Steps 1 to 10 to achieving a Green Supply Chain A Case Study of EarthPositive Apparel Presented by Philip Charles Gamett, Continental Clothing Company Ltd at the Ethical Corporation: The Green Supply Chain Summit, June 2008
Green (of a product): not harmful to the environment
Process steps Textile supply chain: 1 Farming 2 Ginning 3 Spinning 4 Knitting 5 Dyeing 6 Finishing & compacting 7 Cutting 8 Sewing 9 Packaging 10 Shipping
1 Farming Organic v. conventional agriculture Conventional cotton agriculture: Conventional cotton farming uses only about 3% of total farmland but consumes 25% of the chemical pesticides and fertilisers used globally. A typical conventional cotton t-shirt uses about 150 grams of acutely toxic pesticides and insecticides an estimated 5 million cases of pesticide poisoning every year at least 1 million requiring hospitalisation resulting in 20,000 reported deaths among agricultural workers Tens of thousands of suicides per year due to debt for pesticides
1 Farming Organic v. conventional agriculture Conventional cotton agriculture: The negative impacts of conventional cotton production: loss of biodiversity and damage to ecosystems and wildlife depletion of natural resources such as water and soil heavy contamination of water bodies
1 Farming Organic v. conventional agriculture Organic cotton agriculture: no synthetic chemical pesticides, fertilizers no Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO)
1 Farming Organic v. conventional agriculture Organic cotton agriculture: The positive impacts of organic cotton production: Ecosystem where it has been produced has not been damaged Increases biodiversity & agrodiversity Chemicals have not poisoned the farmer and his or her family Reduces farmer indebtedness for chemicals Organic farmers revenues are higher, making agriculture a viable way of earning a living
Step 1 - Go Organic The Soil Association is the UK's leading organic certification body Licence No: DK 19090 www.soilassociation.org
2 Ginning - separation of cotton lint and seed 3 Spinning - yarn production from lint 4 Knitting - constructing fabrics from yarn Only 20% of the mass of cotton is used in the final product mass lost [%] e.g. starting with 100 kg mass used [kg] GINNING 65 35 SPINNING - semi combed yarn 20 28 KNITTING 0 28 DYEING 15 23.80 CUTTING 15 20.23 SEWING 2 19.83
Step 2 - Reduce Waste Find uses for the by-products: Ginning: this is mostly the seed's mass - used to make cotton seed oil and food for cattle Spinning: shorter fibers, lower quality cotton lint - used to make lower quality textiles Dye, Cut & Sew: Fabric scraps sold outside the plant for being reprocessed on ropes or second quality clothes/rags
Energy Use in the Supply Chain Textile Supply Chain Energy Use in Supply Chain PACKAGING 1 Farming 2 Ginning 3 Spinning DYE & FINISH WATER TREATMENT CHEMICALS CUT & SEW TRANSPORT FARMING GINNING 4 Knitting 5 Dyeing KNITTING 6 Finishing 7 Cutting 8 Sewing 9 Packaging 10 Shipping SPINNING
Wind Powered The primary energy source for EarthPositive apparel is thirty wind turbines that turn wind power into clean renewable electricity.
Step 3 - Switch to Green Energy Reduce dependency of fossil fuels Energy security Price stability Protect the environment
5 Dyeing 6 Finishing & compacting Fiber processing: Chemicals & dyestuffs approved under GOTS Chemicals & dyestuffs Environmentally Friendly Oeko-Tex Standard 100 EarthPositive is certified by the Oeko-Tex 100 Standard, Class I. The Oeko-Tex Standard is a guarantee of the safety of textiles and dyestuffs to human health and to the environment.
Dyeing & Finishing Waste Water Treatment Anaerobic process Aerobic process Chemical process Reversed osmosis x 3 Nano filtration Evaporator Solar Pan
Step 4 - Look After Our Water Use a closed-loop water purification system. Waste Water - 93.33% reclaimed. Waste Products - negligible. Damage to local water systems - nil.
7 Cutting 8 Sewing Sweatshop Labour & Justice For Workers The unethical clothing industry Pressure to produce quickly increasing quantities of cheap textiles has led the industry to allow some of the most unethical trade practices on the planet, worst examples include: Child labour Bonded child labour Excessive working hours (twelve hours a day, seven days a week) Unsafe & unhygienic working conditions
Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) Minimum Social Criteria: Child labour is not used Employment is freely chosen Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining Working conditions are safe and hygienic Living wages are paid Working hours are not excessive One day off is provided every week No discrimination is practised Regular employment is provided No harsh or inhumane treatment is allowed Applies to the entire supply chain. www.global-standard.org
Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) FWF only conducts social audits in production sites that produce garments. Code implementation with verification by the Fair Wear Foundation is restricted to those phases of production where garments are actually produced, because it is among these suppliers where most labour problems are found. FWF Principles and Policies document - 3.1 Supply Chain Responsibility http://en.fairwear.nl/
Pick Your Cotton Carefully We guarantee that we do not use cotton from Uzbekistan while the use of forced child labour is endemic. This follows the recommendations of the Environmental Justice Foundation's Clean Cotton Campaign. The complete traceability of certified organic cotton allows us to make this guarantee. www.ejfoundation.org
Step 5 - Ethical Trade Practices Working with specialist NGO s makes it easier to exceed minimum social standards. Independent audits No outworkers Allow longer lead times Know where your cotton comes from Organic standards allow complete supply chain transparency
9 Packaging Unnecessary packaging Paper v. plastic Bio-degradable plastic
Step 6 - Reduce, Re-use, Recycle Minimise packaging Use post-consumer recycled materials Use recyclable materials
10 Shipping Local manufacturing v. off-shore manufacturing - Transportation footprint? EarthPositive has No Airfreight policy. We use containerized ocean shipping, which has the lowest emission factor of any means of commercial transportation. The carbon footprint generated by transporting our apparel to Europe is negligible, at 69g CO2 per T-shirt, it is 1.1% of the total footprint of a cotton T-shirt made using normal grid electricity.
