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Cradle To Cradle: Clothing As Material Culture

Article in International Journal of Advanced Scientific Research and Management · December 2018

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 International Journal of Advanced Scientific Research and Management, Volume 3 Issue 12, Dec 2018
www.ijasrm.com
ISSN 2455-6378

Cradle To Cradle: Clothing As Material

Culture
Swati Gupta1
1
Deputy Secretary and Head, Centre of Excellence, Allahabad, Central Board of Secondary
Education, ex- Faculty and Head, Fashion Deigning Department, Bhagini Nivedita College,
Delhi University, Delhi, India.

Abstract type of packaging used and the areas where the

The materiality of textiles is essential for its product will be used and the method of its disposal.
transformative value. This value lies in its
distinguishing material properties, its colour, strength 2. Review of Literature
and fragility, in its capacity to absorb, to reflect, to Current fashion retailers create an extreme demand
be cut and re-stitched. The trade in recycled clothing for quick and low priced clothes also called as fast
reveals a complex pattern of interconnected fashion. The fast fashion industry is a significant
international trade between the developed and the contributor to global environment issues [3]. As
developing countries. lower quality products are offered with cheap
synthetic fabrics, fast fashions items are frequently
The trade in used clothing as a commodity starts with replaced and discarded to follow the newest fashion
the recycling and reuse companies which are the trends and thereby, the disposed volume of textile
direct descendants of the 18th and 19th century ‘Rag waste is higher than before [4]. Significance of
and Bone’ men, now trading in huge volumes in textile waste minimization has arisen globally over
global markets. These clothes are often resold as past several decades in which recycling and reusing
prized, quality clothing of Western origin and textile products have become more important [5].
therefore different, new and potentially fashionable,
or to provide basic bodily protection for the poor. Textile recycling is a method of reusing or
Governments of importing countries can treat reprocessing used clothing, fibrous material and
secondhand clothing as an addition to an clothing scraps from the manufacturing process. The
impoverished economy unable to afford new idea upholds the concept of “continuous life cycles
clothing or as a threat to indigenous industries, of a product”; where after the end of one life cycle
imposing various levels of protectionist import the product, is either recycled into another product,
restrictions [1]. Based on the volume of trade in or used as a raw material for making another
recycled clothing in India, the paper proposes a product, thus ushering a new life cycle for the
policy intervention to develop recycling of clothing discarded product. As per the Council for Textile
as an organized sector which has potential for large Recycling [6], this industry prevents 2.5 billion
scale employment besides saving tones of discarded pounds of post consumer textile product waste from
clothes going into landfill. going into the solid waste stream annually. Most
textile recycling firms are small, family-owned
Keywords: Materiality, Recycling, Reuse, Trade businesses. Majority of them employ around 35 to 50
workers, many of whom are semi-skilled or are
1. Introduction marginally employable workers to sort and grade
McDonough and Braungart [2] in their theory “from clothes.
cradle to cradle”, states that the designers should
consider the life of the product’s materials beyond Multiple recycling of a woolen jumper in UK is
the first product lifecycle, in order to ensure that they described where a woollen jumper which lasts seven
can serve a useful purpose indefinitely, rather than years can be recycled into a woolen coating fabric,
being down cycled and eventually ‘disposed’ off. A which can be made into an overcoat that is good for
product, when it is conceived should be considered perhaps ten more years. The discarded overcoat can
for its impact in its entire lifecycle. This means that then go on to become a blanket, which can again
designers need to consider how the product will yield service for ten years. The blanket can then be
interacts with the environment in terms of the recycled as filling for furniture or bedding or perhaps
material used in production, the process used in as the insulation or soundproofing in a motor car. So
manufacture, the modes of transportation used, the a wool fibre, starting life on the back of a sheep, can
