Рубрика: Технология и первичная обработка текстильных материалов и сырья
УДК 677.02
Ecological problems of textile industry
Georgia Pavlidou, bachelor
Vladivostok University of Economics and Service, Russia, Vladivostok
E-mail: gpavlidou@hotmail.com; phone: +79681652208
Gogolya St., 41, Russia, Vladivostok, 690014

The following research work refers to the environmental problems caused by the textile sector, including cultivation and production of the various textile raw materials. It also mentions the ways in which it can partly provide solutions to the ecological problems which can directly sensitize the factor that causes them.
Keywords:  textile industry, soil and groundwater contamination, energy consumption, synthetic fibers.

Today there are high demands on the environmental aspects of the production of consumer goods. The fashion industry in general, and in particular the textile industry, is now criticizing about the damage it causes to the environment. 
The article presents the results of the analysis of the specific and scientific literature. The types of harmful effects of textile production processes on the environment have been identified and systematized. 
Τhe development and improvement of this industry is necessary for the survival of the human race/ Textile is an important branch of Greek industry, which includes many sub-branches such as spinning, knitting, clothing and other closely related sectors. According to data from the Greek Textile Industry Association, the textile industry contributes about 15% to the GDP of the country and employs 70,000 workers. Including clothing workers, the total number of workers is close to 120,000, accounting for about 28% of those employed in domestic manufacturing. Continuous modernization of production units is necessary in order to reduce production costs, improve quality and specialize in products with high added value, in order to enhance the competitiveness of Greek companies in the Greek and international markets. Already, several large companies in the industry are producing high quality products. In Greece, the problems caused by the textile industry are evident.
The textile industry has a number of processing steps starting from harvesting, processing raw materials and resulting in weaving, painting and washing. These processes effect negatively the environment in various forms such as water pollution, air pollution, sound pollution, soil contamination and the disruption of the ecosystem by synthetic fiber residues. Recycling is a way of reducing the impacts of the problem, but it is not enough to be a solution.
For this reason, solutions are sought to tackle directly the problems.
Contamination of the environment is the most likely effect of textiles on the environment. It is very important to study the ways and the causes of various harmful substances being released into the environment and contaminating them.
The production of all the products necessary for the textile industry inevitably leads to the dispersal of substances that pollute air, water and earth.
In addition, the noise generated during the process reaches undesirably high levels.
I.	Groundwater contamination for the general public is much more closely related to the textile Industry than any other type of contamination [1]. This is because when the infection occurs, it is clear visible. Evidence of its existence appears in the form of colored byproducts from the dyeing process and the printing [2], or lathering of surfactants from washing or rinsing. However, there are other sources of water pollution caused by the textiles production process and an example is the process of delaminating woven fabrics.
II.	Air pollution in the textile industry affects people, machines, and the products themselves. In enclosed production areas, air pollution is much more intense either with spinning fibers or with the various volatile chemicals and solutions used during fiber preparation, dyeing and finishing [3]. There is an increasing trend in the health problems of people working in the textile industry, especially pneumoconiosis, tuberculosis, asthma and various types of cancer. Although compared with other industries it is considered that the textile industry charges the air much less, the contribution of is important.
III.	Soil contamination can occur during the production process of a textile product when various substances and materials used or even textiles are disposed of on land. Furthermore, the by-product created during the process of cleaning the wipes from the various wet treatments in the textile industry, and which is in the form of sludge, is particularly toxic and damaging the soil [4]. Fibers or chemicals, during their degradation under the influence of air, water or light, can become harmful and dangerous by causing toxic agents that contaminate the earth.
Also, visual-aesthetic contamination is a parameter of soil contamination that is not even considered a problem even though it is particularly disturbing.
IV.	Sound pollution is often considered as a simple problem that causes a little nuisance, but it is slowly becoming increasingly aware that it is a real and dangerous issue. Individuals who work in textile factories and are daily subjected to noise pollution caused by machines may lose some of their hearing. In addition, sounds of any intensity when repeated for long periods of time may affect the general physical and mental health of humans. Particularly high noise levels are generated during the production process of spinning, spinning, weaving and knitting.
Unpleasant high noise may also result from the use of machinery or other equipment during loading, unloading, dispatch, distribution or handling of raw materials or finished products.
