WOOL: FROM STRAW TO GOLD

An ecological assessmentof the lifecycle

of wool from to
cradle grave and beyond
in
resulting yarns composedof 100%
post consumerwaste

JOAN M FARRER

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment

of the requirementsof the Royal College
of Art for the degreeof Doctor of
Philosophy

May 2000

The Royal College of Art

ýý ( )t )I F1t( )11 `TItAWT( ) GOLD
,:
ABSTRACT

Me objective of this researchis to documentthe complexjourney of wool from cradle to grave

and beyond to
and analyze the ethical and environmental cost of production from the farm to the
knitwear factory, to retail and finally as post-consumerwaste.The researchfindings make a

contribution to the growing commercial and consumer in debatein this arcs.

Under the spotlight is wool growing including genetic and chemical manipulation and

environmental degradation. Human exploitation at manufacturing sites, in some of the poorest

countries of the world is discussed. Finally, the involvement of government, charitable and

commercial institutions in the business of textile waste disposal which currently takes the form of
landfill, incineration and Third World dumping is highlighted.

Experimentshave beenundertakento producea small range of knitwear yarns and garments

composedof a blend of wool. cotton and polyester.regeneratedfrom 100%post consumerwaste

originally in the form of wool garments,jeans and drinking bottles.
This has involved an innovative collaboration with the local Authority, community groups, a

national charity. a textile reclamation company, spinner and commercial knitter. The aim of the

resarch both theoretical and practical is to demonstrate that there are practical ways to 'close the
loop' and to flag up the need for design in the 21' Century to focus on post-consumer issues and

the manufacture of aesthetic. cooirm'i t,dk %,0,1c products madc from non-virgin materials.
CONTENTS
WOOL: FROM STRAW TO GOLD PAGE

ABSTRACT 2
................................................................................................

CONTENTS 3
................................................................................................

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 4
.............................................................................
AUTHOR'S DECLARATION 5
........................................................
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 6
...........................................................................
CHAPTER 1
OUT OF THE BOBBLE HAT AND INTO THE BOARDROOM 8
.............................
CHAPTER 2
WOOL FROM THE CRADLE 34
........................................................................
CHAPTER 3
THE GLOBAL FACTORY 67
...........................................................................
CHAPTER 4
TO THE GRAVE AND BEYOND 101
.....................................................................
CHAPTER 5
THE THROW AWAY SOCIETY 131
......................................................................

CHAPTER 6
WOOL: FROM STRAW TO GOLD DESIGN PRACTICE 150
......................................

APPENDICES 165
.......................................................................................... ...

BIBLIOGRAPHY 168
.........................................................................................
 4

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This thesisandsupportingdesignprojectis the resultof the equivalentof 5 years-parttime

of the lifecycleof wool,resultingin a

personalresearchandcollaborationinto the assessment

small rangeof textile productscomposed which

waste,
of post-consumer is the basisfor future

development.

The researchcameabout as a result of `the needto know more detail' relating to ecological

issuesin the international fibre, textile and fashion industry, in which I am a knowledgeable

designconsultant for retail in yarn and knitwear design.

My approachwas to invite comment on my findings and subsequenttheories,from a range of

specialistsfrom Private and Public companies,Organisations,Institutions and Authorities which

had involvement in the wool production and wastedisposalchain.

Out of the many peopleconsulted(in the UK and Europe) throughout the research,which covers

numerousareas,there are twelve who have made a significant contribution to the body of

knowledge either practically or philosophically.

They are: LawrenceBarry, LMB Ltd; Mark Barthel, BSI; Marie Yvette Cleli; Mervyn Davies

Marks and Spencer,PLC; Ronaldo Galli, Nanni Filati Srl; William Gardiner, London Borough of

Enfield; SusannahHandley, PhD RCA; Mark Lightowler of Lightowlers Yarns; Vicky Longdon,

Charnos PLC; Anton Luiken, TNO; John Parkinson, J.P. Textiles (Evergreen);Andrew

Stockwell, Oxfam Wastesaver.

However of these,three have played a central and continuing role, shaping the argument,

contributing ideas and providing invaluable practical advice, they are: Mervyn Davies, Specialist

Technologist in Hosiery and Knitwear at Marks and SpencerPLC, William Gardiner, Waste

Reduction Officer for the London Borough of Enfield and John Parkinson,J.P. Textiles Ltd.

(Evergreen)Shoddyand Yarn manufacturer.

Finally thanks to Felix, Ruaidhri, Harriet and Michael for their enduranceand Susannahand

Francesfor their continuous support.

 5

AUTHORS DECLARATION

This text representsthe submissionfor the degreeof Doctor of Philosophyat the Royal College of

Art. This copy has beensupplied for the purposeof private study, on the understandingthat it is

copyright material, and that no quotation from the thesis be

may published without proper

acknowledgement.

DISCLAIMER

Whilst every endeavourhas beenmade to properly credit literature, ideasand quotationsfrom

other sourcesreferred to in this thesis, the author acceptsno responsibility for any omissions

and/or errors found in the text.

 6

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
Fig 1 The Co-operativebank customercare literature 10
Fig 2 Children work for sports labels 10
Fig 3 Child workers are bondedslaves 10
Fig 4 Exxon Valdez Alaskan oil spill 12
Fig 5 Industrial discharges 15
Fig 6 Satellite view of the Aral Seadestruction 17
Fig 7A fishing boat strandedin the desert 18
Fig 8 Eco-warriors attack fields of experimentalGM crops 20
Fig 9 Eco-label phenomenon 22
Fig 10 How we Give campaign 26
Fig 11 Trade not Aid in Amazonia 26
Fig 12 Ecollection from Esprit in Spring 1991 28
Fig 13 A new conceptin British shopping Out of this world 31
Fig 14 Food retailer showsproducer responsibility 33
Fig 15 Early sheepbreed 35
Fig 16 Jesusis the good shepherd 35
Fig 17 IndigenousLincoln ram 37
Fig 18 Australian Merino ram 38
Fig 19 The BuxtehudeMadonna by Bettram 1390-1400 39
Fig 20 Weighted spindle 40
Fig 21 Early mechanisedcloth manufacture 41
Fig 22 Little Bo Peephas lost her sheep 42
Fig 23 Ba Ba Black Sheep,have you any wool? 42
Fig 24 ReverendWilliam Lee 43
Fig 25 Desert causedby overgrazing of sheep 44
Fig 26 Drawing of wool a complex protein 47
Fig 27 Flocks in rugged grassyfoothills 48
Fig 28 Marketing wool as the perfect, organic, wholesomefibre 49
Fig 29 Castrating sheepby mouth 50
Fig 30 The self-shearingsheep,shorn by injecting cyclophosphamide 51
Fig 31 Drawing of the treatedhair follicle 52
Fig 32 Drawings from the sheep-shearingmanual `Golden Hoof 53
Fig 33 Damagedwool fibre 56
Fig 34 New solvent cleaning system`Wooltech' 57
Fig 35 Machine washablewool advertisement 61
Fig 36 Drawing of a knitted structure 64
Fig 37 Mauritius, the Pearl of the Indian Ocean 69
Fig 38 Hong Kong, oncethe export gatewayto the West 71
Fig 39 Harvesting sugar cane 72
Fig 40 Benettonown shops,factories and sheep 75
Fig 41 Inspection and packing rooms 77
Fig 42 Chineseworkers on three year contracts 78
Fig 43 One of the largest knitwear factories in the world is in Madagascar 80
Fig 44 Wool advertisementfor Principles 82
Fig 45 The Woolmark logo 89
Fig 46 The Oxfam Challenge 94
Fig 47 Delih Shanty Town 98
Fig 48 Dyeing elastic for a UK womenswearchain store label 98
Fig 49 Dyeing buttons for a UK womenswearchain store label 100
Fig 50 The three Rs should becomefour; Reduce,Re-use,Recycleand Repair 103
Fig 51 High profile designersinnovate with post-consumer materials 105
Fig 52 Breakdown of domesticrefuse items 107
 7

Fig 53 ReclamationAssociation literature 107

Fig 54 UK annual textile waste is equivalent in volume to three times that of
Canary Wharf Tower. 108
Fig 55 Textile bank 110
Fig 56 Containersat Sheernessbound twice weekly for impoverishedcountries 111
Fig 57 Import entrepreneurLagos 112
Fig 58 Clothing waiting for export, purchasedfrom the UK charities via public
donations 115
Fig 59 EvergreenYarns HQ Dewsbury 116
Fig 60 A wide colour palette can be achievedfrom recycledfibres 118
Fig 61 A worker standing in a vat of pellets composedof recycledcars 120
Fig 62 L. M. Barry IIQ London Docklands 120
Fig 63 Mountains of textiles waiting to be processed 122
Fig 64 Italian textile bailer will condenseone tonne of textiles into a 1.95-metercube 122
Fig 65 UK clothesdestinedfor the market 123
Fig 66 LawrenceBarry receivesthe Queen'sAward for export 124
Fig 67 Water for drinking and washing 124
Fig 68 Trade in exportedclothing from the UK has brought water to the village 152
Fig 69 North London WasteAuthority 133
Fig 70 Waste in the Netherlands is divided by the householderinto recyclable
streams 135
Fig 71 TNO HQ the Netherlands 142
Fig 72 Nanni Filati HQ 144
Fig 73 Bales of virgin and reprocessedfibres in the spotlessNanni Filati
warehouse 145
Fig 74 Stateof the Art R&D laboratory at the Nanni Filati factory 146
Fig 75 90 shadecolour palette 146
Fig 76 Wastereduction unit at the London Borough of Enfield 153
Fig 77 The Boys Brigade gather the textiles 153
Fig 78 Bags of textiles are left on the streetin the target ward 154
Fig 79 The Boys Brigade 16'hEnfield Companytransit makesthe collection 154
Fig 80 Oxfam WastesaverHQ 155
Fig 81 Sorting textiles by hand at Oxfam Wastesaver 155
Fig 82 Sortedwool 156
Fig 83 Shoddy 165
Fig 84 John Parkinson at the factory 157
Fig 85 Wool shoddypost consumerpolyester(plastic bottles) cotton fibre
(old denim jeans) 158
Fig 86 Fibre mixture goesinto the hopper 159
Fig 87 The fibre is carded in fine toothed rollers to make a smooth blend 159
Fig 88/9 The blendedweb becomesa fibre top 160
Fig 90 Lightowlers spinning frames 161
Fig 91 Yarns composedof 100% post-consumerwaste 161
Fig 92 School uniform sweaterscomposedfrom 100% post-consumerwaste 162
Fig 93 BSI environment promotional literature 163
 8

OUT OF THE BOBBLE HAT AND INTO THE BOARDROOM

CHAPTER 1
 9

OUT OF THE BOBBLE HAT AND INTO THE BOARDROOM

CHAPTER 1

Introduction
It is important to understandthe history of wool textile manufacturing in its global context in order to

assessthe social and environmental cost of wool knitwear production from `cradle to grave' and
beyond.In this case`cradle to grave' or Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) describesthe changeswhich take

place in the life of a wool fibre and discussesthe ecological impact associatedwith that production.
To draw a conclusionthe many links in the wool-fibre knitwear chain, consisting of growers,

processors,manufacturersand retailers on the one hand and consumers,disposal agenciesand

governmentson the other will be analysed.
This investigation has come at a time when there is a dramatic decline in the wool knitwear industry
in the UK. which is attributable by trade and industry authorities too traditional, even archaic,

production methodscoupled with the quintessentiallyconservative,complacentattitudeswithin the

textile industry. This is compoundedby the downturn in consumptionof wool brought aboutby

climatic changes,consumerpreference,foreign clothing imports and late investment in textile

technology. We are now witnessing the end of one of Britain's greatestindustries, from which an

analogy should be drawn with the rapid and unstoppable decline of the UK mining industry in the
late 1970s.Yet it is also true to say that in somecountries e.g. India, where wool knitwear

manufacturing has changed little since the Industrial Revolution,' knitwear production as a cottage
industry continuesto grow, driving economicprosperity.' Paradoxically in First World countries,

even with heavy investment in technology and R&D, the industry is struggling for survival. These

factors are directly linked to labour costs in each country, which are low and very high 3
respectively.
The future survival of the Wool industry in Europe relies upon investment in product developmentin
fibres and fabrics and niche marketing. This increasingly goeshand in hand with growing public

expectationsof businessintegrity including sensitiveenvironmental and ethical policies exemplified

2Gupta,S. Printing
and Dyeing of Wool.The Indian Textile Journal, April 1991.
3Lowtechknitwear flatbed by hand for
accounted morethan
production, madeon simple machineryand
16 million kilos of knitwearmanufacturedin 1990in India alone.60%of this production wasfor export to
Europe. To achievethesefigures, production is highly labour intensive,employingmore than 400,000
workerswho are basedin the Ludhianaregion. Interestinglythereare no official figures for the numberof
machinesin useor wheretheyare housed,let alone who or how old are their operators.Ibid.
 10

Fig 1 The Co-operative bank customer care literature. Fig 2 Children work for sports labels
Ar p.ir iAn, I'.rý nn ývlýil.

Appinarh Ihr Co-. nprr, ýiý. '

IAA strhn to dehn, ralne

and to operate In a fotbllr

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tinrtinahlr . irn .-

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Partnership Repo

can browse through it at

leisure by visiting our web"x
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we would be Iii,

to send you a (Ol)y

You can request one by calling

0800 435906

Fig 3 Child workers are bonded slaves

 11

by the Co-operativeBank UK4. The Co-operativeBank producesan annual PartnershipReportand

regular customercare literature (fig I), which is an independentassessment

of the banks social and
ecologicalapproachto investmentsand sponsorship.Bad publicity in ecological' matters meansthat
consumersvote with their feet, taking their custom elsewhere,confirming that negative coveragein

relation to the production of goodscreatescustomeralienation, which can wipe out sharevaluesat a

stroke6.Picturesof rivers coloured by contamination from dye-houseeffluent or those of children (figs
2&3)' and poorly paid workers at machinesmaking products for UK retailers are not good for
business.Such imagestend to remain in the public psycheand their associationwith that company
lingers. Corporationsreluctantly acknowledgethat thesedaystheir ecological profile has direct links

with customerconfidenceand loyalty.

As the transition takesplace into the twenty-first century, it is not fanciful to statethat ecologyhas
finally come out of the bobblehat and into the boardroom.
The thesischapterscontain the following:
Chapter 1, OUT OF THE BOBBLE HAT describeskey environmental disasterswhich have taken

place since 1986and the Eco-labelsand organisationswhich sprang up alongsidethesecatastrophes.

Chapter 2, WOOL FROM THE CRADLE gives a brief historical backgroundto the wool industry

and discussescontemporaryprocessingand its associatedenvironmental issues.

Chapter 3, THE GLOBAL FACTORY focuseson knitwear manufacturewhere by ecological issues

associatedwith wool at this point in the life cycle becomefocusedon human/ethical rather than
material/environmental resources.
Chapter 4,TO THE GRAVE AND BEYOND documentsdisposaloptions of wool post consumeras a
landfill component,incineration, or as an export to impoverishedcountries of the world.
Chapter 5, THE THROW AWAY SOCIETY details current statistics globally and locally related to

post consumerwaste and the situation of textiles as a consequence,also the benefitsand processesof
recycling and the current researchunder way.
an innovative
Chapter6, WOOLFROM STRAWTO GOLD: DESIGNPRACTICEdocuments
collaboration of partners to producea range of yarns and garmentsfrom 100%post consumerwaste.

4Customers
who care in The Co-operative Bank, customernewsletter,July 1999.
5Ecology: the
scientific studyof plants, animalsor peoplesand institutionsin relation to the environment.
The Chambers Dictionary, ChambersHarrapLtd. Edinburgh1998,p.532
6 Jeffrey,J. M&S Greenbut
not Naive. Drapers Record, page26, February1996.
7 80% footballs in Pakistan, by for labels Reebok, Nike
of are made many child workers such as and
Adidas. It is estimatedthat there are 250,000,000child workers in the world, 7,500.000of whom are
bondedslaves.
 12

veýý
....-

1'ý

1989 Exxon Valdez Alaskan oil spill, sensitive marine ecosystem destroyed (fig4).
-

1: 1 THE CUSTOMER TURNS GREEN

Someenvironmental eventsthat have taken place in the last two decadesare describedin this

chapter. Thesehave been instrumental in contributing to a subliminal senseof inevitable

environmental doom and contextualisethis investigation into the wool industry. They are:
1986- Chernobyl nuclear fallout, parts of the UK still irradiated.
1987- CFC reduction agreement, to prevent destruction of the ozone layer.
1989- BSE beef crisis, animal protein fed to herbivores, CJD attempted cover up of evidence.

