jobs they create and their social
consequences.
• Children: even though the elimination of child
labour is one of the goals of the International
Labour Organisation (ILO) it remains a challenge
in the clothing and textiles industry mostly due to
the difficulty of monitoring subcontractors, indirect
workers and home workers.
• The industry workforce is largely made up of young
women, who are “low skilled” or “unskilled” and
may be migrants. Such workers are vulnerable to
various forms of abuse and may not know or be
able to claim their rights as employees A14. Some UK
retailers are working to impose ethical conditions
on their suppliers in an attempt to protect such
workers, but the success depends upon rigorous
implementation which is costly. A particular
problem at present is that many subcontractors
deny the right of workers to form an association
(or trade union) to assert their rights to appropriate
working conditions, pay and training and
promotion.
• Pay: most countries supplying the UK’s clothing
1 WELL DRESSED?
17. UK clothing and
textiles mass balance
In 00 the total UK consumer
expenditure on clothing and
textiles amounted to £ .7
billion (or £70 per capita)
of which 0% was spent on
clothing and 0% on textiles.
UK CLOTHING AND TEXTILES MASS BALANCE 5
18. The United Kingdom 2004 clothing
and textiles mass balance
The overall mass flow of clothing and textile materials The UK clothing and textile
and products (excluding shoes and leather) in the sector and industry
United Kingdom in 2004 is shown in the double-page
spread overleaf. The primary data sources used in Several key indicators and findings for the sector and
preparing the figure are: the industry can be extracted from the figure to the
right B4 B5 B6:
• Detailed HM Revenue Customs 2004 trade data
by value and quantity covering chapters 50 to 63 • About 0.6kg of oil equivalent primary energy is
in the “Combined Nomenclature” classification used in the industry per kg of output (about 0.4%
system B1. of the UK total).
• Detailed UK 2004 production data by value and • About two kilograms of CO2 equivalent is emitted
quantity provided by the British Apparel Textile to air per kg output (about 0.4% of the UK total).
Confederation (BATC) and using the PRODCOM
• Approximately 60kg of water is used (about 0.5%
classification system (PRODucts of the European
of UK total) and about 45kg of waste water is
COMmunity) B2.
discharged per kg of output. The difference is lost
as evaporation during textile wet processes (e.g.
Further details of the methodology and assumptions
dyeing).
made in preparing this mass balance are given in the
technical annex B3. • About one kg of solid waste arises per kg of output
(about 0.5% of UK total).
Major material and product • About half of the UK consumption of products
mass balance findings is clothing (about one million tonnes). The major
clothing product categories (both by value and
From the flowchart it can be seen that:
mass) are “Trousers (woven) etc.”, “Pullovers etc.”
• 3.25 million tonnes of textiles flow through the UK and “T-shirt etc.”. Combined these three clothing
each year – approximately 55kg per person. categories represent about half of the total
consumption by mass.
• Of this, half (52%) is imported as textile products,
25% as ‘intermediate products’ mainly fabric, yarn • One fifth of the UK’s annual consumption
and non-wovens. The rest is imported fibre and by weight of clothing and textile products is
fibre created in the UK – about 10% each. The manufactured in the UK (about 0.4 million tonnes).
total import of textile materials and products is Of this about one third is carpet alone.
about 2.9 million tonnes.
• About two-thirds of the UK import of basic textile
• The UK exports 1.15 million tonnes of clothing and materials (fibres, yarns and fabrics) by mass to the
textiles each year, comprising fibres, fabric and industry is man-made, the rest is of natural origin
some completed products (mainly clothing and (primarily cotton and wool – about 15% and 10%
carpets). This includes about 200 thousand tonnes respectively).
of products for reuse, recycling and final waste
• Total employment in the industry amounted to 182
disposal abroad.
thousand people in 2004 (47% in textiles and 53%
• The total UK consumption of textile products is in clothing). This is equivalent to a productivity of
approximately 2.15 million tonnes equivalent to about £50 thousand of sales per employee.
approximately 35kg per UK capita. The average
consumer expenditure can therefore be estimated
to be around £20 per kg.
• The combined waste from clothing and textiles in
the UK is about 2.35 million tonnes (0.7% of UK
total B4), 13% going to material recovery (about
300 thousand tonnes), 13% to incineration and
74% (1.8 million tonnes) to landfill.