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have a useful life of 50 years before nothing more Field [13] also reported that the recipient countries of
can be done with it [7]. used clothing receive significant economic gains.
She also adds that, “in relative terms, the trade has
In UK, one million tonnes of textiles estimated at had a very positive impact on poverty alleviation
238 million pounds worth is annually discarded in during the current harsh economic climate”. It is
landfill sites which given the finite landfill capacity estimated that 5 million people (out of a population
would fill current space in ten years time if these of about 30 million) are affected directly or
amounts continue [8]. In addition the environmental indirectly by the second hand clothing trade in
issues are also addressed in connection with soil and Kenya through employment and income generation.
air pollution as the synthetic fabrics do not This is against a backdrop of an unemployment rate
decompose and the garments made of wool and of 40%.
synthetics produce the green house gas methane
when biodegrading [9]. Second-hand clothes The total global trade in textiles and clothing is
consumption to some extent avoids the worth more than $200 billion each year. The SHC
manufacturing of clothes from virgin material. The trade has grown ten-fold since 1990 but, at roughly
normal disposal of clothes may also involve $1 billion per year, still represents less than 0.5 per
recycling of the textile or energy generation from cent of this total in value terms. In volume terms the
incineration [10]. proportion is higher, since SHC sells at around 10–
20 per cent of the price of new clothes, but it still
It is estimated that least 50% of the textiles that is comprises less than 5 per cent of the total global
thrown away by an individual is recyclable, but only trade. However, this proportion varies considerably
25% of wastes are recycled. An outlook on the future according to the receiving country. Almost all
market of textiles show that India is expected to countries are involved in the trade, either as
grow around 3-5% in the area of disposals. An exporters, processors and re-exporters, or importers,
average lifetime of any clothing is deemed to be for with some countries playing more than one role.
about 3 years, after which, they are thrown away as Developing countries are the major consumers of
old clothes. Sometimes even 'not so worn garments' second-hand clothing. For some countries it plays a
are also discarded as they become unfashionable, or more important role than for others [14].
undesirable. Clothing is reported to account for
between 2% and 10% of consumers’ environmental Sub-Saharan Africa is particularly reliant on SHC
impacts [11]. Though the processes used in imports (Table 1). Here they constitute over a quarter
production of the garment can be controlled through of the value of all clothing imports (and a
new and cleaner technologies that can considerably considerably larger proportion of the volume).
reduce their carbon footprints but, it is estimated that
two thirds of a garment's carbon footprint occurs Table1- Import of Second Hand Clothing
after it is purchased. That includes the after care that
is required by the garment and most importantly the Region SHC as % of Region Ratio
process of disposing of the garment. all imports of SHC
(2017, by imports to all
3. Materiality of Recycled Clothing value) new trade,
For many sub-Saharan African countries it is a imports and
dominant feature of the clothing market (more than exports (2017,
30 per cent of the total value of imports, and much by value)
more than 50 per cent in volume terms). In most of Eastern Europe 4.7% 1.1%
these countries, second hand clothing (SHC) is & ex-USSR
declining as a share of total clothing imports, due to East Asia & 0.7% 0.1%
the increase in new imports from Asia, but Pacific
nonetheless it remains highly significant. The trade Latin America & 3.8% 1.6%
has clear consumer benefits. This is especially true in Caribbean
countries with low purchasing power, and for poorer Middle East & 2.2% 0.6%
consumers, though in many sub-Saharan African North Africa
countries it seems that almost all socio-economic South Asia 15.0% 0.6%
groups are choosing to buy SHC. For example, over Sub-Saharan 26.8% 10.3%
90 per cent of Ghanaians purchase SHC. Africa
Affordability is the key reason why people buy these Source: UN Trade data from UN[15] Commodity
goods. Fashion and consumer preferences also seem
Trade Statistics Database, 2017.
to be shifting away from traditional, ‘African’-style
SHC comprises over 30 per cent of all clothing
to more ‘Western’-style clothing [12].
imports by value (and much more by volume) in