1989 - Exxon Valdez Alaskan oil spill, sensitive marine ecosystem destroyed (fig4).
 13

1991- Bhopalcottonpesticidechemicalfallout,denselypopulatedIndian city contaminated.

1993- Aral Seaenvironmental assistanceprogramme,to stop the death of the fourth largestlake in

the world.
197/98- El Nino, weather systemcatastrophe.

1999- GM foods,genetic manipulation of foods,without appropriatetesting.

Also briefly mentioned are the plethora of `Eco' labels and organisationswhich emergedin tandem

and as a reaction to the catastrophesof the mid 1980sand 1990s.These labelsaccredited`green'

productsand ideologiesand were introduced to assuagecustomerconcern, In fact they addedto
public confusion and ultimately scepticism.Finally there will be a discussionof the ecological
consumermovementand the few ethical retailers who have implementedenvironmental policy in
their businesses,motivated by customerdemand.The casestudiesare Body Shop, Esprit, Marks and
Spencerand Out of this World.

During the 1980sthere was a global economicboom, which led to an increasein global

consumerism.In the First World there was a general"feel good" factor and in businessthe
shareholderconceptwas of paramount importance. Howeverthis euphoria was contrastedwith an
underlying senseof the Apocalypseemerging from the environmental situation. First World business
and governmentleadersemployeda cavalier approachto the environment, which contributed to a
seriesof near catastrophes.Consequently,the media kept environmental issuesto the forefront of the
presswhich resulted in increasedpublic awarenessand the emergenceof environmental pressure
groups such as Green Peaceand Friends of the Earth. The `Green' movementwas raising the profile
of environmental issues,but it embodieda much broader set of values, ecological and social which
were outlined by JonathanPorrit, president of Friends of the Earth, in his 1984inaugural mission
statements.A synopsisof his key points is as follows;

The minimum criteria for being green would run roughly as follows:

"a reverencefor the Earth and for all its creatures

"a willingness to sharethe world's wealth among all its people

" prosperityto beachievedthroughsustainable

alternativesto therat raceof economicgrowth
" lasting security to be achievedthrough non-nuclear defencestrategiesand considerablyreduced

arms spending
"a rejection of materialism and the destructivevalues of industrialism
"a recognition of the rights of future generationsin our useof all resources

s Porritt, J. SeeingGreen: the Politics EcologyExplained, 1984.

of
 14

" an emphasison socially useful, personally rewarding work enhancedby human scaletechnology

" protection of the environment as a precondition of a healthy society

" an emphasison personalgrowth and spiritual development
" respectfor the gentler side of human nature

" open,participatorydemocracy
at everylevelof society
" recognitionof the crucial importance in
of significantreduction populationlevels

" harmonybetweenpeopleof everyrace,colourandcreed

"a non-nuclear, low energy strategy, based on conservation, greater efficiency and renewable

resources

" an emphasison self-relianceand decentralisedcommunities

Unsurprisingly the environmental bandwagonbegan inexorably to roll and gain momentum.
CHERNOBYL
It was during this period, one could argue,that the world realised for the first time that

environmental hazardsknew no national boundaries.In April 1986an explosion in the former Union
of Soviet Socialist Republicsin Chernobyl sent a radioactive cloud into the atmosphere,Caesium 137
was carried on the prevailing winds to the West. The rain dumpedthe radioactive isotopethroughout
Scandinaviaand over the high areasin the British Isles causing a public outcry due to severe

vegetationand livestock contamination.

In Britain, MAFF's guidelines (drawn up internationally for exactly such a situation) restrictedthe

movementof sheepout of the contaminatedzonesand from the outsetthe sheepcould not be sold for
human consumption.9
Mike Hubberstyof the Minister of Agriculture, responsiblefor radioactivity monitoring said,

"The animals were glowing; it is impossibleto say how long the contaminationwill remain,

considering the half-life formula of radioactivity. Also the high peaky soils lack plants and
minerals which would immobilise the contamination in other areas.Hot spotsof
contamination remain in Wales, the Lake District and Scotland. In England even now there
is extensivemonitoring with teamsturning up at an abattoir to spot check that animal's meat

could not be sold for human consumption,but as far as I know there wasn't any restrictions
put upon the sale of wool from these sheep.The fleecewent straight into the textile industry

as usual". 10

This was arguably one of the major ecological disasters(such as that of the Torrey Canyon oil spill in
the 1970s)which reminded peoplethat eachnation was dependentupon its neighbours for ecological

9RadiologicalSafetyDivision FoodScience SafetyGroup.Chernobyl TheAccidentand its Pastand

and :
Current Effectson the UK Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food: January1996
 15

put upon the sale of wool from these sheep. The fleece went straight into the textile industry

as usual". 1°

This was arguably one of the major ecological disasters (such as that of the Tory Canyon oil spill in

the 1970s) which reminded people that each nation was dependent upon its neighbours for ecological
health. Chernobyl propelled environmental discussion to the forefront of public conscience and First

World politics.

OZONE DEPLETION

Industrial discharges and car exhaust emissions (fig 5)

The mid 1980s saw another significant crisis emerging concerning the use of eh loroflurocarbons

which had been invented in 1928 and had been heralded as perfect, stable, non-toxic, non

10Hubbersty, M. Senior Monitor Ministry Telephone Interview October 21 1996

of Agriculture.
 16

inflammable and chemically inert. Ironically it was this inertia which gave choroflurocarbonsthe

ability to remain in the atmosphere,(collecting mainly over the Antarctic) causing ozonethinning
and leading to the `Greenhouse'effect and global warming.
The economicboom and increasein consumerismunwittingly acceleratedthe depletion of the earth's

protective shell becauseCFCs were found in aerosols,fridge's, air conditioning plants, dry cleaning

solvents,plastic foam, food packaging, furniture stuffing and insulation to

products name but a few.

Recognition of the apocalyptic environmental situation galvanisedthe USA, EEC and 23 other

countries to sign the Montreal protocol agreementcutting drastically the useof CFCs, which had
beenproved to destroythe ozonemolecules,which protect the earth from UV radiation. This
happenedin 1987, lessthan eighteenmonths after findings, which connectedCFCs to ozone

thinning, were released.The rate at which somecosmeticcompaniescameout of CFC propellants

took their slower competitorstotally by surprise and cosmeticcompanieslike Mannen, Clairol and
Alberto-Culver were quick to exploit the `ozone friendliness' of their products in major advertising

campaignsresulting in an increasein market share.

"Ozone smog's were first noted in California (which are not yet common-placein Europe)
during hot dry weather when industrial dischargesand car exhaustemissions(fig5) still fill

the lower atmospherewith nitrogen and sulphur dioxide which react with sunlight to form

photo-oxidants,ozonebeing the most dangerous.Current activities will lead to further

doubling of ozone in the air in the next century. If this happensit will have a "greenhouse"

effect rather as carbon dioxide does,absorbingradiation from the sun and acting as a
thermal blanket warming the surfaceof the earth"".

" Button,J. A Dictionary GreenIdeas. RoutledgeLondon,page326,1988

of
 17

ARAL SEA DISASTER

he
1986 brought the scale' Aral Sea disaster to the world's attention, even though the catastrophe
began in 1966 due directly to the constant irrigation'2 and irresponsible use of pesticides in cotton

farming. (Fig 6).

"It takes one pound of chemical fertilisers and pesticides to conventionally grow the three

pounds of cotton needed to make a T-shirt and a pair of jeans. Every year, according to the
United States Department of Agriculture, conventional farmers apply some 53 million

pounds of toxic pesticides to U. S. conventional cotton fields. Though their costs can be
higher, organic farmers are demonstrating that there are better ways to grow cotton. Go

organic". 13

Fig 6 Satellite view of the Aral Sea destruction

In thirty years 70% of the water had been lost with the shoreline receding over 80 kilometres in

places. The Aral basin provided 95% of cotton grown in the former USSR and as a consequence 56

cubic kilometres of water out of 58 was diverted from the Aral Sea to feeder rivers in the area to

satisfy cotton farming needs.

12Perera, J. A Sea Turns to Dust. New Scientist, 23`d October 1993, p. 24.
13Sustainable Cotton Project, California 1999.
www. sustainablecotton. org
 18

The situation was worsened by the huge amount of pesticide, defoliants and fertiliser, which was

applied to local cotton crops. These chemicals drained back to the rivers used for drinking water,

which put public health at risk with an increase in infectious diseases and contamination with

chemical pesticides. Infant mortality was three times the national average in the USSR and showed a
higher rate of birth deformities. These findings, which also included general levels of sickness

showed an increased with proximity to the sea.

{-
-.a'.

":
ýa:
- , _,
'p? RR.
1h ý, ý
. .. _--
z". ALA,
i° * .. ý
t dII.&i.
Fig 7 A fishing boat stranded in the desert
The Aral Sea once supported a flourishing fishing industry, which has gone (fig 7) and eleven of the

25 Amudarya Delta lakes are dry. Now the forests are less than 20% of their original size and the

entire marsh area used for harvesting reeds and which supported 1,173 species of birds has gone.
(Although the Aral had been in decline since 1966 the seriousness of the situation only became

widely known in late 1986 due to the "glasnost" policy which meant Russian secrecy laws were

virtually abolished. )
The last six years, since the break up of the Soviet Socialist Republic, have seen a snowballing of

foreign investment in Uzbekistan, which is one of the 5 independent states which borders the shores

of the Aral sea. Investment has focused upon industrial partnerships to mine for precious minerals
including gold and to develop a basic textile industry.

In November 1996 there was a conference in London encouraging British investments in the newly

independent State of Uzbekistan. The extensive survey commissioned by the Observer newspaper for
 19

a 60-pagemagazineadvertising the conferenceand the region contained information on the area's

history and industrial developmentssince independencein the summerof 199111.it was interesting to

note that out of a 20 thousandword magazine,there was a two line referenceto the environment of
the areaplaying down what could be termed one of the worst man-madeenvironmental disastersof

modern times.
"But the Sovietsalso turned over much of the land to cotton cultivation, which has

contributed to the slow death of the Aral Sea!'. 13

Textile production is mentioned only in relation to the re-equipping of the industries with high
technology stateof the art machinesand charting the increasein wool production. It is also worth

noting that as the cotton cash crop has declined in size due to environmental problems in what could
be describedas a textile manufacturing area,wool production has grown from zero tonnes in 1991to
2,114 tons in 1995.There are plans for further expansion in the hope of replacing the diminished

cotton industry in spite of a world recessionin the wool market causing stock piling of wool by
international growers elsewhere16.Wool prices have been on a downward spiral since 1994due to

poor demandworld wide, and a national stockpile in Australia.

BSE & GM FOOD
BSE was first diagnosedin UK cattle in 1987, causedby feeding ruminants infected processedanimal

proteins. A cavalier approachto banning certain contaminating abattoir practices and delay in culling
infected animals which went into the food chain, led to fears of a BSE epidemic and the alleged
developmentof CJD in humans. Exports of beefto the EU were bannedand only certain cuts of UK
beef were allowed for the home market. However the Government continued to sanction the

exportation of BMB (British meat and bone meal) made from possibly infected stock and when
sanctionswere imposedto stop exports to Europe, exports to Third World countries and others
outsidethe 15 European Union member statescontinued. 17

Consumerconfidencein the British food industry has been severelydamagedby the mishandling of

the beef crisis, the effectsof which are still being felt. Beef farmers continue and are continuing to go
into liquidation due to lack of sales,and on another level, in March 2000, a six-month old baby was
diagnosedwith CJD having contractedthe diseasefrom its infected mother during pregnancy.

14 Images Worlds Ltd. Uzbekistan taking the the New World Order. Observer Perspectives,
challenge of
3R1November 1996.
15 ibid.
16Figures for June 1999 in
show that there were 1,000,000bales of wool still stockpiled Australia.
Wool Record2000
17Moynihan, T. Recalling
cattle feed was not possible, BSE probe told. -http: //www. cyber-
dyne. com/-4om/nov99-mid_news. htmi
 20

Mistrust now exists betweenthe British public and food producersand the government. Many

activists havemoved away from occupying trees and tunnels at proposedroad building sites,now the
Eco-warriors concentrateon fields of experimental GM crops (fig 8). Such action has forced the
debateon the lack of long-term assessmentof modified foods for human consumption and the moral
issue of ownership of food genesby a hand-full of Agri-businessesbasedin the United States.As a

consequencein 1999, the British Governmentmade a complete' U' turn in its fast-track policies to
develop GM food farms, proposing more laboratory research,which has been followed by the

withdrawal from supermarketshelvesof produceknown to contain genetically modified

ingredients by the big UK food retailers.

Fig 8 Eco warriors attack fields of experimentalGM crops

ELNINO
El Nina is a periodical catastrophicweather systemwhich (unexpectedly) last ran its coursebetween
February 1997 and May 98 and was thought to be the causeof numerousglobal, climate-related
disasters.These included the failure of the Asian Monsoon, exceptionally heavy rainfall in
Australasia, severedrought in South America, floods in Brazil, Chile. Peru and California.
Catastrophic climatic conditions causeddeathsand affected food production leading to famine in

some regions and billions of dollars worth of damage.Significant seasurfacechangeshave been a

factor of El Nino leading to the loss of fishing fields in its path. El Nino has beenblamed for these

global catastrophesbut the increasing impact of this weather mass is attributed to the effects of rapid
global warming. "'

is Glantz,M. Climate, Environment, Disaster:The Case El Nino, Harvard University Asia Center.
and of -
http://www. fas.harvard.edu/-asiactr/fs_glantz2htm
 21

1:2 THE ETIIICAL RETAILER

In tandem with the increasein environmental catastrophesand consumercriticism, emergeda

plethora of Eco type labels in the EEC as manufacturersrushed to join the `Green' bandwagon.
Consequentlythe Eco phenomenonhas given birth to so many different labels in the 1990sthat the

situation is now complex and confused(fig 9).

It was in 1992that the O.T. I. and HowensteinInstitute in Austria developedthe Oko-Tex seriesof
labels, which could be awardedto raw fibre and garment manufacturer's products. The systemwas
basedon results from testing laboratoriesin the UK and Europewhich, ensuredproductswere free
from pesticides.19Later, the German Textile Confederation(leadersin the ecological textile

the M.S.T. labelfor finishedfabricsandclothing,alsothe M.U.T. labelfor

campaign)developed
commercialproductioncycles,amalgamatingwith the Oko-Texlabelin 1994.20
However, since 1995the EuropeanCommission has been investigating the introduction of an
International Eco label, which would be appropriate for all fibres including wool: it is the DG II

project with Headquartersin Brussels.The fibre assessmentwill bejudged on Life Cycle Analysis
(LCA).
Initially, the Eco Label Award Schemewas given to goods,that reducedimpact on the environment

and were manufacturedonly in the EEC, but the label focussedon wastereduction rather than
".
ecological or environmental criteria. It is hoped that this will becomerecognisedby the consumer
as a trustworthy seal of approval, such as the British Standard `kite mark', to help them in choosing
more `environmentally friendly' products.However manufacturersin the detergent,toiletries and
paper industries in both the EU and the US have been hostile to the it
scheme,suggesting will be a
barrier to free trade.22As with the BSI accreditation, manufactureswill pay a fee to apply for the
A
label, plus a charge basedon 0.15% of annual sales.So far, however, the schemehas beenapplied to

only two product categories,washing machines and dishwashersbecauseof the complexity of the
lifecycle analysis of componentsand the manufacturing processes.Therefore it is not surprising that

the Commission has run into difficulties in the criteria for assessingtextiles, considering it can be
global from cradle to grave with different problemscountry to country.
In addition to those labels already mentioned there exists the ECO-TEX scheme,which allows self-

certification on production of fabric or garments,which are `environmentally friendly'. The ECO-

19Author Unknown. Eco by Degree world review of textile design in International Textiles, p.
-
11-X, Number 748, November 1993.
20Terril, C. PhD. Oko-TexAnalytical Chemist British Textile Technology Group (BTTG)
Telephoneinterview, July 1997.
21Author Unknown Industry Warmsto Textiles Eco-label in ENDS Report, issue278, March 1998,
22.
ENDS Report 272,1997 p. 31-32
 22

Fig 9 Eco"label phenomenon

HEM
NUEMIK
for harmfulsubstances
Tested
accordingto Oeko-TexStandard100
Test-No BTTGManchester

0z

. -Z
._"! ' ýv
9 ýr ýý Glimit
?
G*SkýTtT14106
ý.
AL ýö

DD S

X11//
.
eaPo, ( ýScýe e ý+^uýý C,Dý
ýuýdetýý
ý. ;Jý ývt' výcQ 4"ý+ oý %ý
ß (ý daýewvxowr, 119 6.
.Tý. .
 23