1 WELL DRESSED?
19. Essential inputs and outputs for the UK
clothing and textiles industry 2004
INPUTS OUTPUTS
Primary energy consumption Carbon dioxide emissions
989 thousand tonnes of oil equivalent 3.1 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent
0.4% of total UK consumption
The UK 0.4% of total UK emissions
Water consumption
90 million tonnes
clothing Waste water
70 million tonnes
0.5% of total UK consumption
and textile Solid waste
Employment industry 1.5 million tonnes
182 thousand people 0.5% of total UK waste
47% in textiles, 53% in clothing
Exports of bres and
Imports of bres and intermediate products
intermediate products
Total exports: 677 thousand tonnes
Total imports: 1,214 thousand tonnes 215 thousand tonnes of bres
117 thousand tonnes of yarn
361 thousand tonnes of bres UK production of clothing 277 thousand tonnes of fabric
251 thousand tonnes of yarn
325 thousand tonnes of fabric
and textile products 68 thousand tonnes of intermediate products
277 thousand tonnes of intermediate products Total production: 697 thousand tonnes
Fibres, yarns and fabrics:
Fibres, yarns and fabrics: Total value of clothing: £3,925 million 19% natural, 64% man-made, 17% unspeci ed
29% natural, 60% man-made, 11% unspeci ed Trousers: £308 million
Work-wear: £232 million
Pullovers: £214 million Exports of clothing
and textile products
Total value of textiles: £5,657 million
Carpets: £754 million Total exports: 281 thousand tonnes
Total value of clothing: £2,719 million
T-shirts: £336 million
Trousers: £322 million
Pullovers: £220 million
Total value of textiles: £3,359 million
Carpets: £205 million
Imports of clothing and
textile products UK
Total imports: 1,700 thousand tonnes
Total value of clothing: £10,859 million
consumption
Trousers: £1,894 million
T-shirts: £1,518 million
Pullovers: £1,021 million
of clothing
Total value of textiles: £4,657 million
Carpets: £824 million
and textiles
UK consumption of clothing
and textile products
Total consumption: 2,156 thousand tonnes
About 50% clothing and 50% textiles
The major products consumed were:
420 thousand tonnes of trousers, T-shirts and pullovers
530 thousand tonnes of carpets
UK CLOTHING AND TEXTILES MASS BALANCE
20. Textile flows in the United Kingdom
TOTAL
3,244
EXTRACTION
PRODUCTION
TOTAL = 300
UK extraction of
300
OF FIBRES 300
raw materials
UK
300
Flow = 300
Fibres
361 215
300
462
361
MANUFACTURE
OF TEXTILES
281
Intermediate Flow = 1,574
textile products 853 200
853
416
TEXTILE IMPORTS
Total = 2,914
Recycling
60
416
CO
1,683
F
Textile products
1,700 1,700
Reuse
TOTAL = 30
IMPORTS
WASTE
40
Textile waste
30
1 WELL DRESSED?
21. Key:
Raw materials Intermediate textile products Waste
Fibres Textile products Material recovery
Units:
Flows [thousand tonnes per year]
(for assumptions and quality of data see technical annex)
TOTAL
3,244
Fibres
215
TEXTILE EXPORTS
Intermediate
TOTAL = 958
textile products
462
Textile products
281
Textile
production INCINERATION
waste (ENERGY Atmospheric
200 335 RECOVERY) emissions
300
Flow = 308 8
200
308
TOTAL = 2,086
UK WASTE
COLLECTION,
ONSUMPTION TRANSPORT,
AND SORTING Land ll
Flow = 2,156 1,748 1,786
2,156
Flow = 2,356
300
30
MATERIAL
TOTAL = 200
Recycling and
RECOVERY
EXPORTS
reuse abroad
WASTE
200
Flow = 330
UK recycling
and reuse
100
UK CLOTHING AND TEXTILES MASS BALANCE
23. Scenario analysis
The scenario analysis looks at
three standard products: a
T-shirt, a blouse and a carpet.
These products are made with
contrasting materials, in different
countries and using different
technologies. What would
happen if they were made or
used in quite a different way?
SCENARIO ANALYSIS 2