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ISSN 2455-6378

many countries. A typical value chain for trade in The clothing which can be reused are put up for sale.
SHC is shown below. Most charities involved in the All collected textiles are sorted and graded by highly
business in the UK sell their (excess) donations to skilled, experienced workers, on the basis of fibers
commercial reclamation merchants. Oxfam GB is the used in the fabrics. Once sorted the items are sent to
only major charity in the UK to have its own various destinations.
processing facility, Wastesaver, which is located in
Huddersfield. Post industrial waste is often reprocessed in- house.
Clippings from garment manufacture are also used
by fibre reclaimers to make them into garments, felts
and blankets. Some recovered items are reused by
designers to fashion garments and bags. However,
this is a very small sector within the overall
destinations of textiles. Recycled polyester made
from recycled drink bottles is now being made and
used by companies such as Patagonia, Marks and
Spencer, and Armani jeans.

4. An Indian Context
In 2017 the estimated population of India was 1.33
billion and the share of textiles was 4 per cent of
India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the annual
consumer expenditure on clothing and footwear was
almost 68 billion dollars [18],[19],[20].

Rapid fashion change and increased buying power of

Indian consumers have resulted in significant
amounts of SHC. It is prevalent in the Indian middle
class, that housewives barter old clothing for shiny
steel cooking utensils, a highly valued resource
within the woman’s domestic economy. What is
created through riddance is exchange value, or
‘getting something for nothing’. The unwanted
clothing thus slips from being transient in value
(declining) to rubbish, from where it can be rescued
and reinvested with value, on the way to becoming
more durable in value once more [21].
Nearly 98% of items collected are reused or
recycled, of which hundreds of tonnes of clothing are Though, recycling of textiles was primarily a
exported each week to developing countries in domestic craft. However, over period of time, India
Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Middle East where has taken up the textile recycling business in a
the affordable and quality clothing are needed [17]. It significant manner. For decades, second-hand
is estimated that 70% of the world's population uses garments from the West have created a thriving
second hand clothes. business in India, as cheap clothing for millions of
the country’s poor. The “trendier” lots are resold in
urban flea markets such as Sarojini Nagar in New
Delhi and Linking Road in Mumbai. Textile clusters
and small scale industries also came up to work on
second hand imported clothing. These clusters also
develop a range of products like recycled yarns,
doormats, prayer rugs, blankets and bed linen.

Imported rags are a permitted commodity that

attracts a tariff of only 40%. India has insufficient
wool to meet her needs, and woollen rags are
allowed to fuel the recycling industry known as
“shoddy” manufacturing, now located in the Punjab
Figure 2- The Trade Origin- Destination of Used- and Haryana. In order to try and control illegal
Recycled Clothing imports of wearable garments, the Indian

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government (amongst others) insists that all used

clothing is slashed by large machines wielding
250
fiendishly sharp rotating blades before packaging for Bangladesh
export by the West, creating a product generically 200
known as ‘mutilated hosiery’[see 12]. 150 Canada
100 China
Panipat is Asia’s biggest textile recycling hub. From 50
here the yarns are supplied mainly to Amritsar, Nepal
0

2018(till…
Ludhiana and other area [22]. Earlier Panipat, was UAE

2016-17
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
2015-16

2017-18
known for its furnishing business, but now it has
acquired a new name for textile recycling or in USA
“shoddy” business. The term used for recycled yarn.
Bathroom mats that use recycled cotton yarn is Rs Figure 6- Major Countries from Second Hand
2,000 crore industry. The business of using recycled Clothing is imported (US$ million)
acrylic and woolen threads for blanket Source- Export Import Data Bank, Ministry of
manufacturing has annual revenues of Rs 700-1,000 Commerce [25]
crore in Panipat alone [23]. Cotton is the mainstay in
the Panipat’s Rs10,000 crore furnishings business Figure 7 shows the top countries where the recycled
but the cost of cotton yarn has increase by 40%. To goods from imported second hand clothes are
mitigate this increased cost, recycled yarns are used. exported and they are USA, Germany, UK, UAE,
In Panipat, around 30 units produce 500 tonnes of Canada, France and Australia. The trade with USA
recycled yarn a day out of cotton pants and T-shirts shows high prominence.
that are used to make mats [24].

