Investigation of current state of pre-consumer textile waste generated at Lithuanian enterprises

Abstract

Purpose Production and consumption of textile garments contribute significantly to environment problems. The purpose of this paper is to perform the evaluation of textile waste generated at Lithuanian clothing enterprises based on statistical data analysis and business cases studies. Design/methodology/approach For the evaluation of real situation of waste generation in companies, an original methodology was developed and used during investigation. In order to get an overall view, statistical data of waste generation and management in Lithuania were also analysed. Waste accounting covered data such as wastes from unprocessed textile fibres and wastes from processed textile fibres and textiles (not otherwise specified). Findings The investigation showed that the amount of cutting waste reaches 20-25 per cent of the total quantity of materials used for production. It was found that the waste is not sorted in Lithuanian clothing enterprises and is disposed in landfills in most cases, notwithstanding the positive tendencies of recycling of waste that were observed during past year. However, a practical recycling strategy and broader perception of developing products with greater added value from waste are missing in Lithuania. Originality/value In this research, a simple methodology was developed for determining the quantity of the textile waste generated by enterprises, the introduction of which would allow us to expect better results in waste accounting and management. The results of investigation are useful to gain in-depth understanding of waste generation in various countries.

Need of post-consumer textile waste management via circular economy

“…These two levels surge textile waste adding hugely to environmental problems (Dobilaite, et al, 2017)because, production of textiles includes vast use of energy, water and chemicals, direct CO2 emissions and solid waste (Resta, et al, 2016). The intensity of their ecological footprint varies depending on the stages of the textiles or clothing product life cycle (Koszewska, 2018).…”

“…A. Pre-Consumer and Post-Consumer textile waste and its management There is an upsurge in textile waste (Xu, et al, 2019) because of fast changing fashion trends or consumer"s changing demands (Fashion, 2018; Lau, 2015) and metamorphoses into various environmental problems (Dobilaite, et al, 2017)which need to be managed effectively. The various studies like Bairagi, 2014; Agrawal&Sharan, 2015; Dobilaite, et al, 2017 categorize textile waste into two categories i.e.…”

“…The textile industry is considered as one of the most complex and polluting industry (Chen-ke, et al, 2019; Boström & Micheletti, 2016; GUPTA, 2018) because all its activities from production to consumption generates waste and affects the environment (Dobilaite, et al, 2017;GUPTA, 2018). Boström & Micheletti (2016) & Chen-ke, et al (2019in their studies gave the reasons why production and consumption of textile is environmentally a damaging process as its production uses vast quantity of water, chemicals and natural resources and on the other hand consumption includes incompetent usage patterns.…”

“…Previous researches highlighted that though the textiles industry is providing for basic human needs in addition to fashion, healthcare, automobiles and beyond (Sivaram, et al, 2019), at the same time is a source of waste, and pollution (Chen-ke, et al, 2019), which is an environmentally damaging process, consuming vast quantities of natural resources like water, oil, land, toxic chemicals and emitting large amounts of carbon dioxide (Dobilaite, et al, 2017).Further reviews revealed how Circular Economy assists in economizing resource utilization, promotes ideal use of Pre-and Post-Consumer textile waste on one side and enables a sustainable environment on the other side (Assmuth, et al, 2011). So, it becomes necessary to understand and identify the opportunities in terms of circular economy and stimulate the same for a healthy future.…”

Cotton Wastes Functionalized Biomaterials from Micro to Nano: A Cleaner Approach for a Sustainable Environmental Application

“…As a result of continuous production and utilization of cotton fibres, the wastes generated have proportionately increased over the years, causing significant environmental issues. Reference [6] categorized cotton wastes as pre-consumers and post-consumer wastes. Reference [7] regarded pre-consumer wastes 2 of 36 as wastes from processed fibres, including finished yarns, technical textiles, garments offcuts, nonwovens, and other rejected processing cotton materials.…”