This chapter describes wastes from textile processing operations and their sources,
based on commercial practice, literature, and experiences related to the United
States and Europe. Certainly there are different practices in less developed emerging
economies.
In order to convert fibers into consumer products, several processes are required
in a production sequence, as indicated in Figure 7.1. This chapter reviews
environmental impacts of each of the above textile processing steps after fiber
formation. In addition, information is presented on processing auxiliary chemicals,
as well as some general ideas concerning process improvements to reduce
wastes and environmental impact of processing.
There are fundamentally two approaches to environmental protection: waste
treatment and waste prevention. Treatment systems are well known and are
beyond the scope of this discussion. Some comments on prevention will be
presented. These pollution prevention ideas are similar to the more extensive
treatment given in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Manual for
Best Management Practices for Pollution Prevention in Textile Processing [1].
One of the most difficult aspects of assessing the overall environmental impact
of textile processing is the textile industry’s extremely fragmented nature. It
is easier to assess environmental effects of individual unit processes than to
evaluate entire life cycles of pollution associated with products, [2, 3]. Each
step—beginning with design, purchasing, and training, and continuing all the
way through the unit manufacturing processes, and finally ending with distribution,
merchandising, and cut and sew—has upstream and downstream effects.