The economics of recycling is compelling. India 3000

2500 Australia
receives second hand textile imports from at least 90
countries, and oddly, from third-world countries also. 2000 France
The consignments are fumigated by certified 1500
1000 Germany
international agencies to reduce any health related
risk before being sent to various vendors. The Figure 500 Canada
5, depicts the import data indicating the cost of 0
2018(till… UAE
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
2015-16
2016-17
2017-18
imports which have increased over past seven years.
The data shows how this trade has increased. Total UK
cost of imports was US$ 390.35 million in 2011-12
which has increase to US$ 460.65 million in 2017-
18. Already in the first quarter of financial year Figure 7 - Major Countries to Export Recycled
2018, the imports have been US$ 146.98 million. Products made from SHC (US$ million)
Source- Export Import Data Bank, Ministry of
Commerce [25]
146.98 390.35
460.65 2011-12 The recycling of imported Western clothing in India
412.38 shares many of the characteristics of strategies
2012-13
utilised in the recycling of Indian clothes.
2013-14 Knowledge about, and preservation of, signs of the
2014-15 previous individual owner is not given a positive
value, in fact signs of the body have to be removed
549.94 374.67
495.8 2015-16 but in an unusually brutal manner [26]. The
430.84
manufacture of extremely cheap blankets and
2016-17
jumpers from shoddy for the very poor and disaster
victims reflects an economy of technology which
Figure 5- Import Volume of Second Hand Clothing adds value to cast-out garments, giving them a new
in US$ million lease of life for a year or two at best. However, in
Source- Export Import Data Bank, Ministry of order to manufacture a product attractive to the
Commerce [25] middle classes, it is again necessary to conceal the
Figure 6 shows the top countries from where the second-hand, foreign origin of the material,
clothing are imported every year. The countries are destroying it completely and throwing away the very
China, USA, Korea PR, Bangladesh, Nepal, UAE labels and fashion trimmings that gave the garment
and Canada. The imports from China and USA form its value in the West. This effacement of former lives
the major source of second hand clothing. creates a new exchange value located in the shoddy

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fibres; once stamped with a ‘Product of India’ strap-

line, the blanket has a new value as desirable
commodity. The two extremes encompass the
approaches needed to add value to ‘rubbish’ for
different consumers: one focuses on the foreign
origins of cloth, whilst the other denies it completely.
Ironically, the clothing given to charity in the West
may be helping to keep refugees and disaster victims
warm, but through a circuitous route few would
imagine, via the recycling of their constituent fibres
[see 1].

The domestic SHC generated is recycled by NGOs

which use them by either giving it to the needy,
shelter homes or as contribution in rehabilitation and
relief work posts a natural calamity. However, NGOs
are involved in recycling of donated clothes by
5. Conclusion
With the growth in purchasing power and the fast
involving community of artisans for livelihood
fashion offered by the manufacturers there is going
development. Many brands in India are also working
to be significant increase in the amount of second
towards up-cycling of the used clothing for further
hand clothing that will be “disposed off ”by the
product development. Brands such as Doodlage,
consumers. The import export data shows that the
Mehera Shaw, Péro and House of Wandering Silk
trade in recycled clothes is increasing on yearly
up-cycle clothing and sarees to designer products
basis. Though the total percentage of this trade
[27] [28]. The used clothing also lands up in the
remains around 1.4% of India’s total trade, however,
unorganized second- hand shops while small
when looked at the environmental and the social
percentage of recycled clothing is industrially
benefits this trade has, it will be desirable to invest
recycled to fibres by semi-organized or organized
and form better policies to govern the trade and to
sectors, such as small scale industries like
bring innovativeness.
“Khaloom” [29]. Recycled fibres are used for
multiple applications like stuffing of unbranded
beddings, mattresses, pillows, cushion, etc. T-shirts Till now the recycling industries are majorly dealing
and other knitted products are often torn into strips of with imported second hand clothing, whereas in
fabric and woven to mats and rugs. On the other India too the “disposing off” of garments are
hand companies like “Pure Waste Textiles” near indicated to grow by 3-4%. A concerted effort by the
Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu; India recycles industrial government to create new startups and providing
textile waste and converts into fibres, which are financial assistance to small sector industries to
finally knitted into fabrics [30]. Therefore, Figures recycle the second hand clothes which will boost the
3 and 4show the model that is mostly followed in economy besides providing employment and
India for recycling of SHC by individuals and NGOs. entrepreneurship opportunities. A Setup similar to
the UK can be adopted where instead of exporting
the second hand clothes to other countries, the sorted
and graded SHC can directly be sent to the already
established recycling units in Panipat in Haryana and
Ludhiana and Amritsar in Punjab clusters. By doing
so a good amount of foreign exchange will be saved
and the wastage of second hand garments by sending
them in landfills will also be reduced substantially.

6. References
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ISSN 2455-6378

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