TEX label was a joint venture betweenTDG Textile Design Group of Milan and Scotdic of Cologne.
The problem is that it is a self-certification scheme,allowing manufacturersto follow a set of

guidelines according to their particular product. Once thesehave beenimplemented and adheredto
the manufacturer earnsthe right to usethe ECO-TEX label on the finished product. The ECO-TEX

systemdemandsthat all substancesused during the production of the fabric or garmentsare given the
product label as well as the usual fibre content, part of the ECO-TEX manifesto is basedon the
importance of the "less is more" concept.It claims that;
"All ECO-TEX proceduresand conceptsare basedon the principles of saving, substituting,

reducing and recycling. Companiesand firms participating in the ECO-TEX programme

would hope to be ecological leaders,accepting direct responsibility for their productsand
ensuring environmental benefits".23
In addition to theselabels, various fibre companieshave their own labelling systemsadvertising

positive messagesabout their own products e.g. Courtaulds Tencel and Foxfibre "coloured by nature"
IWS "pure new wool".
In 1987the IWS first referred to the growing importance of environmental issuesin relation to their
future plans and that year, a small study examinedthe possibleconsequencesfor wool, advising on
R&D requirementsarising from problemswhich the wool industry might face in the future. (It is
interesting to note that as recently as the late 1980sthe growing importance of environmental issues,

was not acceptedand managementquestionedthe needeven for such a survey. In 1987,most people
believedthat environmentalism was a fad, which would passin a year or two) 24The specially formed
IWS Environmental Technology Group investigatedwhere improvementsto wool's environmental

performancecould be made. Such was the public pressureon various industries to clean up their acts
that in 1990 R&D developmentinto environmental issuesin wool processingwas the subjectfor a

conferencepaper given by Trevor Shaw who said,

"Environmental issueshave assumedgreat importance throughout most of the world during
the past few years. This is particularly so in Western Europe, where great changesin

political and social attitudes have occurred, especially during the last 12 - 18

'Jacks,P. Senior
scientific officer UK Eco Labeling Board. TelephoneInterview 1998.
u Shaw, T. Environmental Issuesin the Wool Textile Industry. Proceedings the 8r' International
of
Wool Textile Research Conference, Vol 4. International Wool SecretariatDevelopmentCentre,
Ilkley, 1990.
 24

months.... Customersare increasingly concernedwith the environmentally friendly face of

the productsthey buy"?'
He went on to refer to the growing concernabout environmental and associatedmatters, e.g.

occupationalhealth and consumerproduct safety,which had grown rapidly in Europe and North
America. The rate of changein social and political attitudeshad beenunprecedented,affectedby a

scientific consensus(between 1986and 1990),agreeingthat the causesof acid rain and ozone
depletion were man-made.
"Only a short time ago, the so called greenswere widely regardedas cranky, leftist and

aboveall impractical. Now, it is estimatedthat about 50% of consumersin WesternEurope

make purchasing decisionsbasedon environmental criteria, 25% are consciouslygreenand
about 10% feel strongly enoughto vote for a Green ideology".26
On top of this list and primarily for textile and fashion companieswho cannot afford to appoint an

environmental officer or pay expensiveregistration fees,there is the UK Governmentinformation and

assistancescheme.Now small companiescan benefit from advice, given by the Departmentof the
Environment with its Environmental Technology (ETBPP) best practice programme.27This scheme
has a `helpline' to improve environmental performanceand conform to Eco legislation. It aims for
`Good practice' which highlights proven cost effective techniques.Companieswhich participate are

entitled to paymentsof up to £10,000. In addition, there is also the `New Practice' accreditation,
which profiles the first commercial applications of innovative measures,giving grants of up to
£50,000 and `Future Practice', which supportswork that advancesinnovative practiceswith grants of

up to 49% of the Researchand Developmentcosts.

Other `Eco' players are the Textile Environmental Network, (TEN) and the EuropeanTextile
Network (ETN). It is not surprising that the variety of Eco-labelsand organisationsin the market

place has causeddeepscepticismin consumersand thosemanufacturerswho would wish to use such

labels.

"Cynics claim that the labelling systemis nothing short of a clever marketing device,
implementedby manufacturerswith one eye on the environment and the other on their sales
figures': 2s
It could be arguedthat as a consequenceof the lack of cohesiveenvironmental and ethical legislation
in manufacturing, the textile sectorhas beenslow to adopt voluntary policies and tends to be reactive

rather than proactive. The truth is such controls are too restrictive as they directly affect profits and it

25 ibid
p. 9
26ibid 9
p.
27Jefferies,J. Ecological
and yet Economical. Drapers Record Textile Supplement September 1996. p.
52- 21.
 25

is cheaperto bejust one stepaheadof the legislators,begging the question is the conceptof a

voluntary ethical PLC possible?

Oneof the first significantdevelopments
in the British Government's
approachto environmental
issuescamein September 1988whenPrimeMinisterandformerscientistMargaretThatchermadea
turningpoint speechto the RoyalSociety,acceptingthat environmentalproblemsdemanded
action,
evenacceptingthat the environmentwasat risk.
"For generations,we have assumedthat the efforts of mankind would leave the fundamental

equilibrium of the world's systemsand atmospherestable.But it is possiblethat with all the

enormouschanges(population, agricultural, use of fossil fuels) concentratedinto sucha
short period of time, we have unwittingly begana massiveexperiment with the systemof
this planet itself." zs
In the sameperiod, the United Kingdom Green vote was 14.5% in the EuropeanParliament elections
in June 1989.30Had proportional representationbeenin place, the UK would have added 12 or 15

more MPs to the 27 Green membersfrom elsewherein Europe. At the British generalelection later in
the year, the Conservativegovernmentretained power, fighting the election on a `greenish' ticket. It

could be said that the green activists, despitethe initial scepticismof governmentsand the general
public won a battle for credibility. Green or, in other words environmental issueswere forced onto the
agendaof industry and governmentsby consumerpublic pressure.
Lessthan a decadelater the power of the consumeris now acknowledgedand at the TEN conference
in 1996in Birmingham, Mike Press,the Professorof Researchat Sheffield Hallam University said

"Business is about profit. In Britain companieshave a responsibility to maximise return for

the shareholders.That is enshrinedin company law. But let's not forget that all gains in
health and safety,also gains in working conditions, also gains in ethical responsibility by

capitalist managementhave beenstruggled for, by peopleover centuries,by unions, the

Church and consumercampaigners." 31

CASE STUDY 1: BODY SHOP

The first high street Companyto try to embracea responsibleidealistic approachto retailing but keep
its eyeon salesfigures was the Body Shop, establishedin 1976,which was so successfulthat it was
floated on the Stock Exchangein 1984.Anita and Gordon Roddick, who were the first to establish

their philosophy of environmental awarenessand anti-animal cruelty, conceivedthe Body Shop.

28ibid
29Scienceand Public Affairs No. 4,3 9, Royal Society,1989.
-
30Papanek,V. The Green Imperative Thames
and Hudson, 1995.
31Press, M. Prof Research Eco-Design: The Challengesfor Design Education, Material World 11,
of
TEN Conference Birmingham: U. C.E, November 12th 1996
 26

The Body Shop once a handmade business of shampoo, brown labels and string in Brighton's Lanes

is now a multinational corporation. Its philosophy has moved out of the bobble hat and into the

boardroom. It is ironic that, by marketing an ecological ideology. The Body Shop has created a

massive new market for consumable appealing particularly to idealistic teenagers.

US journalist John Entine's investigation and expose of the Body Shop ethos forced the company into

producing a 60 page social statement. This was to deflect the mounting criticism against Body Shop's

alleged double standards, such as paying fair prices for Third World goods (but they were not) and

advertising the fact that their products were not tested on animals (but some were), Body Shop was

using these idealistic (untrue) marketing levers to encourage outside investment in its operations the
USA. 32The Body Shops' `Trade not Aid campaign' (developed along the Traid Craft lines with

techniques used by the New Economics Foundation, NEF) was very successful in maintaining loyalty

and broadening the customer base.

Fig 10 How we Give campaign Fig 11 Trade not Aid in Amazonia
Best of intentions:
NOW WE GIVE The 'rainforest
harvest' was an
example of New-
Age capitalism gone
wrong through lack
of understanding.
The III-conceived
campaign drew In
both Body Shop and
Ben & Jerry's, and
Amazon natives in
ceremonial dress
were used to help
promote the project,
which proved
to be a disaster

THE WAY FORWARDAT THE

BODYSHOP IS NOT TO GIVE
MORE. BUT TO GIVE MORE
EFFECTIVELY. AND THAT
MEANSMORETHAN MONEY.
THE KEY TO OURAPPROACH
TO GIVING IS STAFF
INVOLVEMENT.

However, Entine reported that in real terms the amount ofnmoneys given directly to its "third World

`partners' was minute, a tiny sum of £183,521 paid directly to its fair-trade partners, which was just

32Author Unknown Measuring

up Body Shop Values Report 1995. Body Shop PLC Littlehampton
1995.
 27

2.1% of its total raw material purchases.This was a paltry sum, considering the marketing kudos
from the `Trade not Aid' `Flow
and subsequent we Give' campaigns(fig 10).
gained
The media findings not only fuelled the debateaboutthe Body Shopsethical performance,but
highlighted the controversyover the difficulty of managing an activist morality alongsidecommercial
developmental such as those in Amazonia
realities, especiallywhere complex rules were concerned
(Fig 11).
The Body Shop empire was built in It be it
ten years. could arguedthat was aheadof its time in

recognising that having a public ethical mission statementand practice had a positive effect on sales.
Body Shop capitalised on its position as the one ethical `Light' in the corporatebusinessdarknessand
the public swallowedthat idea hook line and sinker. However Body Shop has paid the price with

regard to its untrue statementsabout animal testing and the `Trade not Aid' campaign. The Body

Shophas beenan excellent and instructive casestudy for the fashion industry to follow. On the one
hand it has attracted a particularly loyal customerand on the other the companyhas createda market
increasing its sharephenomenallyby appearingto follow a strict idealistic philosophy. Body shop

was also the first to have an ethical sourcing department, which C&A have mirrored late in 1996

after the Oxfam challengeto the big five retailers33.

Body Shop has also illustrated that businesses,which take the moral high ground, are constantly
level few businesses
would relish. American business
under a of public and media scrutiny, which
consultant ProfessorKirk Hanson from Stanford University, in an independent of
assessment Body

Shop Company ethics reported,

"A companywhich makessocially responsibleclaims a key element in its marketing will be

to
scrutinised a much greater extent and will be held to a higher standardthan a company

which does not. The company must demonstrate extraordinary transparency and a
dimension its behaviour". 34
willingness to hear and act on criticism of any of
CASE STUDY 2: ESPRIT
Where as the Body Shopwas first to promote itself as animal and Eco-friendly in the beautyproducts
it from Esprit in Spring 1991 the first fashion answer (fig 12).
area, was the Ecollection which was
Thorston Bruxmier, Esprit's Eco manager said, "the main goal with Ecollection was to produce

as "
possible". The range gave a focus for research
garmentswhich were as environmentally sound
and developmentinto damage limitation in production and consisted of a 940 garment, womenswear
Fortunately this fell into a major
range using organically grown cotton, unbleachedand undyed.
fashion trend at the time where a natural and white statementwas also a fashion statement.

33Cowe, R. & Entine, J. Fair Enough. Guardian Weekend, 14thDecember 1996, p. 30

34Cowe, R. Is beauty than skin deep? Guardian Finance, January 20'h 1996, p 40.
more
 28

Esprit began to ride the crest of the Eco From the small numbers of pieces involved at the
wave.

outset grew a business of hundreds of thousands of pieces.

Esprit initially used a small cotton producer in 1992 for the first collections. However the successesof

the line demands forced Esprit to trawl for new growers in Egypt, Greece,
and massive consumer
India and Africa, establishing `partnership' farms. However it could be argued that prime agricultural

be fashion fibre that the land be

land should not used in these countries, simply to grow a and could

put to better use e.g. growing food. In 1995 Esprit had a stockpile of 700 metric tons of spun organic

cotton grown mainly in developing enabled them to absorb the Ecollection into their
countries, which
main range of 50 million pieces.
Production has affected the company philosophy, so much so, that 100% of the main range collection

was Eco sound. It is interesting to note that Esprit really has tried to wrestle with environmental
damage limitation since 1992. Then there was little marketing to trumpet the Eco range, and in 1995

when the Ecollection became part of the main range, no significant marketing took place.
Fig 12 Ecollection from Esprit in Spring 1991

MP -7

1991
Esprit dedicates an
in-house design and
research team to work
on more
environmentally and
socially responsible
ways of manufacturing
apparel. The team's
accomplishments and
continuing work
materialize as the
"Ecollection. "

35Bull, S. Organic Growth. Drapers Record, April 1995, p. 12.

 29

CASE STUDY 3: MARKS AND SPENCER

"at the end of the day, the price of perfection is bankruptcy"
The UK's largest quality retailer, Marks and Spencer,was the first to appoint an Environmental
Manager in 1992, even though the businessbelievedthat their customerwas `passively' as opposedto
`actively' interestedin `Green' issues.The Environmental Manager's role was to pre-empt any
incident, which may have affected public confidencein the business.Initially the job focusedon

satisfying new legislation from Europe 36

about packaging. Damagelimitation was the order of the day

with an eye firmly focusedon the profit margin. This was achievedby working with the whole supply
chain bringing knowledge and financial support when necessaryto resolveany problems,which
could backfire on M&S in negative publicity. At that time it was easierto supervisethe supply chain,
because80% of M&S clothing was manufacturedin the UK. At presentthe figure is 50:50, which

represents£2 billion of annual imports. In future 70% of goodswill come from Overseas.
"Mr J Rowe, Director of Clothing at M&S said, "to retain our market lead and competewith
the worlds bestretailers we have to offer outstanding quality combinedwith lower prices." 37
At a time when other retailers were jumping on the `Green' bandwagonoften with bogusclaims

about ecological products, Marks and Spencertried through good businesspractice to incorporate
environmental issuesinto the housekeepingof the business.This strategyavoided the situation
highlighted by Kirk Hanson,when the Body Shop successfullymarketed itself on a whiter than white

ticket, with the result that the company sufferedunder the microscope.A businessas large as M&S

would not and, has not subsequentlystood such close scrutiny. For instance,in 1996,a Granada
television documentaryinvestigatedan M&S supply route, from Morocco, via the Northern Irish

clothing company Desmonds of garments destined for M&S stores.The factory was grade A listed
(factories are listed A-E) and had a manufacturing contract for over 1,000,000garments,but labour
laws were being flouted. Children and young teenagerswere working 10 hours a day and'/2 a day
Saturday,without overtime, for £11.54 a week. There was a public outcry after the documentary,not
least becauseduring this period the annual profit for M&S was £6,023,000,000.38
However Marks and Spencerdid try an Eco clothing range in 1993which failed, perhapsbecauseit

was more expensiveand did not look any different from the main range. This was also the fate of the

organic food range, which was a disasterwhen first launched in 1994(but is now a growing
Once bitten twice shy meant that Marks and Spencerwere reluctant to take up an Eco
success)39.

36Whilte, P. WasteNot I. D., May/June1992.

37Author unknown. M&S to buy less from Britain. Wool Record, December 1999,
p4
38Gregory, M. Producer. St. Michael Has the Halo Slipped? World in Action ITV, January 1996.
39Thereis an organicfood
revolutionat presentwith morefarmersmarketsplannedin Londonand an
expansionof the two organicfood chains,PlanetOrganicandJuniperNatural Foods.The UK businessis
 30

label and market it as such. Anticipating environmental legislation, which will affect M&S

profitability in the UK affects the Marks and Spencerproduction strategy.Therefore high

environmental and ethical standardsare set for suppliers to thus earning M&S their reputation as the
toughestretailer to work for.
Work goeson in the field and there is no doubt that marks and Spenceris out in front on

environmental issuesin the multiple sector,with the next biggest group only 1/3`dof its size. The

other retailers lack the experienceand resourcesthat Marks and Spencerhave with 250 garment
technologistsspecifically aware of dyeing and finishing processesalone and once owned its own
testing laboratories.40
M&S have representativeson various boardsand quangos,advising Governmentin the early stages,

of legislation. Randall said "The company has an overview of the law around the world: from those

countries where there is no law or it is `cheerfully ignored'to those such as Germany which have

strict ecological legislation. The company has to consider where M&S trades, in terms of buying or
selling, and where it wants to trade. For instance, it is uneconomicto manufacture separatelyin a
country, which has different specificationsto the UK; it's better to incorporate thesestandardsacross
the board."4'
Such issuesoverlaid M&S's code of practice on dyeing and finishing, which go out to suppliers

periodically. There are two basic criteria, as there are with all its environmental initiatives.
Firstly, M&S ask the question: What is reasonablein terms of customerrequirement? What can be
done to avoid skin allergies through specification on formaldehyde, for example?Then this is set

against what the companyconsiderscould be done practically because

"at the end of the day, the price

of perfection is bankruptcy".
As far back as 1996, Randall acknowledgedthat a fundamental changein public attitudes had already

taken place.42He saw a more questioning approachto institutions such as M&S where customers
M&S to do the right thing and the underlying faith in the company is still solid, it
generally expect
was not the unquestioning faith it usedto be; people today think for themselves.
"We live in a different world. More people challenge us today and we have to be ready to
So 15 the allegations made in last month's World in
meet that challenge. whereas years ago

worth £540 million with a 40% annual increase, most organic food is imported into the UK. Blomfield, R.
Organic food revolution. Time Out, October 27 1999, p. 12.
40McKelvey, D. The Impact Environmental Issues on Retail Sourcing. Textile Institute Lecture in
of
conjunction with the Society Of Dyers and Colourists. Marks & Spencer Bead Office London: March
1997.
41Jeffrey,J. M&S Greenbut Naive. Drapers Record, February1996,p. 26.
not
42ibid
 31

Action programme would probably have been met with silence from M&S, the response in

today's climate was to issue a writ". 4;

And as M&S's customers have been until recently the most loyal on the high street the company

needs to double its efforts to be ahead of any negative publicity. After the Marks and Spencer expose
by World in Action on unethical working practices in Morocco, there was a glut of newspaper articles

about clothing suppliers and an deluge Aorecards combined with a brief drop in share
of returned
prices. The loyal M&S customers voted with their feet and moved elsewhere, a situation, which has
been accelerating ever since.

