Whatever punch the word “sustainability” has lost in meaning, it is making up for in visibility – for future textile and fashion designers, in fact, it’s basically everything.
Jeff Silberman of the International Forum for Cotton Promotion, in Cotton International’s upcoming 2012 Annual Edition, points out that young textile and design students are looking at more than the label to determine whether or not a product is “green.” They look beyond the label to equally important environmental issues, including water usage, the amount of waste generated by the manufacture of a product, and even the labor conditions of the people who make it.
Textile machinery manufacturers have expanded their understanding of sustainability as well, and have set their sights squarely on reducing energy usage – a goal that is music to the ears of spinning mill owners, who have been increasingly hurt by spiraling energy costs for years.
“Some in the textile value chain have put their sustainability emphasis on the label [of a piece of clothing], and while that’s important, it certainly doesn’t tell the whole story,” Nicolai Strauch, of the Association of German Textile Machinery Manufacturers (VDMA), said in an interview in Frankfurt, Germany this week.
“Changing the composition of a piece of apparel doesn’t really help mills in terms of improving their operations or efficiency. Reducing energy consumption meets multiple needs that serve not only the environment, but also the financial needs of textile mills.”
The focus on energy consumption is part of VDMA’s BLUECOMPETENCE initiative, the association’s new effort that is designed to help member companies find sustainable improvements that can be made in the machinery and equipment construction sector.
Strauch also discussed:
• Leasing equipment rather than buying it outright is becoming a more attractive business option for mills, especially since credit has tightened so severely since the 2008 financial crisis.
• Flexibility is a core aspect of modern textile machinery. Due to the volatility of cotton prices, mills need to be prepared to temporarily – as unpleasant as it is to hear for cotton professionals – shift to synthetic fibers when cotton is unavailable, or its price point is too high to be economically feasible.
• ROI analysis of textile machinery and its total cost of ownership, not just initial purchasing cost.
For more on the VDMA BLUECOMPETENCE program, be sure to watch for the Q1 issue of Cotton International magazine, which will be available in March 2012.
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