Elisa Tonda: "The textile industry uses chemicals that are particularly toxic to people."

BarcelonaThe United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has conducted a detailed analysis of the ecological impacts of new fashion consumption trends. He fast fashion and theultra fast fashion are a concern within the organization, according to Elisa Tonga, head of the Resources and Markets branch within the Industry and Economics Division of this UN agency. Her department, in fact, works to promote efficient use of resources in all industrial sectors, not just textiles, and Tonga also contributes her experience as former head of Production and Consumption at UNEP.

What is the climate impact of the fashion industry?

— The sector emits between 2% and 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. These figures come from two very solid different studies. The first by Quantis, published in 2018, put the figure at 8%. But in 2021, the World Resources Institute conducted another study that gave the figure at 2%. This has probably been one of the impacts that has grown the most in visibility for the textile sector. Because in the context of the UNFCCC, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the textile sector has created what is called the fashion charter, which includes concrete commitments from textile companies to reduce their climate impact.

Where do most of these emissions come from?

— They are closely associated with the burning of fossil fuels used to generate heat and electricity during production, especially during wet processing. They also include domestic use, i.e., when we wash and dry our clothes. The production of synthetic fibers derived from petroleum is also included.

But there are other impacts: pollution, resource depletion, waste generation... Which is the worst or most worrying?

— There's a lot of attention on the climate issue, but what I think doesn't receive enough visibility is the use of chemicals in this industry. According to our research, 15,000 chemicals are used in all stages of production. Many of them are used in the wet processing phase. And there's a shocking fact: to produce one kilogram of textile, more than half a kilogram of chemicals is typically used. And some of them are particularly toxic, both for the environment and for people. Chemicals are also used in agriculture, where cotton or other natural fibers are produced. Another pollution that is gaining visibility is that of microplastics, the microfibers that are released and enter the oceans, but also our food chain, and therefore can have a very direct impact on our health.

Do these chemicals and microplastics primarily affect production sites or consumers?

— Both. There is potential exposure for textile workers and communities around factories. But some can remain in the product and be an exposure for consumers through skin contact, in addition to everything related to microfibers and microplastics, which can end up entering our food cycles.

The growing trends of fast fashion They also generate depletion of natural resources. Is this quantified?

— This has two aspects. One is the land needed for cultivation, which is growing due to the pressure to produce more textile products. If we continue with the same trend, by 2030 the textile industry will use 35% more land than it does now to produce fibers, equivalent to 115 million more hectares. Cotton farming is probably the one with the greatest pressure on land use. But there is also another very delicate natural resource necessary for textile production: water. And the textile sector, in fact, consumes 250 trillion liters of water each year. This is equivalent, annually, to 86 million Olympic-sized swimming pools used in the textile sector.

Where is this water used?

— Some of it goes to what we call the use phase, when we wash clothes at home. But during production, it's primarily in the bleaching and dyeing phases, and the finishing phase. And, obviously, in agriculture, especially in the case of cotton, there's also a very high demand for water.

And is all this resource exploitation growing with new forms of fashion consumption like Shein and other online options?

— Exactly. Current consumption models, combined with the fact that our current production system is completely linear: we produce, use, and then throw away. This means that if we buy more, we must produce more, and therefore these impacts continue to grow. Our partners at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimate that from 2000 to 2015, the number of times we use what we buy has decreased by 36%. So we're accelerating the fact that we want something new, original, that we use very briefly, and then throw it away.

It has been noted the appearance of landfills fast fashion in countries of the Global South?

— Obviously it's a concern. But it depends on each country, there is a different perspective on the role that this trade plays. textile waste from developed countries to developing countries. In some of these countries, factories and infrastructure have been set up to process this waste, which is used in their own countries or even exported. In other cases, depending on the quality of what arrives, a large portion may actually be waste, and nothing can be done about it. We're currently analyzing what percentage was actually reusable and has economic value, and what percentage is waste, and this varies greatly from country to country. We want to create clear guidelines on what is considered reusable textiles, so that what is pure waste doesn't leave the country of origin.

And how can we change the consumption patterns that lead toultra fast fashion?

— I wouldn't want to blame consumers, because the way they behave is because someone has shaped their needs and desires, with messages from the advertising and media industries. Governments can do their part by creating good incentives for the industry to change its model, moving from the model of fast fashion to business models that promote reuse, product transformation, shared platforms, and longer-lasting clothing. Chemicals can also be regulated. With industry, we are working together and investing in creating all the necessary infrastructure for circular models, with the idea of extended producer responsibility.