Sustainability for the textile industry is the responsible management of resources to meet present needs in the textile processing field without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Throughout the time the synthetic chemical industries have changed their shape and size with a new revolution for the continuous demand for textile, leather and plastic processing industries. Due to this major change in processing industries, humans started to find the effect of chemicals in day to day lives and consumers become more aware due to the intervention of brands, Government and NGOs.
As sustainability is the need of the hour, all buying houses started understanding the different terms of ecology/toxicology due to that textile legislation started in different countries with different eco-labels.
Big brands have started a new marketing slogan ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ to gain a position in competitive market and to attract their customers with different eco-labels like BLUESIGN, EU FLOWER, OEKO TEX, GOTS, FAIR TRADE SA 8000 etc. They are also concerned with water footprint, carbon footprint, energy footprint, etc.
Different governments have their own laws and legislation to protect the ecosystem and human health like Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), Washington Children’s Safe Products Act (CSPA), California Proposition 65 (Cal Prop 65), China GB 18401-2010, Japan law 112.
Dyes and chemicals manufacturers are forced with time to remove few carcinogenic ingredients from their product formulations over the years like azo dyes (containing arsenic /lead ), solvents, pesticides, chlorinated phenols, heavy metals, Apeo/Npeo, phthalates, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, organotin compounds, isocyanates, formaldehyde, perfluorinated compounds to protect the human health, ecosystems, food chain as mostly the banned article creates lots of issue unknowingly, which causes major issues on human health and damaged ecosystem (Environmental hazards due to chemicals like toxic to aquatic life, eutrophication, depletion of DO, persistent chemicals which create problem of BOD/COD and bioaccumulative, which is serious problem to animals).
Brands can protect their consumers with RSL/MRSL declarations/compliance and eco audits at global platforms with the help of certification bodies like GOTS / ZDHC / BLUE SIGN/TOX.
Chemicals hazards majorly cause skin and eye irritation, respiratory problems, nausea due to dermal, oral, body, inhalation exposure. Also, with short time (acute) or long term (chronic) exposure, hazardous chemicals can cause chemical health hazards like a carcinogenic, reprotoxic, mutagenic, endocrine disruptor.
Chemicals that can cause physical harm to people, process, property like chemicals under pressures (gases/liquids), explosives, corrosives, flammable/oxidizers should be avoided from process or to be taken special care while handling.
By laws now chemicals risk has been strictly followed for consumer health and worker safety with legal compliance.
With the seam ( Set-up program, Evaluate, Actualize, Measure and Monitor ) approach brands can manage chemical risk to gain competitive edge with better compliance for more business and improved productivity with reduce chemical usage and process steps, finally with safe working conditions by reduce exposure to hazardous chemicals and processes with compliance ( RSL / MRSL ) to chemical restriction in all output.