The impact of textiles on the environment includes the entire lifecycle of products from the production and collection of raw materials, the production process of the products with the different treatments, their use, as well as their disposal. For cultivation of cotton, fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides are often used, which, when absorbed by the soil, change their composition by substituting it [5]. The same is true of continuous and intensive cultivation, because the cotton plant absorbs various substances from the soil. In addition, large quantities of water are required for growing. The use of insecticides and the spraying of crops has a wide chemical burden on the air. Flax while not requiring a lot of water and can grow on barren soils requires mechanical harvesting methods, such as jute, hemp and bamboo, which have a high energy consumption.
Wool usually from sheep, but also from other animals such as camels and rabbits can also cause soil degradation. This can happen when pesticides and fertilizers are used on the ground to produce more food for the animals, as well as to the continuous and extensive grazing of a region.
Silkworm rearing consumes enough energy to be able to maintain the strictly specific environmental conditions necessary for its development, as well as for the collection of silk.
For artificial fibers derived from natural polymers, such as rayon, cellulose acetate, viscose, lyocel and tencel, the burden imposed by their production-collection process on the environment is relatively lower than most natural fibers. This is the case, for example, for some artificial fibers, the raw material of which is the residuals of natural fibers collected during the spinning process. But there are also some artificial fibers, the raw material of which is various types of trees such as eucalyptus and bamboo, which require little water and can grow on barren soils, but their high demand for fiber use can lead to intensive cultivation of these in inappropriate areas, thus degrading the natural biodiversity of the site as well as the soil.
For synthetic fibers, man-made fibers from chemical polymers, the production and collection of raw materials is usually made by laboratory by-products of petroleum products. In some cases, such as in the production of recycled polyester, the raw material comes from used plastic packaging of industries as well as from used (usually) plastic bottles of consumers. The latter will have to be washed, so water and energy will be consumed, but environmental packaging will again be recycled. 
The process of painting and rinsing synthetic fabrics has the effect of contaminating the water with its remains. Microfibers, which are not visible to eye - and therefore theoretically do not be problem - end up in seas and poison aquatic organisms. 
The discovery of this problem was due to the systematic death aquatic organisms. A research have found in these organisms a quantity of synthetic microfibers. 
A proposal that could easily be carried out as a first test is the filters for dyeing and washing machines of synthetic fibers. Then a very good way to tackle such problems is to reduce the use of synthetic fibers, so that a balance exists between synthetic and natural fabrics that in recent years the reduction in natural fiber has disrupted the levels of raw materials.
Beyond the cropping and production of raw materials, procedures which polish and improve the environment is the innovation, weaving, knitting, painting, but these finishing. For example waste from the paint of textile products takes place in soil and waters influence the hydrogen environmental sources.
Energy consumption is one of the most important issues in every industrial activity. All types of industrial production consume an amount of energy. One of these industrial units is also the textile industry. The textile industry keeps a record of lower efficiency in terms of energy use and is one of the industries with particularly high energy consumption. If along with the energy consumed to produce its products, we also take into account what is consumed for the collection of raw materials as well as for the distribution, use and disposal of finished products, we realize the need for greater energy savings in all its sectors. The magnitude of electricity consumption depends on the process itself, on the fibers used, on the speed of production as well as on maintenance, modernization and type of machinery.
The total final energy consumption of the textile industry of any country depends on the country's structure in this sector. It can be reduced by examining and improving the individual production processes, the existing equipment, and the use of renewable energy sources. For a textiles business, good energy management, apart from saving significant energy costs, contributes substantially to its better management.
The high energy consumption of the textile industry is not taken up by the whole, with the gravity it deserves, because it is more concerned with economic parameters than with ecological ones. The problem of the depletion of natural resources is mainly due to energy consumption and for the textile industry comes from the production process as well as from the distribution, promotion and use of its products. In addition, petroleum used in the manufacture of plastics, water used for the various needs of the production process, iron and other metals used in the construction of machinery and for dyeing processes are natural sources of energy coming from the earth and they are either limited or unlimited.
Using the above, the problem of depletion of natural resources is exacerbated.
Textile products can therefore be useful and reliable depending on the use made by the person and the qualities he chooses to use. Textiles can also be used for limit air pollution. This can be achieved with using air filters that have the ability to remove several micro particles of various sizes. Excellent fabric pores are ideal to contain any dirt while allowing air to circulates comfortably. Textile filters belong to a large category textile techniques used around the world on industries and for all kinds of similar situations.
Still, geotextiles are used to restrict it water pollution by filtering waste, both industrial and non-industrial, in particular in sensitive coastal areas or in different ports, irreversible ecological disaster. Another use is the one in which stabilizing fabrics prevent the movement of soil it contains pesticides or other harmful reagents to water supplies. Also, the effective use of geotextile fabrics (membranes) has in many cases limited diffusion and spreading polluting substances. One example is the limitation of marine pollution from the release of oil due to an accident on an oil extraction platform or a sinking ship carrying large or small quantities of it. Textiles affect and greatly facilitate human everyday life. In some cases, they help people to reduce the burden of their body from contamination of the environment, for example by using gloves, air filters in masks, various uniforms, etc.
