Por Andrea Mejia Fajardo
A 2012 Greenpeace study presented alarming figures: in 2010, 13.1 million tons of textiles were discarded in the United States alone: 5.3% of total municipal waste.
The 2017 Pulse of Fashion Report estimated that global Fashion System waste will grow by about 60% between 2015 and 2030, generating an additional 57 million tons of waste annually, to reach about 17.5 kilos per capita.
In Colombia there is an incentive to donate what we no longer use, but this action only extends the useful life of the product, but does not solve the problem. Where do the garments end? In landfills, rivers, seas and forests, causing further environmental contamination.
Textile waste is a global issue that requires initiatives from brands, but also public policies to prevent companies from continuing to incinerate unsold inventory. In 2017, the English brand Burberry burned handbags, clothing and perfumes estimated at a value of 28.6 million pounds to avoid being sold at a lower price or stolen. Globally, only 20% of apparel is collected for reuse or recycling.
Otro desafío es el manejo de residuos textiles sobrantes de la producción. Empresas como Nike o Fabricato trabajan en la búsqueda de alternativas para usar materiales recuperados de las líneas de producción y con estos crear nuevos productos sostenibles.
Can fashion close the cycle?
Some entrepreneurs have sought new forms of productions, such as ethics through organic or sustainably produced textiles and raw materials, less water- and energy-intensive manufacturing, living wages and incentives to improve the social situation of workers. According to Ethical Consumer's report, the market value of ethical garments had an increase of 19.9% in 2018 in the UK, evidencing a challenging social and economic trend versus traditional production.
But Are garments produced under sustainable and ethical standards sufficient to meet the challenges of the sector? La economía circular propone un modelo donde los residuos son reintegrados al sistema para ser aprovechados como nuevas materias primas. En otras palabras, en una economía circular no existe el concepto de desecho, porque se crea un sistema basado en la reutilización, reparación y reciclaje, para generar riqueza a partir de recursos ya existentes en el ciclo productivo.
For Kerli Kant Hvass, a PhD. researcher at the Stockholm Environment InstituteIn his opinion, continuing with a traditional business model is unfeasible, due to the depletion of natural resources and the increase in population. Kant Hvass believes that, although a few years ago the topic of discussion was sustainability in the sector, its cycle ended in the stores, but what happens to the product after consumption ends? In circularity it is important to analyze and understand the whole process of a product: from the design -materials, form of production, use- to what happens at the end.
Archivist, an English brand, acquired 200 kilos of Egyptian cotton sheets from a luxury hotel in London, which were to be discarded due to minor imperfections. The brand's founders saw these as the raw material for their men's and women's shirts.
La marca danesa de ropa infantil Vigga, tiene un modelo por suscripción: los padres pagan un valor mensual y reciben un paquete con prendas confeccionadas en telas orgánicas. Cuando los pequeños necesitan una talla más grande, los padres devuelven las prendas y reciben un nuevo paquete. Una vez Vigga recibe el vestuario usado, bajo exigentes estándares de limpieza, las prendas son enviadas a una nueva familia.
A circular innovation
Circularity is a frequently discussed topic, but it still requires new technologies and materials, major changes and intersectoral collaborations, an innovative, efficient and competitive production system with better environmental practices, a transformation in the creative conception of each garment, as well as changes in the culture and mentality of brands and consumers.
Colombia necesita avanzar y fortalecer la innovación e implementación de tecnologías con procesos más limpios con el fin de incentivar el reúso de materias primas y disminuir la generación de residuos textiles. Se estima que el sector de la moda en el país podría reusar el 53% del desecho textil, pero, hasta el 2018, solo se tiene constancia del reúso del 5%.
Algunos han puesto su esperanza en el Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación, antes Colciencias, pero para Ricardo Mejía, gerente de SALADEJUNTAS, un ministerio no hace al empresariado más innovador; es el sector privado quien debe tomar el liderazgo de estudiar nuevas fórmulas y mecanismos, mientras el Gobierno establece políticas para promover y facilitar la innovación.
We need entrepreneurs and companies that manage to turn business models around by applying the principles of the circular economy. This has resulted in innovative companies such as Piñatex from Spain, which offers vegan leathers made from pineapple leaves, or Orange Fiber from Italy, where citrus waste is the basis for biodegradable fabrics. In the country, there are still no known large-scale circular economy initiatives in the Fashion System. This raises the question of whether Colombia is prepared for the challenges demanded by an international market that demands sustainable products and a circular future.
El texto original fue publicado en Revista Semana y hace parte de la tesis Policies for the sustainable development of the Fashion System in Colombia: opportunities in the value chain (Universidad de los Andes) de Andrea Mejia Fajardo.