CASE STUDY 4: OUT OF THIS WORLD

"We have no choice about being consumers but we can make practical, ethical choices about

where we shop and what we buy; we can become part of the solution instead of adding to the

problem ,.44

This statement forms part of the 1996 advertising campaign for a new concept in British shopping.
Out of this World (fig 13) opened its first shop at Christmas 1995 targeting customers with a social

and environmental conscience. Today there are three shops in Newcastle, Nottingham and
Cheltenham selling fairly traded and organic produce, responsibly grown food, household goods and
,
clothing.
Their intention is to appeal to the socially responsive consumer (donate £5 and you get 5 shares and

you have a say in the business you are part of). The concept is the brainchild of Richard Adams, ex
Christian Aid, Traidcraft and New Consumer Magazine. The shops may or may not succeed but what

is notable is that Adams feels ready to pursue a venture like this in the British high street. A profit

making venture with an ethical mission.

Fig 13 A new concept in British shopping Out of this world

We nave no r rorce-ab-rt being

consumers but we c, cn make'
practical, ethical ýh--, "sabout
where we shop and r. n , buy:
we can become part of the ,on
instead of adding to the prow, -i.

"'
ibid.
asOut of This World, The Creative Consumer Co-Operative Ltd., Promotional Literature Summer 1996.
 32

Conclusion
Over the decades,the media has beena major force raising awarenessof ecological issues,although

often enough for the wrong reasons.Scaremongeringhas beenan effective way of winning audiences
as propheciesof doom make gripping headlines.Howeverthe irresponsiblepresentationof
environmental issuesseenin the 1980sseemsto have run its course.Newspapersand television are
now more likely to attempt a balancedand logical story becauseto do otherwise is to risk losing
credibility. Similarly, the so called `GreenCon' usedby manufacturersto sell productswith false or
exaggeratedclaims showssigns of becomingthoroughly discreditedand will probably die out even
beforethe official and scientifically basedenvironmental labelling schemespresentlyproposedcome
into widespreaduse.
The cumulative effect of negative environmental press in relation to corporationshas resulted in
Westernbusinessescoming under the spotlight in relation to the media and pressuregroups such as
Greenpeace,Friends of the Earth and Oxfam. They are being called to accountfor not only their own

operationsbut also for those connectedfurther down the line, in other countries. The environment has
beensomewhat"on the back-burner" while the public has beenmore concernedwith mortgagesand
job security, and the recession.When the boom times return ecological matters may move back into

public consciousness,although attitudes will be lessradical.

However businesshas had to come to terms with demandsfor better corporategovernance,improved

environmental performanceand a recognition of other stakeholdergroups besidesits shareholders.

It would seemthat Body Shop and Esprit seemto embracethe notion of the stakeholder,the new

conceptof the 1990sand Marks and Spencerstill holds the shareholderphilosophy of the 1980s.
In effect we are all stakeholders,employees,suppliers, customers,citizens. Your successis my

success,your failure my failure. The business`buzzword' is partnership and an acknowledgement

that partners are dependentupon eachother in a local and global sense,but that ultimately there must
be producer responsibility.

The foodretailerWaitrosehasinformationat the checkout deskflaggingup the factthat food

for
retailersareresponsible annuallygiving awayenoughplastic bags to the
cover city of London

with 600 layers(figl4). Waitrose alone gaveaway enoughcarrier bags to circle the world 2.5

times, the equivalentin oil to power 57,000 car journeys betweenLondon and Glasgow.
Producerresponsibility in this case,is trying to encouragecustomersto re-usea better quality
bag, making lesswaste for landfill and acknowledgingtheir part in the depletionof a finite

resource.
 32

Conclusion
Over the decades,the media has beena major force raising awarenessof ecological issues,although

often enoughfor the wrong reasons.Scaremongering has beenan effective way of winning audiences
as propheciesof doom make gripping headlines.Howeverthe irresponsiblepresentationof
environmental issuesseenin the 1980sseemsto have run its course.Newspapersand television are
now more likely to attempt a balancedand logical story because
to do otherwise is to risk losing

credibility. Similarly, the so called `GreenCon' usedby manufacturersto sell productswith false or
exaggeratedclaims showssigns of becomingthoroughly discreditedand will probably die out even
beforethe official and scientifically basedenvironmental labelling schemespresentlyproposedcome
into widespreaduse.
The cumulative effect of negative environmental pressin relation to corporationshas resulted in
Westernbusinessescoming under the spotlight in relation to the Media and pressuregroups such as
Greenpeace,Friends of the Earth and Oxfam. They are being called to accountfor not only their own

operationsbut also for those connectedfurther down the line, in other countries. The environment has
beensomewhat"on the back-burner" while the public has beenmore concernedwith mortgagesand
job security, and the recession.When the boom times return ecological matters may move back into

public consciousness.
However businesshas had to come to terms with demandsfor better corporategovernance,improved

environmental performanceand a recognition of other stakeholdergroups besidesits shareholders

implementing global sourcing policies such as SA8000 to kerb exploitation of workers.
It would seemthat Body Shop and Esprit seemto embracethe notion of the stakeholder,the new

conceptof the 1990sand Marks and Spencerstill holds the shareholderphilosophy of the 1980s.
In effect we are all stakeholders,employees,suppliers, customers,citizens. Your successis my

success,your failure my failure. The business`buzzword' is partnership and an acknowledgement

that partners are dependentupon eachother in a local and global sense,but that ultimately there must
be producer responsibility where by the grower, manufacturerand/or retailer no longer adoptsa
`profit at any price' philosophy.
The food retailer Waitrose has information at the check out desk flagging up the fact that food

retailers are responsiblefor annually giving away enoughplastic bagsto cover the city of London
with 600 layers (fig14). Waitrose alone gave away enough carrier bagsto circle the world 2.5 times,
the equivalent in oil to power 57,000 car journeys betweenLondon and Glasgow. Producer
responsibility in this case,is trying to encouragecustomersto re-usea better quality bag, making less
waste for landfill and acknowledgingtheir part in the depletion of a finite resource.
 33

Fig 14 Food retailer shows producer responsibility

Help SaveWaste
Freecarrier bagsare a wasteful way of carrying shopping home.
Eachyear British food retailers give away enough carriers
to cover the City of London with over 600 layersof bags.
Waitrosegave away over 150million carrier bags last year.
That is enough bags to stretch around the World 21/2times.
Production of these bagsusesthe sameamount of oil
as 57,000cars driving from London to Glasgow.
Nearly all free carriersend up in landfill tips.

How can you help?

You can help by using and reusing the Bagfor Life.
The Bag for Life should last for at least 10 trips which saves 20 free carriers.
The bags are then recycled.
We make an initial charge of 10p for the Bag for Life to encouragereuse,
but when the first bag is wom out we will replaceit free.

Soplease:
Buy the Bag for Life
Remember to bring them with you each time you shop
Encourage others to do the same!
Thankyou

WATTROSE
food shopsoftheJohnLewisPartnership
 34

WOOL FROM THE CRADLE

CHAPTER 2
 35

WOOL FROM THE CRADLE

CHAPTER 2
Introduction

This chapter begins with a brief outline of the historical, geographical, and commercial beginnings of

the wool fibre industry followed by a discussion about the business in the present day. I have focussed

on the farming, scouring, dying and finishing of the fibre, highlighting the ecological problems

associated with the processes, mentioning other substrates to contextualize the problems of wool

where appropriate. I will try to show that the consumer and retailer's perception of wool as a natural,

environmentally friendly fibre, better and more wholesome than man-made products, is a

misconception. In this chapter I will not discuss garment production, or post consumer issues.
I have included primary research material from conferences. I have referred to a variety of wool

specific literature, trade journals, International Wool Secretariat literature (now known as the
Woolmark Company but throughout this thesis it will continue to be referred to as the IWS),

Department of Trade and Industry papers and other material, including archaeological textile sources.

i
2: 1 ORIGINS OF THE WOOL INDUSTRY IN BRIEF

It is commonly acknowledged that sheep were the first animals to be domesticated by man, primarily

for their milk, wool and hides. Early breeds were small and hairy with a soft short down next to the

skin which moulted naturally in the spring producing long wool roveings perfect for spinning (fig15).

Fig 15 Early sheep breed Fig 16 Jesus is the good shepherd

nothing like the thick-coated sheep of today. Evidence of sheep raising (in Greece) dates back to

prehistoric times, with the first inhabitants leading settled lives as shepherds, not nomads. The
 36

is threaded through literature for exampleHomer and Aristotle mention sheepin their
subjectof wool
in
works, and a prominence myth exists through Jasonand the Golden Fleece and Penelope

unravelling her knitting nightly to delay suitors until the return of Odysseus.

The Bible is scatteredwith referencesto wool and sheep,which have a high religious value as
Christianity, i. Jesusis the good shepherd(fig 16) lambs are symbolsof innocenceand
symbolsof e.
Archbishops carry shepherd'scrooks (the Old Testamentalone makesmore than 300 referencesto
Interestingly, is in for instance in collecting water. `And it
wool). wool mentioned other contextstoo,
was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together and wringed the dew out of
the fleece, a bowl full of water' 1. Jacoba master sheepbreeder,gave his son Joseph his famous coat

of many colours (probably multi-fleece shadeswith natural dyes). Evidence exists from excavated

cities in Iran showing intricate elaborate'seal' systems,indicating personalownership of wool and

sheepflocks, carbon dated at 4,200 BC2.
It was from Central Asia that the original fine wool breedswere traded and transported,radially to
different localities by the Phoenicians,and it is thought that the Carthaginians brought animals to
Spain 1000 years BC. 3 With the gradual introduction of other flocks via the Greeksand Romans,
bloodlines fused creating what was to becomeknown as the SpanishMerino, ancestorof the finest

wool-bearing sheepof today. 4 Subsequently,Spain became renowned for the excellenceof its woollen

cloth.
However,by the 10th century, England had begun to rival Spain in wool production by supplying

many gradesand varities of cloth from fleeceof different microns or widths and geographicalorigins,
by
and the 13th century Britain was the greatestwool producing country of the world. Even so,
British wool fibre remained coarsein comparisonto that of Spain and Italy and by the 16`hCentury
British wool was loosing its export markets. Consequentlywool production exceededdemandand a
later l l, English in desperationhad legislation to force
century under Charles the authorities created
domesticconsumptionof wool, e.g. demanding that all corpsesbe buried in woollen shrouds.
However legislation was insufficient and it was soon clear markets could not be regained.British

The Children'sBible,
' Author UnknownGideon'sThreehundred,Judges6:38. TheOld Testament
Lion PublishingOxford 1991,p.66.
2Wild, J. P. Textilesin ArchaeologyShire AylesburyUK, 1988.
3 The name Merino is derived from the `Beni Merinos' tribe of Tuareg Africans. Roche,J. The
International Wool Trade. Woodhead publishing. Cambridge. 1995.P2.
4 Between 1400 and 1700AD, Spain developedthe Merino breed,which was so valuable that; it was
an offencepunishable by death to take a live animal out of the kingdom. However by the 18th century
enoughstock had been smuggledout of Spain to set the foundation of the great woollen flocks of the
world.
 37

English authorities under Charles 11, in desperation created legislation to force domestic

consumption of wool, e.g. demanding that all corpses be buried in woollen shrouds. However
legislation and it was soon clear markets could not be regained. British fleece was not
was insufficient
adaptable enough for the developing technology of the Industrial Revolution and the subsequent

public demandat home and abroad for more sophisticatedcloth.

In a failed attempt to add quality to the flocks Merino sheep were introduced to Britain in 1791 but

because of the colder, wetter climate, the fine quality of the fleece could not be maintained (fibre

width or micron thickens in cold wet conditions). Existing British breeds were not producing suitable
fleece for cloth and even if the Merino had been successful in the UK, it was never the less unsuitable

for meat. (In the 1800's in Britain, with the rise in population came an increased demand for mutton

so a crossbreed was developed to suit both purposes, yarn and meat). Through cross breeding,
indigenous Lincoln (fig 17)

t4 Pol ý
ýt
º" ý`
ifö
,.
.+
., 1, .. . 4II I

Fig 17 Indigenous Lincoln ram

 38

and Leicester breeds with Merino, a quality fibre staple length of 4 to 6 inches, as opposed to 1 to
3inches, suitable for worsted cloth was produced with high quality long fibres to suit various end uses

resulting in a half-blood animal with a mutton carcass. The early 1800s saw the first tailor made

animals in Britain for the food and textile industry, which are the forerunners of today's modern
breeds.

Hardy crossbreed sheep for meat not wool arrived in Australia in 1750 from the Cape, whereupon the

fleece immediately improved in the warm climate. In 1788 the first Spanish Merino sheep arrived

which were crossbred to produce the Australian Merino, known throughout the world today for its

superb quality fibre yielding 6-10 kilos of wool instead of 2-3 kilos from its Soay cousin (fig 18).

Fig 18 Australian Merino ram

Quickly the great Australian flocks developedand by 1890there were 100 million sheepin Australia

comparedwith 190 million today.

This was a cash crop which needed little farm labour to tend it 5and the raw material; fleece could

stand the long sea voyages from the Southern Hemisphere to the markets in England and Europe. The

vessels used convicts and settlers amongst other things as ballast for the return journey 6.

S Discovery of
gold in 1851 changed the pastoral system irreversibly. Until that time one shepherd
tended between 400 to 1000 sheep, but the gold-rush led to flocks being unattended whereupon,
surprisingly they did well without supervision. With the increased freedom the animals and their
fleece improved. Anon, The History of The Wool Industry No 2. IWS Melbourne. September 1994.
6 K. G. Pointing in his book The Wool Trade Past Present "Because Merino, Australia,
and said of the
in less than one hundred years passed from being a disposal ground for English convicts, to one of the
most important members of the British Commonwealth. "
 39

During the middle ages, along with Britain, Florence and Venice became centres of woollen textile

excellence and one of the earliest visual records depicting the Madonna hand knitting was painted in
that period (fig 19).

Fig 19 The Buxtehude Madonna by Bettram 1390-1400

Today Italy is still producing someof the world's most exquisite and innovative fabrics both knitted

and woven from virgin and reprocessedwool particularly in the Prato region.7 (Florence is a key
destination on the international exhibition circuit for seasonalyarn and fashion showse.g. Pit Uomo

and Pitti Filati).

For centuries production of a woollen thread in its most simple form has remained the same. Wool is

collected from sheep, which were originally plucked or fibres simply fell in heavy clumps and cords
in the spring moult, ' combed into line, drawn onto a weighted spindle (fig20), and rotated to produce

a thread of varying thickness. The simple thread could then be hand knitted on two bones or sticks.