Step 7 - Allow Longer Lead-times Plan ahead No airfreight Use containerized shipping
Other Considerations - Water Footprint Cotton is the world s thirstiest crop - it can take more than 20,000 litres of water to produce 1kg of cotton. Large-scale irrigation projects normally associated with conventional cotton farming, often deprive local villages of scarce water resources by draining lakes and rivers. Nearly half of the water problems related to cotton farming and processing can be attributed to products destined for foreign markets.
Cotton irrigation in Uzbekistan - a worst case example Demand for water to irrigate cotton fields has contributed to the draining of the Aral Sea, a crisis so acute that the United Nations described it as one of the most staggering disasters of the 20th century. Left: the Aral Sea in 1989 Right: the Aral Sea in 2003 (www.ejfoundation.org)
Cotton irrigation in Ahmedabad We chose cotton from a region that receives up to 95% of its water from the monsoon rain. We irrigated 8 hours per day, 12 days a year, total water usage of 1,920,000 litres per acre; which amount to 1200 litres per KG of cotton; approximately 5%. (Yield 1600kg cotton per acre per year).
Mean MonthlyRainfall (mm) Annual Rainfall in Ahmedabad
Step 8 - Lower Your Water Footprint Cotton grown organically requires less water Organic cotton root systems are deeper by necessity Soil containing organic matter (natural fertilizers) has greater water retention
Other Considerations - Carbon Footprint Wind Powered The primary energy source for EarthPositive apparel is thirty wind turbines that turn wind power into clean renewable electricity. Substituting electricity from fossil fuel power stations with clean renewable energy generated by wind turbines, has reduced the carbon footprint of EarthPositive apparel by 90%.
Carbon Labelling EarthPositive apparel has reduced it s carbon footprint by 90% or more. However, consumers require an independent verification process and a label to confirm the claims of individual companies. The Carbon Trust is trialling such a label with select pilot partners. EarthPositive was granted the first such label for textile products.
CO2e emissions (kg) across the supply chain, per individual T-shirt
How we reduced the Carbon Footprint still further Low Impact Agriculture: We chose Indian cotton, which is planted and picked by hand, without the use of fossil fuel powered farm machines Organic cotton does not use chemical fertilisers and pesticides derived from fossil fuels Conventional cotton uses 25% of the world s nitrogen fertiliser, a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide Organic soil acts as a carbon sink. Organic soil contains double the CO2 in the atmosphere. Monsoon rain reduces the need for large scale irrigation powered by petrol driven pumps
Step 9 - Lower Your Carbon Footprint Reduce energy use Switch to renewable energy Reduce embedded carbon Choose low-carbon solutions
Other Considerations - In-use Phase Domestic machine washing and tumble drying time and time again may contribute up to 80% of the energy used by a conventional cotton garment in its lifetime. Switching the temperature of a wash cycle from 40ºC to 30ºC saves 160g CO2. Line drying rather than tumble drying saves another 2000g Ironing will further add to the footprint.
Save The Climate Wash Cool, Line Dry We label our garments Save The Climate Wash Cool, Line Dry in addition to standard wash care instructions. We also recommend the use of eco-friendly detergents, which have minimal aquatic toxicity and will bio-degrade quickly and completely.
Step 10 - Inform and Empower Consumers Empower consumers - give clear instructions how to reduce their impact. Wash less Wash at low temperatures Use eco-friendly detergents Line dry Cool iron if necessary
Other Considerations - Garment Decoration Organic certified T-shirt screen printing T Shirt & Sons are Europe's only certified organic textile printer Certified organic printed garments to global organic textile standards (GOTS) Printed using methods based on water or natural oils Discharge printing and aromatic solvents prohibited Amine-releasing azo dyes are prohibited www.tshirtandsons.co.uk
Step 1 - Go Organic Step 2 - Reduce Waste Step 3 - Switch to Green Energy Step 5 - Ethical Trade Practices Step 6 - Reduce, Re-use, Recycle Step 7 - Allow Longer Lead-times Step 8 - Lower Your Water Footprint Step 9 - Lower Your Carbon Footprint Step 10 - Inform and Empower Consumers
Suggested further reading: EarthPositive - Climate Neutral Apparel by Philip Charles Gamett www.earthpositiveonline.com www.continentalclothing.com