The importance of recycling is enormous as the quantities of textiles used and disposed of are increasing daily. Textile recycling can be done either as recycling - reuse of end products or as recycling of rejected products and turning them into raw material to create a new one. It is therefore necessary to develop methods and establish separation facilities for textile waste. There, for example, fabrics will be divided into various categories such as over-worn or stained clothing and clothing or household equipment that can be reused.
•	Textiles that are in good shape will either be resold in different markets or distributed to institutions and needy people who usually have particularly large needs in clothing and household equipment.
•	Changing the use of textiles creates rags for the industry that are mainly used as wiping fabrics.
•	Cotton can be used as a raw material for high quality paper.
•	Knitted or woven woolen and similar materials end up in a fibrous state for use in the textile industry, for example in the filling or insulating of car seats.
•	Other types of fabrics that can be reprocessed into fibers are used for thermal and sound insulation in upholstery as well as in building materials in which the use of fibers gives elasticity to cement.
•	Textile natural materials such as the various waste from the opening and cleaning of cotton in ginners can be composted and give us fuel.
•	Another sector of recycling in the Textile Industry is the re-use of energy, water and chemicals used in all Manufacturing, Dyeing or Printing Industry processes, as well as finishing. For example, when the hot water of a process is recycled, it is reused and possibly heats up the next bath.[6]
•	Recycled fabrics can be used for household use, for clothing, linen, towels, tablecloths, curtains, carpets, blankets, furniture covers and for stuffing, ropes, twine, canvases, rags, dusters, bags and toys.
•	Disposable textiles and non-products, either in good or in bad shape, could still be used as raw material in the art.
•	This view can transform a “garbage” into a work of art and instead of transporting it to the dump, decorate the living room or take a seat in any gallery.
The recycling process can reduce and slow down the environmental burden our planet has received.
The solar energy that reaches the earth is so great that the three-day total collection of the incident radiation could provide enough electricity to meet the needs of the entire planet for a decade. Unfortunately, in this respect, account is not taken of problems related to the means needed to collect solar radiation. The use of solar energy is not widely applied in the textile industry due to the high cost of technology that is needed to collect it [7]/
Alternative renewable energy sources such as wind, tidal and geothermal, require massive equipment to collect, convert and distribute energy. Additionally, accessories need frequent maintenance and replacement, because their equipment is subjected to heavy weathering, temperature changes and tidal activity.
In conclusion recent years, it has been observed that man has begun to become aware of environmental protection. Recycling and environmental protection around industrial production greatly improves human health and helps to slow down global warming. Although the ecological problem is widespread, there has not yet been any solution that could "satisfy the environment" to such a degree that the problem is considered to be negligible.
It has been found in this work, that great attention has been paid to these aspects of the problem, such as soil and water pollution, dyeing of waste and production of finishes, air pollution, and depletion of resources for the production of textiles. At the same time, serious attention is not paid to the problem of environmental damage and human health due to the widespread spread of microfibers. Microfiber is now considered an innovative solution that determines the development of textiles in the future and is widely advertised. However, in review, it is noted that the particularities of the production of such a fiber lead to a continuous leaching of the structure of harmful production waste materials. 
Since man can not abandon synthetic materials, it is necessary to find solutions that will reduce the risk of their harmful effects on the environment. For this, a good start would be the treatment of the microfibers who have experienced impacts and solutions that can be achieved.
Scientific innovation of the work is linked to the negative aspects of the production and use of microfibers for the environment. The practical relevance of the project is related to the justification of the research direction in the context of VSUES collaboration with the University of Western Attica.

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science,8(1) June, 2013: p.64-66.
[4] A. K. Krishna, P. K. Govil “Soil Contamination Due to Heavy Metals from an Industrial Area of Surat, Gujarat, Western India”, Environmental Geology, 41(2006), p.461–469.
[5] Tariq Banuri “Pakistan: Environmental Impact of Cotton Production and Trade”, UNEP project,
1998, 62p.
[6] Mostafa MK, Peters RW “Applying the three R's: Reduce, reuse, and recycle in the chemical industry”, Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, 22 Sep 2016.
[7] Kostolia Athanasia/ “Textile and Environment”, 2012, p.22-26, p.30-35.