7Balestri, A. Georgetti, G. Prato Moda Operandi, Unione Industriale Pratese 1994

8 The wild Soay sheep living in feral
a state on the uninhabited island of St Kilda in the Scottish
Hebrides, are unchanged since prehistoric times.
 40

Fig 20 Weighted spindle

Surprisingly theseancient and basic methodsof yarn and fabric production are still practised in some

textile producing areastoday such as China and India.9 In the Middle Ages the knitters, who were

often men, worked in groups in their own homesor in the shedsof their customers.
During the 15-centurywoollen-finishing techniquesbeganto develop creating a more technical
fabric. The fuller devisedfelting and shrinking recipes,he then becamethe dyer and enabled

customer's specific requirementsto be met. Specialisation of the craft resulted in separationof the

woollen production chain. In the 16th Century, long before the Industrial Revolution cloth

9 India for example, has an industry with modem sophisticated textile skills and technology, right
through to hand spinners and hand flat knitters at cottage level. The Indian organised sector has
worsted and woollen spinning mills, combing units and mechanised knitwear manufacturing. On the
other hand the decentralised sector comprises mostly of small hosiery units, hand knit and hand flat
knitwear, competing with, handmade carpets, small printers, dyers and finishers. Grupta, S. Printing
and Dyeing of Wool in The Indian Textile Journal, April 1991.
 41

r.. y..... ý
r«w. >.. y. -. I. + v:
ý.+r.. Mý ý. ý........
.. o.. a ý. _. ,........ +.. ý, ..
" w.,,.. ý,«,,.... r. vý
ýý. ý+ýw.` n':. r..»M r.
ý..

Fig 21 early mechanised cloth manufacture

Wool idioms have been part of British culture from Elizabethan times. 10They have even been the
focus of nursery rhymes such as ; little boy blue, little bo
peep and ba ba black sheep.
'Ll"TTL. E
BaPkEF',

Fig 22 'Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep'

10 Hyde, N. Wool-Fabric
of History in National Geographic Centennial Vol. 173 No. 5 May 1988, p.
552.
 42

Little Boy-Blue',

Fig 23' 'Ba Ba Black Sheep, have you any wool? '

and 'Mary had a little lamb, it's fleecewas white as snow'.

It was about this time in 1589 that a mechanical, hand cranked stocking machine was invented by the

Reverend William Lee which produced 600 knitted stitches per minute in contrast to the 100 stitches

per minute of the knitter with needles (fig 24). "

11This machine design is

still used in factories today for small sampling purposes i. e. British Crepe
supplier and spinner to M&S.
 43

Fig 24
This invention was the first of many British industrial mechanical developments for the textile

industry such as those of Daniel Bourne, Richard Arkwright and James Hargreaves. By the late

1700s, early 1800s the industrialisation of woollen fabric production in the UK was complete and so

successful that the industry was able to supply the home and European market and 85% of the wool
imports into the USA. 12

WOOL IN THE 21ST CENTURY

The large wool growing regions of the world, which were established early in the 19th century still

remain. Most of the world's sheep are kept on large ranches on land suitable for grazing i. e. in

Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, South America and parts of the USA. (European sheep are

kept on farms, which have diversified and are far fewer in number). The world's major woolgrowers

joined forces in 1939 forming what was to become known world-wide as the International Wool

Secretariat (IWS). The three original players the Australian, New Zealand and South African

Parliaments, introduced a levy based on the amount of wool sold by each nation. This levy provided

revenue to finance and promote the end use and usefulness of wool. The IWS was then funded by the

12Von Bergen, W. Von Bergen's Wool Handbook Vol

one, New Yof'k. nterscience_1963
 44

woolgrowers in Australia, South Africa and Uruguay and was set-upas a non-profit making
organisation,sponsoringresearchinto wool and associatedtechnology,awarding grants and
Fellowshipsto institutions and in addition promoting wool by advertising, publicity and education.
The organisation (now known as the Woolmark Companyand now solely funded by Australia) still
has offices and representativesall over the world, in Australia, Austria, Germany, Belgium, Canada,
Greater China, France,India, Italy, Japan,Korea, Mauritius, Netherlands,Portugal and Spain,
Sweden,Taiwan, Turkey, UK and the USA. The international network of brancheswas supportedby

what was a stateof the art DevelopmentCentre at Ilkley in Yorkshire and Wool Housein London,
UK. The departmentcoveredwool processesand products and developedtechnical servicesfor
industry and environmental technology. (During the late 1980's the UK was the largest consumerof

wool in the world consuming 8,000,000kg per annum, the combinedvolume of Germanyand
Japan)".
This operation closeddown in 1997, retaining a London design, marketing and trend-forecasting

studio. The Ilkley and London divisions of the IWS were the biggest single partner to the
CommonwealthScientific and Industrial ResearchOrganisation (CSIRO) division of wool
technology, with an essentialobjective to increase the demand for Australian wool world-wide. (The

Australian wool industry is worth $2.8 billion i4, and suppliesone third of the world's raw wool and
half of the world's Merino quality). Globally the IWS is powerful and influential due to an
international network of growers and contactswith the world's manufacturersand retailers. It is
instrumental in controlling world wool prices and its intelligence is sensitiveto customerdemands

and trends.
Raw wool is traded on the International markets like any other commodity, i. e. oil or gold. Similar to

oil or gold, its failure as a commodity can de-stabilise the economies of the countries that grow and/or

it, because of the global factory, the ripple effect is far-reaching. Wool prices have
manufacture and
beenon a downward spiral for someyears since the removal of the Australian government'sprice

guaranteescheme in 199115due to poor demand world-wide, for a variety of reasons. For example,
the withdrawal of China from the international marketplaceaccounted for the loss of 21% or 700

kilos in 1994/95,from Australia's total production of $4.2 billion. This was

million of wool exports
becauseChina batteneddown the hatcheson imports from the West when world pressurecame to
bear on its exports of clothing, after the Tienamen Squaremassacre.Also, demand from Europeand

13Cegielka, 1. The Knitting Industry Present needs,Future Requirementsin Textile progress, Vol
19, Nol. The Textile Institute 1988, p.30.
14CSIRO Home Page.Spinning a Fine Yarn.
http://www. csiro.au/promos/billiondind/contcnts/spinnin,
z.htm 11/02/99
15Reuter, Woolfall threatensexports,Australia. South China Morning Post 6`hOctober 1995,p.6.
 45

In Australia growers held back their wool stocks whilst prices were low hoping for the market to

improve which it never did. Then, Australia had a huge national stockpile of four million bales of

Wool. 16

Even though the wool industry lacked confidence, the intensive growing of wool continued, despite

the fact that the crop was expensive to harvest and world prices were falling. However, the flocks are

now being reduced in line with demand as sheep farmers diversify into grain and cotton growing

which now has a value of almost half that of wool which has annual exports of $1.7 billion. " The
delicate Australian ecosystem has suffered tremendously due to the overgrazing of sheep and de-
forestation (fig 25) and now serious
problems are arising because of the farming of cotton and the
increasing in salinity of the soil.

Fig 25 desert caused by over grazing

16ibid
17CSIRO Home Page. Cottoning On. http: //www. htm
csiro. au/promos/billiondind/contcnts/spinning.
11/02/99
 46

investment is of scientific research into

A massive programme under way supporting major areas
keep keep the product aheadof its competitors. A key feature of
wool technologyto salesalive and
the researchand developmentimplementation programme is the involvement of researchpartners to

broadenthe expertisebase,minimise duplication of effort and maximise the effectivenessof available

funds.
Most IWS funded development is now carried out by the Commonwealth
grower wool researchand
Scientific and Industrial ResearchOrganisation (C SIR 0), Australian governmentdepartmentsof
Agriculture and universities.'' This is done by conducting targetedbasic and applied wool-specific
during loss of performancein tops
research,such as reducing pollution wool scouring, eliminating
(long lengths of parallel fibres) becauseof poor transportation, developingsensorsto remove plastic

and vegetablematter from ecru yarns and further developing laser technology to measurewool fibre

diameter." Theseresults are then transferredto the industry, monitoring the impact of the technology
throughout their lifetime. The aim of this and associatedresearchis also to anticipate legislation on
environmental grounds i. e. in dyeing and finishing, and to fine tune the growing methodsand wool
production.

-ý

18CSIROhas 7000 employees,3000 of who are scientistsand the division of wool technology is one
of 22 divisions.
19Robison,G.A. New Developments,Wool ProcessingR&D at CSIRO. in The Indian Textile
Journal, December1995. P58.
 47

2: 2 WOOL PRODUCTION

WOOL THE FIBRE

Sheep fleece is a combination of tough hair and soft, dense under fur to insulate against low

temperatures, wind and water or to protect against the direct burning and heating effect of the sun's

rays.

It CJl'
dCE'OI
low S high S nUCIP

iýnare
its
proteins proteins f('Rlrý

ý
f.,,,f ,ý

left-
handed matrix
Met TI Ur tr

coiled-coil complex
rope mi<rofibnl macrofibnf

I i
i
Fig 26

Wool is an extremely complex protein (fig 26) which is so resilient and elastic that it can be bent

30,000 times without danger of breaking or damage. Each fibre has a natural wave or crimp giving a

natural elasticity, enabling it to stretch by one third and spring back. Its complex cellular tiled

structure enables it to absorb moisture vapour to the core but repel liquid from its scaly surface. Wool

is difficult to ignite, burns slowly and is easily extinguished giving a characteristic warning smell and

fragile ash.

Wool is a most versatile, durable fibre, which can be spun to super fine and macro counts on wool

and worsted systems. It can be knitted, woven and felted into superior qualities. It dyes easily and can
be blended and twisted with other natural and man-made fibres (which are incredibly simple in
 48

Many would say that the in

potential of wool relation to R&D technology has not even
comparison).
begunto be realised.

GROWING

Fig 27

The consumeris familiar with Wool advertising, which often feature fat sheepand lambs, in green

rolling meadowsor rugged grassyfoothills, for sheep husbandry (fig 27).

utopian conditions
 49

.,ý
v
ý.r--bA..
ý.. ý.
^_... ý_... -,
..

l 1ý
-
-. ý-

`-

eý
\

Fig 28

Wool is marketedas the perfect, organic, wholesomefibre to make user friendly, natural cloth (fig
28).

The reality is somewhatdifferent.

To keep the animals well, large amounts of vaccines and pesticides are applied to sheep to prevent

illness and infestation by parasitic mites and ticks. Without such treatment, these highly bred, low

die. Some illnesses listed 20

resistant animals and their causes are as an example:

" pregnancy Toxaemia - associated with underfeeding, close proximity or environmental changes

" abortion - from the Zeprio organism common in ranges of flocks resulting in heavy losses from

year to year

" lamb dysentery- causedby unsanitary conditions at lambing time

" tetanus- causedby infection of the navel cord, castrating wound (fig 29) and once-overdouching
(now outlawed)

" mastitis or blue-bag - can be fatal affecting ewes with suckling lambs

" enteroxosemia- overeatingdiseasetends to attack the larger most rapidly growing lambs
" ecelhieyma-soremouth

" foot rot

" blue tongue - coided fly

" scrapie - fatal. Affected and exposed animals are slaughtered, long incubation periods, two year's,
difficult to detect

20Von Bergen, W. Von Bergen's Wool Handbook Vol two, New York Interscience 1993.
 50

f foot and mouth disease

9 anthrax - fatal to sheep, but very dangerous to the wool handlers also, used to be known as the
"wool handlers disease". The sheep develop weak legs and breathing difficulties, they fall to the

ground can be dead in minutes.

IýiI..,,.
1 77 1n ý7r, n

0
ýt
,
ýe ýI ýý

!
_,

_. ý._ .
ýr+`'. %`..
r. s.

Fig 29 castrating sheep by mouth

Historically, organachlorine pesticides (OCs) were used internationally for their cheapness and

effectiveness. Enlightened wool growing countries banned their use, however lindane and toxaphen

continued to be used. Even in countries where these chemicals were outlawed traces show in data.
The main classes of pesticides in the 1990s used on sheep are the organophosphates (OPs) and

synthetic pyrethroids (SPs). Organophosphate compound was first in 1854, it was during
synthesised
the 1930s that its potential as a powerful chemical nerve gas was realised and later OPs formed the
 51

basis of the West's second generation of nerve gases, the V agents, after the Second World War. 21

Both these classes are an improvement on the OCs in relation to mammalian (sheep and human)

toxicity but even small doses of OPs can cause irrevocable damage to the central and peripheral

nervous systems. These pesticides have down stream consequences and research work is in progress

aiming to reduce the amount of pesticides in wool at the time of shearing, and on the occupational
hazards of handling pesticide contaminated raw wool on the farm and in the early processing stages.

SHEARING

The ultimate solution to prevent exposure of the shearers to pesticides is to develop the self-shearing

sheep (fig 30). A Russian worker before the Second World War found that the administration of
thallium to sheep would cause hair loss. Later in 1968 it was discovered that an anti-cancer drug used

to stop cell division would stop hair growth in sheep also). 22

Fig 30 the self shearing sheepshorn by cyclophosphamide

21Perera,J. Scab Wars The Impacts Organophosphatesheepdips on Farmers, livestock and the
of
Environment. Friends of the Earth. London April 1993 ISBN 1 85750 204 3.
22A constriction is
caused in the wool fibre which moves up the follicle as the fibre grows so that
about one week later it is level with the skins surface. At this point the wool breaks, so that the fleece
can easily be pulled away. Since no machinery or skill is required it was claimed that the drug would
cut out the costly process of sheep shearing which costs about $1 per sheep. Ryder, L. M. The
Production and Properties of Wool and Other Animal Fibres in Textile Progress. Vo17 No3 1975,
p. 8.
 52

Almost thirty years later the scienceis still being perfectedas describedat the ETN conferencein
1995.

"Sheep, goats. A host of developments in sheep and goat genetics are being carried out to

produce more efficient feeding methods, greater insect and pest resistance, softer and finer
fibres and even a technique for biological wool harvesting. Injection of a special protein

temporarily interrupts the growth of hair and after four to six weeks a natural break appears

at the baseof the fibre.

Fig 31 drawing of the treated hair follicle
The fleece can then be peeled off the sheep, allowing an increase in daily shearing output

from 120 to 300 fleeces per team. The technology is already proven but has thrown up some

unforeseen problems; the removal of wool is so effective that the sheep become susceptible to

sunburn; some concern also exists over levels of abortions in ewes. Finally, Australian sheep
 53

shearers have already had their first strike in protest at the employment implications of the

new methods"23 (fig 31).

This type of technology is even more amazing when you consider that since 1909, the only change in

sheep shearing methods has been the introduction of power to shearers.

Fig 32 notes and drawings from the sheep-shearing manual `Golden Hoof

" 1. Shearon a large smooth floor or platform to keep wool clean.

" 2. Never shear when wool is damp or wet.

23 Byrne, C. Developments in Biotechnology Textile Industry: Future Concerns for

within the
Manufacturers and Designers. Proceedings from `Textile Communication Across Europe, The ETN
Conference & Textile Celebration'. Manchester Metropolitan University. 25th to 3 I' March 1996.
 54

" 3. Hold sheepoff feed overnight. If they are running on wet pasturehold them in the barn on dry
feedthe day before.

" 4. Take belly-wool off separately.

" 5. Shearin sucha mannerthat the fleeceis unbrokenandall partsin their naturalposition,one
half on eachsideof the wool that growsalongthe backbone.
" 6. Removeall tags, dung and heavy sweatlocks and pack separately.

" 7. Tie each fleecewith paper twine and pack into a sack.

" 8. Pack sweepingsand crutchings separately.

" 9. Packall blackwool separatelyfrom white wool.

It is a soberingthought that wool could be harvestedchemically tripling the productivity with far
-
fewer workers. The developmentof peeling sheepby hand, altering the structure of the growing fleece
has ethical ramifications. This technology will enablespecific flocks to be `peeled' at the convenience

of the farmer/wool buyer rather than wait for the periods when traditionally the sheepare sheared
(modem breedsdo not have a moulting period as sheephair grows continuously). This method will

also result in an even spreadof shearing work, rather than the usual seasonalcongestionand shortage
of skilled workers.
WOOL SCOURING
The processingof natural fibres and in this casewool, causegreat ecological concern and is
insufficiently documented.For instance,after the shearing stage,processingtakes place and it is at

this point that pollutants within the fibre are removed leaving the problem of effluent and its disposal.
24iWhen they (pesticides)
are applied to sheep,they becomestrongly associatedwith the
wool grease,which meansthey are almost totally removed from the fibre, along with the
grease,during the scouring process.From the wool product viewpoint, this is good, because
it meansthere can be no reasonablesuspicion that the very small pesticide concentration

remaining in wool textiles could possibly be harmful to consumers.However, it doesbring

problems for the scourer,who can be harmed at the processingstagecoming into direct

contact with the new wool, causing severedermatitis 25Wool

and other skin complaints.
greaseis a valuable by-product of the scouring processand it is normally recoveredfor sale.
Centrifugal recovery is the most commonly usedmethod, but is capableof extracting only

about 40% of the total greasepresentin scour liquors. Acid cracking can recover about 90%
but producespoorer quality grease,and is not widely used.All this meansthat, there may be

problems in discharging scouring effluent to municipal sewers,which is the only choice in

24
op cit. p. 7
 55

somecountries (notably the UK) and the greasemay be an unsuitable raw material for the

preparation of cosmeticor pharmaceuticalgrade lanolin. Although lanolin refiners have

developedand introduced techniquesfor reducing total pesticide levels to I part per million

or less; improvementsare still required to meet German specificationsfor baby-care

products. The effect of pollutants from processingdischargeshas had low key attention so
far, although it would bejust a matter of time beforetough measurescould be forced the
industry. 26
Sheepfleeceaccumulatemuch vegetablematter in the courseof feeding which must be removedfrom
the wool beforeprocessinginto yarns becausesevererejection problemscan occur during wool

spinning and dyeing if residue from burrs, seeds,twigs, leavesand straw are left in the fibre after
scouring. There are three main methodsof removing this debris; mechanical methods;chemical
methodsand biological methods.
The most popular method world-wide is the chemical method also known as wool carbonising. The
-
fleeceis treatedwith diluted sulphuric acid and then heatedat a high temperature.The organic

residue,which has beenbaked,can be broken and beatenout of the wool becausethe acid affectsthe
vegetablematter, which is cellulosic and has a lessdetrimental effect on the wool, which is protein,
based.

25Health & SafetyExecutive. Handling Raw Wool CausedSevereCasesof Dermatitis in Wool

Record November 1999,p. 17.
26Code of Practice on Dyeing and Finishing Marks & Spencer September1996.
 56

II

Fig 33 damaged wool fibre

The classical carbonising processconsistsof acidizing, moisture mechanical removal, drying

and baking the vegetablematter, burr crushing, dedusting, neutralising and drying. Usually
damage occurs to the fibre (fig 33) during the drying process and often leaves a sulphuric acid residue

after the water has evaporated. There is also the problem of disposal of the sulphuric acid

residuewhich has beenemptied into waterways.This problem is being addressedwith new

in
techniquesof wool carbonising a radio frequency electro magnetic field, discussedat the University

of Huddersfield's 'World Textile Congresson Natural and Natural-Polymer Fibres' 9,10,11 July

1997 in a paper given by Dr I. Baltina and Dr I. Brakch.

 57

r, 71k )NE
.

CLEANING BY SOLVENT
Wooltech aretheinventors
andsolepatentees
of a pioneeringwoolcleaning
andprocessing thatis
system
setto revolutionise
thewoolindustry
worldwide

Fig 34 New solvent cleaning system `Wooltech'

In 1998, Wooltech Ltd., pioneered a wool cleaning system using an ICI Solvent which was the

brainchild of Doctor Peter Hopkins, an Australian Scientist at CSIRO. 27Raw wool contains

approximately 13% grease of which 50% is recovered in a water-based emulsion. This emulsion and
its associated insecticides, detergents and alkalis are discharged into the sewerage system along with

the other main contaminants, dirt. The sludge, which remains after drying creates waste disposal and

stench problems.

27 Cleaning by Solvent, Woollech in Textile Horizons, December/January 1997, 34.

p.
 58

Water scoursdemandlarge amountsof fresh water, roughly 10 litres a kilo of wool (hencethese
industries have predominatedin the Northern Hemispherewhere water is plentiful). The significance

of solvent cleaning at the start of pipe is that wool processingcan be carried out in dry/desertregions
at the growing and manufacturing basese.g. Australia and India etc. Solvent cleaning is gentler on
the fibre causing lessentanglementand stretching, resulting in a higher quality fibre with longer
(unbroken) staple,which can be spun to previously impossiblefine counts.
This new solvent cleaning system'Wooltech' (fig34) has beenin developmentsince 1989with a non-

polluting brief in mind. Outputs of the new systemare raw wool grease,which is recoveredto the
extent of 99%, dry powdereddirt and cleanedwool. The new systemhas produceda wool product of
superior quality, which is cost effective and environmentally friendly, eliminating the effluent
associatedwith water scours.
"In developingthe process,Wooltech screeneda vast range of organic agentsand it soon
becameapparentthat a simple chemical engineering processwas the major objective.The

processneededto be able to dissolvewool greaseusing standarddistillation technologyand

simultaneously,leaving the dirt undissolvedin the cleaning medium to allow for filtration
and simple drying. An ICI solvent Triwool, was finally selectedas the cleaning agent. It is
non-flammable, doesnot depleteozonenor producegreenhousegasesand is not a known
carcinogenic.More importantly, the solvent enhancesthe strength and elasticity of wool
fibre producing a softer handle that is apparent at all down streamprocessing". 28
The theory is also that wool yams will be producedat a much lower cost than can presentlybe

achieved.Wool fibres needchemicalssuch as caustic soda,hydrogen peroxide and stabilisersto clean

them. This liquor is then allowed to seepinto the land, or in the UK, dischargedinto the wastewater

system.Large usersof wool for clothing are very aware of the environmental problemssurrounding
wool processingand Marks and Spencercontinue to issueenvironmental guidelines to their supply
chain.
CARDING
After scouring and carbonising to removethe vegetablematter, burrs etc, the wool fleeceis

carded,which traditionally involves passingthe fibres betweensetsof rollers which producesa

mixed veil or web of wool. This web is then rolled or rubbed into strips to form a slubbing,
which is wound on to condenserbobbinsready for spinning.
SPINNING
When the slubbing or roving has beenmade it is drawn and the clean sliver of wool top of

28ibid.
 59

which the micron (or measuredwidth of each individual hair) is the most important

characteristic affecting handle and price, is drawn into a specific thicknessof yarn.
DYEING
The wool dyeing processhas numerousenvironmental problems due to visible and invisible pollution,

which is usually causedby water-solubledyes,pesticidesand chemicalsused to processwool. These

give at least coloured effluent at the end of the process,but can kill bacteria and fish and causeskin
complaints when releasedinto the local drainage or waterwayssystemor worn next to the skin.
When it comesto dye stuffs, there are 36 dermatological and toxicological tests acrossproductsand

componentsusedby clothing retailers. At Marks and Spencer,the dyesmust preferably be supplied

through the Ecological, Toxicological Association of Dyes and Organic Pigments Manufacturers
(ETAD) to which many major dye stuff manufacturersbelong.
On the dermatological front, It is well known that over the years certain dyestuffshave been

associatedwith someskin complaints and there is enoughmedical support to saythat this is definitely
the case.
"There have beenan increasing number of incidents due to skin irritation. Numbers are

small but neverthelessthey are increasing. Gone are the dayswhen we (M&S) could reply to
a customer's complaints with a high degreeof confidencesaying that we have found no
substancein the product or processingthat would causethe irritation. Gone are the days
where the local storemanagerwould contact the woman, invite her in for tea and give her a
compensationgift voucher. Today people want much more searchingquestionsanswered
29
and we seea trend where peopleare expecting more and more compensation".
There are hundredsof dye manufacturersin the world and in the Indian continent, there are about
200 companiesproducing no more than 10 tons each per year. However,most are producing dyestuffs
basedon Benzedrine chemistry, which is a well-known carcinogen,the production of which was
bannedin 1968. Even though production and manufacture may have beenbanned,the importation

and use of thesedyes in products has not. Also Azo dyeshave beenexcluded from use in the
production of merchandisefor Marks and Spencers,
since July 1994,but can be used for other
retailers. 7% of all dyesin the world are basedon Azo, many of which are carcinogenic.
Ideally wastewatershould be treated or recycled before entering the system.Each developedcountry
has its own pollution standardsfor controlling coloured wasteand a sliding scaleof penalty charges if

the standardsare not met. Thesepenalties in the UK are severe,particularly since the water industry
was privatised. ConsiderableR&has taken place in effluent disposal since privatisation e.g. in 1996
 60

Courtauldsdyehouseinstalledan effluentprocessingplantwhich reusedits own water.The

investmentpaidbackis a veryshorttime whenit is considered
that:
"The costsof removing colour from the dye housewastewaterare often prohibitive. It has
beenestimatedthat the cost is around £2,300 per cubic metre in UK and on averageeach
finishing companyuses500 cubic metresdaily. 30
In responseto environmental legislation in the 1990s,other technologieshave beenrapidly developed

such as reed bed systemsto recycle polluted water as an alternative to effluent dumping into
waterwaysand saveon the rising costsof using pure water.31
Additional polluters are biocides, which are usedto prevent bacteria forming on the yarn when it is

spun and dyed or vice versa (thesesubstancesare similar to PCPson cotton) which in finishing are
releasedand contaminatewaterways.
"Years ago we bannedthe use of PCPsand their derivatives(biocides) which are not

acceptablein any circumstance.There doesn't seemto be an advantagein importing into

this country other people's problems.You can eliminate the problem at sourceby saying `I
do not want PCPsin my product.
In the NW of England fabrics and yarns have beenused from abroadand PCPshave been
found in effluent discharges.Levels currently stand at 20 parts per billion for PCPs. That is

the equivalent of 1 secondin 19 months. So why risk your own businessthrough prosecution
by the NW Rivers Authority?
As far as the fabrics are concerned99.9% of all our fabrics are peroxide bleached. I have to

say we still unfortunately usechlorine, as it is part of our shrink resist process.But as we are
the largest retailers of wool in the world we have to get it right. So we are looking for

alternativesto peroxidebleachingandchlorine.'32
Market led developmentsare on the increase,specifically designedwith an environmental advantage

and ultimately cost reduction such as the long-term collaboration of the IWS with CSIRO to develop

non-chlorine-basedshrink proofing processes.New technologiessuch as Sirolan-LTD and Basolan

AS involve new wool dyeing processes,which were developedby the IWS and CSIRO from original

researchby CSIRO. Sirolan-LTD was designedfor low temperatureand limited time dyeing therefore

29McKelvey, D. The Impact Environmental Issues Retail Sourcing Textile Institute Lecture
of on
in conjunction with the Society Of Dyers and Colourists Marks & SpencerHead Office London:
March 1997.
30Hewson,M. Solving Effluent Problems Paper the Textile Roadshow, BMB
your given at
Initiative, 1997.
31ReedBed Systemsfor the treatment Industrial ECO Technologies
of wastewater's and sludge's.
International promotional literature, Wales, UK 1997.
32McKelvey, D. Environmental IssuesPaper
given at the Textile Roadshow, BMB Initiative, 1997.
 61

saving on energy and production costs. It made possible high quality solid dyeing with right-first-time

reproducibility, suitable for dyeing wool in the form of loose fibre, top, yarn, hank, package or piece.
Excellent results proved that a major breakthrough had taken place, improving the effectiveness of

fabric piece dyeing, resulting in new market opportunities for innovative wool fabrics.

Basolan AS uses anti-setting technology to halt wool fibre damages during dyeing, inhibiting

permanent change to the shape of the wool fibber though an anti-setting dye bath additive. The giant

chemicals company BASF is marketing Basolan AS, (trials took place in some 30 wool textile mills

around world) and it is now used commercially in Europe, Japan, Taiwan and Korea. A significant

consumer benefit is that it also helps wool garments retain their original shape by inhibiting the seam

pucker, which can occur when tailored wool garments are exposed to extreme changes in humidity.

ý. ý
Fig 35 machine washable wool advert
Indeed, adding value for consumers is imperative for all development programmes in the future.
wool
The IWS works closely with manufactures, garment finishers, chemical suppliers and major retailers

to ensure that consumer demands, in terms of end product performance such as machine washable

wools are met (fig 35). 33

For example, becauseconsumersand in their wake retailers, are developing a tacit concern about the

environment, the IWS is helping manufacturesand retailers to develop alternative routesto the
manufactureof wool products by modifying existing technologiesbut the businessis still reactive.
The `Right first time' philosophy has made vast improvementsand savings in energy and water,

which improved effectivenessin the use of dyes.

33 Continuous
technical innovation in wool yarn, fabric and garment engineering requires a
segmented marketing strategy that clearly differentiates wool products and identifies specific benefits
for the consumer. Quotation from Fabric & Yarn Innovation Spring 2001. The Woolmark
Company, London 1999
 62

McKelvey statedthat the UK dyerswere world leadersnow that they were using fewer chemicals,less

water, less energy.Many of thesesuppliersare claiming 97-98% right first time, putting sweatersin
one end and they come out exactly the correct colour time after time. Someare achieving 100%

successrates at times.
If then the synthetic dyeing of wool causesphysical and environmental damage,could the solution be

to usenatural dyestuffs?Natural dyeshave beenpromotedby the Eco-textile industry in the past as an

alternative. However,enormousamountsof dye materials are neededto dye comparativelysmall

weights of natural fibres, unlike synthetic dyestuffswhich have an 80-90% take up rate.
Glover and Pierce in their paper ' Are Natural Colourants Good for your Health?'34discussat some
length the pros and cons of natural versusmanmadein the textile dyeing industry paraphrasedbelow.
For example:
To dye 1kg cotton = 20gms of reactive dye.
To dye 1kg cotton = 5/10 kilos of freshly picked leaves.
To make 1kg of red natural dye = 150,000dried cochineal insects.
To make 1Kg of Tyrean purple natural dye = 8,571,428rare Mediterranean
molluscs, murex r. brandaris.
If we assumethat the use of colorants derived from deadanimals is not acceptable,then the only

other resourceof the 'natural' lobby would be to make dyes from vegetablesources.There is already
someinterest in this in the craft industries for wool dyeing.
Taking the annual production for wool per annum as 2 million tonnes and the averagedepth of shade

applied using a synthetic dye is probably about 1.7%. then the total synthetic dye consumptionwould
be approximately 34,000 tonnes.To match that synthetic dye depth of shadeof 1.7%, but using a

natural dyestuff,would require 120,240g of dry dye plant or the equivalent of 500/1000g of fresh
dye plants. (This is becausethe vast majority of the fresh dye plant is in fact water.)
If we assumeon averagethat 750 g of fresh plant will be required to produceenoughdried dyestuff to

provide a 1.7% depth of shade,then it is to

possible calculate that Ig of synthetic dye is equivalent to
440 g of fresh dye plant. In other words the weight of fresh dye plant neededto replace34,000 tonnes

of synthetic dye is 34 000 x 440, or 15 million tonnes.

It is interesting to comparethesefigures to those for cotton dyeing which are even more dramatic.
Cotton production eachyear is some20 million tonnes, and an averagedepth of shadeusing synthetic
dyescan be taken as 2%; therefore the total synthetic dye use is some400,000 tonnes. Using the same

34Glover, B., Pierce,J. Are

natural colorants goodfor your health? Journal of the Society of Dyers
and Colourists. vol. 109. London: 1993.P5-7.
 63

factor as for wool, the weight of fresh dye plant neededto replace synthetic dyeswould be 176million

tonnes.
Furthermore, oncethe dye was extractedfrom the dye plant it would leave some 170 million tonnesof

wasteplant that would need 35

disposal.
Think also of the vast amount of land neededfor dyestuff plantations, land perhapsbetter usedfor

growing food. Added to this is the mordent problem. Theseare used for fixing natural dyes and can
contain tin, lead, copper and iron, which are all toxic polluters when releasedinto waterways.
We must concludethat it would be impractical (as in fibre production) to rely on natural sources

alone to satisfy the world demand.

The alternative to dyeing could be to offer textile fibres naturally coloured. For exampleun-dyed

yarns on the animal fibre side have beenblended successfullyfor centuries,by blending natural fleece
shades.Today, Laidlaw and Fairgreve offer a large palette of naturally coloured and blendedwool
shades.However,it is a niche market becauseconsumersand manufacturersneed a palette which
contains ever more choice.
However, a remarkable successhas beenthe US production by Fox fibres of coloured cotton. This is

naturally coloured organic cotton, which is grown in shadesof yellow, green and brown. Growing
colouredcotton (a techniqueused in ancient Egypt, which involves selectivecross-pollination) and
farming cotton organically is possible,however,that is just the apex of the fibre production pyramid.
"Green cotton" exists, which is grown organically in Denmark without pesticides,herbicides,

chemical fertilisers or defoliants and has achievedthe EuropeanEnvironmental Award, however,the

yield is too small in relation to market demands.
The customer'sperception is that cotton is'natural and therefore good'. Most consumerswould be

surprisedto learn that cotton which accountsfor 50% of the world fibre consumption,uses25% of
the world's pesticidesand fertilisers in its production and needsconstantirrigation. The same

misconceptionexists in relation to wool.

Wool fibre dyeswell, becausethe protein core of the wool fibre is strongly reactive. It soaksup and

combineswell with a wide variety of dyes.Dying wool can be carried out at various times, either on
the scouredfibre, at top stage,(top dyeing) yarn stage( packagedyeing), and at garment stage(piece
dying). Howevermost dying of wool for knitwear occurs at the yarn stage.In packagedying the yarn
is wound around perforatedcylinders or packagesand placed on vertical spindles in a round dying

vat. Dyed solution is forced from the to

outside the inside and back again. With this method the dye

reachesthe core of the fibre and is less liable to run than in piece dyeing.

36
op cit p. 18.
 64

KNITTING

Fig. 10
Fig 36 drawing of a knitted structure

Knitting is the action of forming fabrics by the inter-meshing of loops,36and is a method of

constructing fabrics useing a set or setsof needles.Knitting producescloth at a much greaterrate than
weaving, and it is no coincidencethat newly industrialised countries like Mauritius and Turkey have
developeda knitwear rather than a woven textile industry becausethey can producemany more

garmentsprofitably for the sameor less capital investment.

The loops in comparisonto the warp and weft in a woven cloth are called whales (an intermeshed

row of loops running from end to end of a weft knitted fabric, in machine knitting it is the
product of one needle)and courses(a row of loops essentially formed from one or very few
threadsrunning from side to side of a weft knitted fabric, in machine knitting it is the

product of one knitted cycle).

The basic machine type usedby woollen knitwear manufacturersoutsidethe First World is the
flat bed knitting machine, which is operatedby hand (hand flat knitting machine, a V-bed, flat bed

or single bed latch needleknitting machine designedto be poweredby hand. Such machinesare
used industrially where labour is cheapand where the product competesfavourably with the
poweredmachine. Very quick responseand very short production runs are possible).
Garmentsfrom the hand flat machinesmade in large quantities, fall into two categories,on

the one hand they can be simple, five gauge, fully fashionedpieceswith designed'details e.g.
fashioning marks along a saddleraglan sleevegiving the appearanceof a quality, value for money

garment, or they are very complicated structuresor textures, for example a 12 gauge
is
multi- cable rib, which very expensiveto knit automatically becauseof the time, it takes
transferring all needlestwice in the cabling course.A dextrousoperator can be quicker

36Brackenbury, T. Knitted Clothing Technology,Blackwell Science Oxford, 1992.

 65

transferring by hand. Fabrics producedare flat just as they were originally in William Lee'sproduct,

although they are capableof producing 3D shapesthrough wale shaping using loop transfer
techniques.
Essentially the flat piecesof knitted cloth are cut and then sewn together to make a garment.
Supporting the hand flat industry is the use of automaticknitting machinessuch as the Japanese
Shima Seiki.
Thesemachinesare relative newcomers,considering how little knitwear technologyhas changed

since the sixteenth century. New automatedknitwear machineshave createdproduction and design

changessince the early 1970sare which have beendramatic. Basically this machine has dozensof
needles(1600 plus) arranged in a straight line, or lines, sectionsof which are controlled by a
computer. Thesemachineshave
between8 to 48 conesof yarn, feeding 213 meters of yarn a minute into the fabric. Flat bed machines

are capableof producing lmeter of fabric 37

a minute. They can drop or add stitchesautomatically to
increaseor decreasefabric at certain points, can cast off neatly with a finished edgeat any given point

and can be programmedto knit complicated patterns in many colours and textures in the samecourse.
Thesenew technological machineshave a great productive capacity and need only the attention of a
technician. It is usual to seefactories full of thesemachines in the UK and Far East with usually very
few male operatorsattending to them. However in developing countries and newly industrialised

countries traditional labour-intensiveknitwear production is still practised becauseof the low

manpower costs.

Conclusion:
'natural versus manmade'
There is a public misconceptionthat natural fibres are ecologically soundand it is interesting to note

that Next and the Burton Group (now Debenamsand the Arcadia Group) still pursue a 'natural is
best' marketing philosophy when it comesto textiles and in particular knitwear. This philosophy is

customerled and has becomeapparent after regular market research.

The big natural fibre producersand their representative'si. e. IWS and the Cotton Council of America
have also encouragedthis idea, through their seductivemarketing campaigns.
But even the natural fibre producersdo not miss an opportunity to scorepoints off each other in the

propagandawar, as pointed out by Trevor Shaw in his speechat the International Wool Textile
ResearchConference.

37Roche,J. The International Wool Trade. Woodhead, Cambridge 1995,p.205.

 66

"The use of pesticidesand fertilisers in wool growing is a fraction of their use in the production of

cotton. Sheepfor wool production are seldom grazedon land that could be used for food crops, for the

simple reasonthat sheepare quite viable on poor pastureand in hilly country. Finally, wool is a

renewableresourceand is biodegradable.
These facts and other quantitative data presently being

be to
collected should enough confirm that is
wool environmentally friendly".

The marketing of wool products has continued to dupe the public into thinking that it is a wholesome

and ecologically sound fibre. Paradoxicallythe reputation of synthetic and manmade fibres has

suffered since the 1970s,as has that of the chemical industry generally. The fact that it would be
impossibleto satisfy the world's fabric needsin natural fibres alone (an estimated30 million tonnes

per annum, with the wool componenta mere 4%) seemsto be ignored.
So far, under scrutiny has beenthe history of and production of virgin wool to date. Virgin wool

production is one link in the wool chain from cradle to grave. Reprocessedwool and reusedwool will
be discussedin the final chapterwi h Axo4ouW J((öt bQu%%s
v; Jv..wQ .
" Virgin wool, new wool: definition: fibre from fleece or a sheepor lamb that has not previously
spun into yarn or felted, nor previously been incorporated into product.
" Reprocessedwool definition: when wool has beenreprocessed,the fibre results from felt without

ever having beenutilised by the ultimate consumerand is returned to its fibre state.
" Reusedwool - recoveredwool definition: Postconsumerwool rags and manufacturedwaste,torn

up and into fibres again, and used for producing shoddy.

On the one hand it is an irony that the largest producers of yarns and fabrics made from reprocessed

and reusedfibres are in the developedworld. On the other hand the irony is that much of the world's
most expensivevirgin wool is made into yarns in the worlds poorestcountries.
 67

THE GLOBAL FACTORY

CHAPTER 3
 68

THE GLOBAL FACTORY

CHAPTER 3

Introduction
Already discussedare the farming and fibre processesof wool, this chapter discussesthe `wool fibre
into knitted fabric' part of the life cycle of wool in the global production chain. Here LCA
incorporatesboth ethical and environmental issues.The journey is global, from the Southern
Hemisphere,via the tropics and on to the Northern Hemisphere.The focus is upon wool producedin

the principal growing countries, Australia and New Zealand whosecombinedmarket sharewas 46%
of world production with sheepnumbers of 120 and 49 million respectivelyin 1996.1
Antipodean wool is exportedto all the garment producing regions of the world, many of which have a
long-establishedhistory of knitwear production. The discussionwill begin with wool knitwear made
in Mauritius, which is a major knitwear producing country and one of the centreswhich the author
has primary knowledge.The first knitwear company in Mauritius was establishedlessthan three
decadesago in 1971which becamethe catalyst for dramatic economic change.This newly
industrialised country (NIC) quickly replaceda sugarcaneeconomyon the back of Floreal Knitwear
Ltd., which at the time of writing, is the secondlargest user of the Woolmark accreditation in the

world after Benetton2,and is my casestudy.

The companyexports millions of knitted garmentsto retailers throughout the world but the principal
destination is Europe and it is in the United Kingdom, with the British retailer and consumerthat the

secondpart of the life is focused.It is at this that fibres are transformed into
cycle of wool point wool
knitted garmentsand shippedon to the UK retailers and the British consumer.The reasonswhy the
UK retailers use manufacturing basesthousandsof miles away and the mechanismswhich make that

possibleand necessarywill be briefly explained. The researchconfirms the fact that ecological issues

associatedwith wool at this stagein the lifecycle are becoming focusedon human, rather than

material,resources.

1 Author Unknown World to the 2000 in Knitting International issue no 1225,

wool review year
April 1996p. 10.
2 Floreal has Mauritian textile/clothing on the Island which are
owners,unlike most other companies
owned by foreigners.The company has gone from strength to strength since the early 1970s,unlike
most of its competitors,many of which have It
now closed. must said be that Floreal's success is due
 69

The most important element in this section is the partnership of the retailer and the manufacturer

who build a working relationship for mutual maximum profit, arguably at the expense of their

employees. Reference will be made to The Burton Group (known after de-merger in 1997 as
Debenhams and the Arcadia Group which include Top Man, Top Shop, Principles, Dorothy Perkins,

Burton Menswear, Evans and Racing Green), Next, British Home Stores, C&A and Marks and

Spencer who are the major wool retailers in the UK and are known through the Oxfam challenge3 as

the `Big Five'.

Labour `less' and labour `intensive' knitwear manufacturing, its geography and working practices are
discussed.

References are drawn mainly from primary research using observations, interviews and anecdotal

material collected in Mauritius, whilst working as a consultant for the UK's second largest retailing

group then known as The Burton Group, supplemented by press articles, wool specific, technical and

socio-economic literature.
3: 1 THE HUMAN FACTOR

Fig 37 Mauritius the Pearl of the Indian Ocean

Mauritius (fig 37) is known to its population as the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. It is a beautiful tropical

island less than 90 by 110 kilometres in area. The population is one million and the official language

is English, French is still extensively used but Creole is the most common medium of

communication. The currency is the Mauritian rupee. ' The capital city, Port Louis, is compact and

in part to its intrinsic understanding of its own work force. The remaining knitwear and jersey firms,
are owned by businesses in Hong Kong/China.
3 Oxfam the UK's big to that were free from
challenged retailers prove their manufacturing chains
child labour. Oxfam demanded that their representatives should be able to visit any supplier's factory
unannounced to check that this was the case. Author Unknown Clothes Code Campaign, Oxfam
promotional literature, 16 April 1997.
1 British Pound=40.6398 Mauritius Rupee. Currency Converter
htip: //www. oanda. com/converter/classic April 17 2000.
 70

decaying,outsideof which, architecture consistsmainly of colourful breezeblock shacksand home-

made single story dwellings which are exotically picturesque.

The Mauritian peoplehave always beenuseto hard simple living and the associatedrelative poverty

of `non first world' conditions, which is surprising becausethe population has an educatedmulti-
cultural background,of Asian, African, Chinese,and Europeandecent.This poor but educated
country has beenand continuesto be an attractive proposition for investorsfrom Europe,Asia, and
Hong Kong. However foreign investmentand exploitation are not new to the Mauritians with records

showing that the Dutch first colonisedthe Island in 1598(leading to the rapid extinction of the Dodo
which has madethe Island famous) and exploiting the ancient coastalforestsof ebonynow, like the
Dodo, extinct. The Dutch left in 1710 and were supersededin 1715by the French, whosebrief was,
".. to enrich the Kingdom of Francewith that place at the World's End. His Majesty having
beeninformed that the island of Mauritius is totally uninhabited, orders you to take

possessionof it in his name, if the island is not occupiedby a foreign power and to draw a
deedin due form which you will sendon your return. You will name the place Isle de
France, and when you take possessionof the island you will follow the instructions which
the East India Company will transmit to you". s
The French brought the sugar cane and Indigo industries upon which the Mauritian economywas
built. They left the island in 1810to be replacedby the British, who ruled until 1968. In 1968
Mauritius was granted independence,although it remained a member of the British Commonwealth.
The `manyana' mentality has given the country its easytranquil atmospherewhich is soughtafter by

tourists, but which frustrates employerswho must competeon an international level where speedand

efficiency are essentialto economicsuccess.It is optimistic for foreign investorsto expectsuch a

work force can rapidly adjust from an agricultural backgroundto work to First World factory working
practicesand quality, without a manufacturing culture, but they do. The Mauritians have been quick
to learn, but compensatefor long factory hours with free time at the beachand a reluctanceto work

any overtime.
Since the ending of British rule in 1968there have beenrapid, spectacularchangesto the wealth and
developmentof the nation, with many fundamental improvements,not leastthe installation of

to
running water and electricity most homes describedby Mrs Cleli, the aunt of a Floreal knitter,

"People were poor then, a lot poorer than now.. It was all petrol lamps. We got water from

the public tap in the square.We got electricity in our village in the 1960s.After

5 Author Unknown Islander Air Mauritius,

promotional literature Port Louis Mauritius 1996, p. 70.
 71

Independencethe changeswere for the benefit of the people.There was a state pension for

the children (child allowance) and old people".6

The main thrust of the Mauritian Government has been to encourage other industries to develop

along side sugar production. These other industries manufacture higher value products, or are more

mechanised and less labour intensive thus creating better working conditions for the people and often

paying better wages.

One of the newest industries is tourism, which became more important as the Island became, a

fashionable honeymoon and water sport destination in the 1990s. The International hotels are of Five

Star quality, luxurious, and equipped with modern communications such as fax machines, e-mail,

computer and video links, which are essential for international business guests. Such services are
taken for granted in the West but are a fantastic achievement in Mauritius. These hotels are heavily

guarded and screened from the local population many of whom resent the economic contrast. The
internal transportation system is by road few of which are motorway quality, they are congested,

chaotic and severely hamper development.

.
ý'
I-
Fig 38 Hong Kong once the export gateway to the West
As mentioned in the introduction, the most important industry to be established after independence

was in the textiles and clothing and in particular in the woollen knitwear sector. Before that, the
textile industry was non-existent in Mauritius. This fantastic success can largely be attributed to the
financial investments and expertise from foreign countries such as France and the United Kingdom

because of the historical connection. The business has, however been dominated by a handful of large

foreign groups from Hong Kong (fig38) which was once the export gateway to the West, owned by

the Chinese, who made direct foreign investments in the knitwear and clothing industry, principally
during the 1980s. Since that time the industry has suffered numerous closures largely attributable to

acute labour shortages (the labour exists but workers do not want to work in the textile factories).

6 Cleli, M. Mother
and Aunt of workers at Floreal Knitwear Ltd. Interview in Mauritius May 20
1996. (Appendix 1)
 72

Both local and foreign firms have beenaffectedby theseshortages,but the foreign firms have

accountedfor the majority of job lossesin the industry.

Foreign investors in Mauritius are attracted by privileged trade access to the EC markets, with no

`cat" restrictions. Economists suggest that success for the future of the Mauritian textile/clothing

industry will depend upon how quickly these businesses adopt capital intensive technologies,

modernise production processes, and introduce innovations and design new products. A few local and
foreign owned firms have taken up the challenge, whilst most others have been very slow to take the

necessary action. The majority of firms in the industry must progress rapidly to a more sophisticated
level of production if they are to survive; the transition period will be slow and painful but vital for an

economy which faces acute labour shortages and a skills gap.

One of the most authoritative business reports about Mauritius was written in 19928. Many of the

specific financial details used in this section are taken from that analysis which, although somewhat

out of date, gives a good account of the economic situation at the time and the subsequent
development of the knitwear industry.

In the early 1990s, 16% of all foreign investment in Mauritius was in the clothing sector, which

amounted to 7035 million rupees. The single largest source of foreign investment in the textile

and clothing industry was from Hong Kong between 1986 and 1989, when 1,735 million rupees was
Invested in the Export Processing Zones (EPZ).
2... 'JC7.1 fý. V -.4aT+º-
" ý'ý +, ýi.

iý
.ý-'iý. ý
Cý .r'K, -i+
ý iý
f1ýý, ý;
'^_
ý_ ý_ "ý

Fig 39 Harvesting sugar cane

It was during early 1980 that the textile and clothing industry emerged as potentially the largest

sector in the growing economy in terms of employment and exports, way above that of sugar (fig 39)

upon which the Mauritian economy had been built. 9

The term `cat' is short for `category', used in the clothing industry in relation to restrictions placed
upon textiles and clothing imports into the EU from non-EU countries. International `cat' quotas are
set for manufactured items and must be adhered to by each exporting and importing country.
8 Fowdor, N. Foreign Investment in
the Mauritian Textiles and Clothing Industry in Textile Outlook
International, November 1992, p. 80-108.
Sugarcane plantations stretch as far as the eye can see, from one end of the island to the other, over
a distance of 100 kilometres. Sugar is grown and harvested in the traditional way, by hand. It is slow,
back breaking and labour intensive work where fields are dotted with teams of men and women in
colourful clothes cutting the cane with machetes. It is slow, and very poorly paid work ( between 40 to
 73

The governmentrealised that it was essentialto attract direct foreign investmentand a generous

packageof incentives was provided to foreign investors in the EPZ sector in 1983. Under this scheme
investorsagreedto export the bulk of the productsmanufacturedin Mauritius. In exchangethey

would get a tax holiday of 10 to 20 yearsand their dividends would be free of tax for five years. Also

their imports of raw materials and machinery were duty free. Benefits included:

" low interest on loans

" industrial buildings rented cheaply

" electricity and water supplied at cost

Current governmentpolicy remains firmly gearedtowards making Mauritius a free market economy.
Investorsare allowed to repatriate their capital gains and capital without payment of the usual 15

percent capital transfer tax and without prior approval of the Bank of Mauritius. The free movement
of money has attractedcapital into all sectorsof the economy. The government also maintains a
policy of encouragingforeign investment in the pioneer status industries, such as electronics,
information technology and printing.
Also there are rangesof measuresin place to make Mauritius a haven for foreign investors,for

example an offshore financial and businesscentre has beencreated.The island however facessevere
infrastructure constraints,needing massiveinvestment to reducetransport congestionon the roads,

extend the telecommunicationsnetwork and improve cargo-handling facilities. The latest figures
show that 155 foreign firms operatein textiles and fashion in Mauritius, that is 42% of the total
number of firms in the industry. Joint ventures involving foreign and local firms account for over 55

percent of total employment. The UK is the third largest foreign investor after Hong Kong and China

accounting, for a total of 17 firms operating in the industry. Sevenare involved in joint ventureswith
local partners whilst a further eight are involved in joint ventureswith a partner from another

country.

50 rupeesa day). At the outset in order to make the plantations, the land had first to be clearedof the
millions of volcanic cubes,which litter the island. These black in
rocks vary size from half metre
upwards and have been piled high in `Mayan-like' structuresor gathered into long lines in the fields,
similar to the broad structure of the Great Wall of China. This feat is tremendous in itself,
considering most of the land was cleared well before mechanisation.Personal visits 1995/96.
 74

CASE STUDY 1: FLOREAL KNITWEAR LIMITED

As mentioned earlier, Floreal Knitwear Ltd, was a pioneer in the Mauritian knitted textile industry

Floreal's business was built upon woollen spun yarn qualities, which have prevailed over worsted
and
for knitwear, to the UK. 10
spun qualities exported
UK retailers prefer to use Mauritius for economicreasons.The woollen systemusescoarsershort
fibres, family because
the better, longer
staple which are often cheaperthan those of the worsted
for
fibres are removed a superior quality. ThesecoarserShetland fibres producehairier, bulkier

to hand-powered,flat knitwear production because

the
products and are much more suited use on
woollen yarn knits very quickly, shrink and bulk well, hiding mistakes and flaws characteristicof
hand framed garments.
Since 1971, Floreal has its knitted in its
continued to make principal product of woollen spun goods
itself to Shetland, but Merino Lambswool and noble fibre
vertical oporation, not restricting carries
blends in its portfolio. Floreal imports Australian and New Zealand clean wool tops in the main,

processes the fibre in its own mill, blends, twists, spins, dyesand knits, makes and finishes the

product in-house, which means that Floreal has 100% control right down the line, from fibre through

to garment. The largest is

season winter with approximately two thirds of annual salesand less

businessgeneratedduring the summerperiod where fibre quality concentrateson cotton and cotton
blends.
The data from the Floreal factories (Appendix 2), show it is possibleto producewool for men's and
ladies' knitwear in great volumeson hand-poweredmachineswith a production capacityof 358

thousandpiecesper month and over 4 million piecesannually, that is knitting, linking,

" The order is 1000 pieces,with a production lead time of
washing, pressingand packing. minimum
two months after designation of orders and size breakdown.
Principal exports are to the UK at 25%, France45%, Germany 15%, Italy 5% and USA 10%.
The factory island, in
nineteen all,
premisesare partly owned acrossvarious sites on the
located in Curepipe and the only finishing for
with the main knitting and linking factory plant
located in Vacoas.The factory has of 100
washing, dyeing and packing raw material storage

10The Mauritian knitwear industry beganwith its woollen Shetlandqualities in the early nineteen
UK's Shetlandknitting industry. Quote from
seventies,an event which heraldedthe end of the
Mervyn Davis Marks and Spencerbusinessspecialist in knitwear and hosiery 1999.
11Supplier Analysis. Chiao Kuang Group Ltd. Maccau: Arslani Ltd. Istanbul Turkey: Floreal
Knitwear Ltd. Mauritius & Madagascar:Dora Ltd. Dominican Republic & Hong Kong: South
Ocean/NovelGroup, Mauritius, Hong Kong, China: Australia Knitting Ltd. Hong Kong, China.
Burton Menswear, 1996.
 75

thousand square feet, the knitting department is also 100 thousand square feet, linking is 50

thousand square feet, finished goods storage has 300 thousand square feet a total operating

space of 550 thousand square feet. The goods have to travel by road great distances from one site to
the next. This is an unusual situation in the knitwear industry, even in First World countries where

processes are segmented. 12

find owning sheephas

The E3enettons
brought insight, writes Sarah Bagnall

Fig 40 Benetton own shops, factories and sheep

Floreal's production base comprises of four units for knitting, 14 units for knitting and linking,

one solely for linking. In addition they have their own laboratory and woollen yarn spinning mill

called Ferney Spinning Mills Ltd. where approximately 90% of all Floreal's yarn requirements are

produced from virgin wool tops.

The factories are well managedwith a friendly atmosphereand relatively good conditions in relation

to other knitwear factories. The businessis so fragmented in order to suit the needsof the local

12This
system is even bettered by Benetton, who spin, dye and knit the garments, then sell them in
their 7000 shops in 120 countries, partly under a franchising scheme. However, in 1989 they began to
buy ranches in Argentina and Patagonia and now own huge numbers of sheep (fig 40) in order to
develop and supply the best wool possible for the Benetton Knitwear. This is a truly vertical system
 76

homesbecause
of an inefficient transport system.Pay in
population, who expectto work closeto their
is hundred (£15 in 1997). At the Mauritian Traders Fair
the textile factories about six rupeesa week
in London in March 1997, Floreal's Marketing Manager Maurice Vigier de Latour said, "we are the
biggest `Wool Mark' knitwear manufacturer in the world. We are vertically integrated,with a
second
2005 tonnesper year". 13
spinner who producesaround
The article (footnote 13) describedFloreal's Shetland and Lambs
current product, which consistedof
wool sweatersand cardigans in basic and fancy styles. The company's client list includes all major
Europeanretail organisationsincluding Next, Debenhams,La Redoute,Galleries Lafayette,La
Coin,
Rinascente, Karstadt Kaufhof. Also Floreal has its own brand name called Harris Wilson,
and
basedin Paris which is sold in Europe, having five shopseach in France and Japan.
The factory has a variety of knitwear machinery from 2.5 to 10 gaugesacross3,560 knitting
Quality inspection is on line
machines,of which just 461 are mechanisedor part mechanised. control
and random, covering 25% of all products with primary and secondarylight inspection mending,

which picks up on tiny fabric and making-up flaws.

3: 2 FIBRE TO FABRIC
Chapter two mentions that knitting producescloth at a much greater rate than weaving and it is no
industrialised like Turkey Mauritius have developedknitwear
coincidencethat newly countries and
and jersey production rather than a woven textile industry. Garmentscan be producedquicker and
make more profit for the sameor less capital investment than that of the woven industry.

Flat garment piecesin wool are producedon Floreal's machines, although they are capableof
3D loop transfer techniques. Essentially the flat
producing shapesthrough whale shaping using
Supporting the hand flat
piecesof fully-fashioned knitted cloth are sewn together to make a garment.
industry is the use of automatic knitting machines such as the JapaneseStoll and Matsuya. These
knitwear industry, in the fact that knitwear
machinesare relative newcomersto the view of
technology has little since the sixteenth century and it has taken time for the technology to
changed
be embeddedin the knitwear businessglobally. In the West, new automatedknitwear machineshave

createddramatic production and design changessince the early 1970sbut becauseof the massive

not seenon the manufacturing front for decades.Bagnall, S. Wooly ideals provide more than quality
raw materials in The Times May 25 1996, p. 25.
13Author Unknown The Mauritian Traders Fair London in International Textiles March 1997.
14Perhapsthis is also true becauseShima machinesmust knit a garment in lessthan eighteen
be
minutes to cost effective, as the machine has an hourly cost of sixty pounds. A hand knitter works
for £80.00 a day in the UK and a fraction of that in Mauritius, they can be infinitely more flexibly
creative for a tiny proportion of the
 77

investment needed to equip a factory (with each unit costing £150,000) their use in newly

industrialising countries is minimal. is

Fabric production involves knitting courses by hand and is a predominantly female task. Factory

workers stand for most of the nine hour shift, because it is impossible to sit whilst working, especially
in the knitting and pressing rooms. The women employees are mostly young between 16 and 25.

The fact that the health of the knitwear workers was affected by factory conditions was the topic of

much anecdotal material, for instance that of one of the maids at the Sofitel hotel. She remembered
her previous job and said,

"I usedto work at Floreal on the hand-flat intarsia machines. BecauseI stood for five or six
daysa week, I had terrible backache.It was very hot. We girls alI know who has worked at
Floreal, becausewe alI have varicoseveins."
She laughed and said how lucky she was to have a job now, in such a beautiful hotel and for the same

money. It is understandable that women prefer to work as hotel staff etc. in the luxurious
surroundings of the international hotels, for the same pay, plus tips, bonuses and perks such as food
from the kitchens. The health of the workers was also a concern of Mrs Clelie, who said that her

niece and colleagues suffered constantly from being breathless, they said it was due to the `fly' or

wool fibre particles in the air. '

Fig 41 Inspection and packing rooms

There is no air-conditioning in the factory areasexcept for the rooms with sensitive computerised

equipment, managersoffices or the showroomsfor foreign buyers.Temperaturesin the factory often

same daily rate. Quote from Angus. J, Course Director BA Textiles, University of Derby February
2000.
15A type
of emphysema called `black lung' has been discovered in textile workers in the UK. -PhD
abstracts British library SRIS London, referred to in Cleli interview.
 78

exceed 30 degrees and 90% humidity. In areas of the business for example in the dying and finishing

or pressing rooms the working conditions are very difficult (fig4l) due to the heat generated by the

machinery.
The Floreal work force is mainly women, which is traditional world wide in the clothing industry

where 90% of workers are female". Also in Mauritius women are often the principal earners in the

family working five days a week, with two weeks holiday at Christmas. The workers are reluctant to

travel to the factories because public transport is painfully slow which can add two or more hours to
haii(
their nineAshift. Part-time employment is scarce, therefore because of the demanding conditions in the

clothing industries coupled with the strong competition from other new industries, there is a severe
female labour shortage employers pay females less than men although it is assumed that they are

easier to manage and are more dextrous. In general the men feel that working in clothing factories,

especially on non mechanised lines, is demeaning employment, preferring to work in the more
`macho' sugar factories, or not work at all, but stay at home to attend to children.
"Some men do work in Knitwear. They will do it because there is no other job, if they have no

qualifications from school. They would rather work in the factory. For instance, the Indian origin

peoples would traditionally have a small holding with cows etc. Now their women don't want to bring
food for the cows. If the men can't get jobs they stay at home their to the factory and
whilst wives go
they look after the children.... Everyone has a television.... Dallas very good... They (Mauritians)

would like to live like that but what can they do? It is just like a dream". 17

Fig 42 Chinese workers on three year contracts

16Get Job in Colours Magazine, Number 17, Autumn/Winter 1996, p. 90.

a
17
op cit interview Cleli
 79

Because of the severe and escalating labour shortage in the knitted textile industry in Mauritius,

female workers have been recruited from main land China since the late 1980s. They are issued with

three year contracts to work in a specified factory in the textile industry (fig 42).

The girls are housed on or near the factory site, in compounds, sleep in dormitories and work long

hours enabling them to send as much money as possible home. The girls experience little of the

Mauritian culture during their stay and the agreement is that, if they become pregnant whilst in

Mauritius under contract, they are sent back to China.

The Floreal Chinese workers are treated better than most, they are paid piecework rates and extra for

overtime, which is an obvious requirement in the West but not necessarily elsewhere. The

employment of migrant girls who will work to any contract and in any conditions is a sore subject for
the indigenous Mauritain workforce, which feels that better and more flexible employment

opportunities, in line with European practices are being undermined. Mauritians consider that First
World working conditions are unachievable whilst overseas contractors are prepared to work for very

long hours on very fine knitwear machinery, hand transferring stitches for fully fashioned knitwear in

dimly lit, humid conditions. These days the Mauritians do not want to work on those machines at all,

especially when the workers know that in European factories such processes are automated. It is

surprising these days to see such fine gauge, beautifuly contemporary garments being produced in

such primitive conditions. What is not surprising is that the workers are `burned out' or at least have

severe eye strain after their three year contract is over. When concern for the well being of workers

such as these is voiced, the stock reply is that the girls would rather be `here'(in Mauritius) than

making money as prostitutes on the streets in Shanghai.

Floreal Knitwear Ltd, realised that a rapidly developing economy coupled with growth in

communications i. e. mobile phones and satellite TV, were bringing irreversible changes to the

expectations of its labour force, who were demanding better pay and conditions. The company's

soaring expenses could not be absorbed indefinitely a without substantial impact on Floreal's profits.
Some small costs could be passed on to their retail customers but that was a short-term solution

because orders would fall as the retailers sourced other cheaper suppliers, in the eternal search for

better margins.

The long-term solution for Floreal was to look offshore for a cheaper manufacturing base with an

abundant and inexpensive workforce. Consequently, in 1989 they opened a huge knitwear factory on
the next Island of Madagascar ( noted as the third poorest country in the world), with extremely

competitive labour costs (fig 43). Floreal then opened a second factory in Madagascar which is
located in Antananarivo to keep costs to a minimum.
 80

MA

Fig 43 One of the largest knitwear factories in the world is in Madagascar

The first offshore factory is one of the largest knitwear factories in the world, equipped with hand flat

to
machines which seem stretch as far as the eye it
can see, can be 90 degrees farenheight and 90

degrees humidity on the factory floor. Like its Mauritain parent company the knitwear produced

includes Shetland, lambs wool, Angora, wool blends, cotton blends and blends with silk. The garment

types are men's and women's wear with a production capacity of 150,000 pieces per month extra to

their Mauritian factory, including knitting, linking, washing, pressing and packing. The business has

a minimum quantity per order of one thousand pieces and, as in the parent company, production lead-
time is two months after designation of colours and size breakdown.
The factories have raw material storage, knitting department, linking department, plus finished goods

storage with approximate total operating space of 200,000 square feet. Line inspections are similar to
the parent factory. However, here equipment is totally powered by hand, there are no automatic

machines other than washing and drying.

Unsurprisingly the equipment at Floreal's factories was in good in condition and well maintained,

due to their well-developed housekeeping and management systems, essential for knitwear

production. This is the case in the majority of knitwear factories, machines have quality care often at
the expense of their operatives because the manufacturer shoulders the cost of faulty goods caused by
damaged needles, oil marks dirt etc. Such defective stock results in the problem of what to do with

very large amounts of knitwear returned to the manufacturer (RTM) in an important client's

exclusive design. This is solved, as elsewhere by exportation to the Third World, incineration and
land fill. This factory has proved instrumental in keeping overall costs down as it produces the most

basic, but labour intensive, fully fashioned knitwear garment parts, adding a further 1.8 million

pieces to the manufacturing capacity.

Floreal Ltd., eager to keep its customer base, is now researching other new manufacturing bases in

East Africa and southern India, simply because production costs at home are becoming less

competitive and unworkable. It is an that Mauritius less than 30 years ago Mauritius was a poor,
developing country (DC). Now, because of its rapid economic growth, due principally to the knitwear

industry, that industry is being forced to investigate and invest in production sites offshore in lesser

developed developing countries (LDDC). In so doing, it is supporting the theory that the
 81

developmentof somepoorcountrieshasbeendueto the West'sinsatiableknitwearandclothing

productiondemands.
There is a realisation that the only future for Floreal, with regard to manufacturing in Mauritius is to
by
expand adding new technology to its portfolio (confirmed by the mid 90s take-over of Tropic Knits

Mauritius, which is a Jerseymanufacturer).Investment in new technology goeshand in hand with a

long-term reduction in costsbut also a reduction in the labour force. This reduction in labour, due to

stateof the art technology is seenin the West as an achievement,but a reduction in labour and
subsequentunemployment is at oddswith the total-employment concept in a developedcountry. As a
manufacturing base,Mauritius is still a low cost competitor to Europeansources,but that margin is
rapidly narrowing.
Towards the end of the 1980sthe newly industrialised countries (NICs), (for example Mauritius,
Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea) which had beenresponsiblefor much early import penetration

of Westernmarkets, started to find themselvesbeing displacedby a further generationof developing

countries (DCs). TheseNICs have also beganto suffer from acute internal labour shortages.To keep
the costsdown they are also having to re-equip with new machinery to give addedvalue to products

and take onboard sophisticatedworking practiceson the factory floor, such as teamwork systemsand
total quality managementpractices. What is also significant is that theseNICs, themselvesare
developingknitwear manufacturing basesin poorer countries, causing a cascadingeffect in
development,e.g. Hong Kong in China, Taiwan in Vietnam, South Korea in Cambodia and, as

already mentioned, Mauritius in Madagascar.Now the newly industrialised countries are forced to
replacethe clothing industry with more lucrative businesses,to continue their economic development,
for example in information technology in Taiwan, tourism and banking in Mauritius.
To an extent, Floreal can remain competitive due to the developmentof theseoffshore manufacturing
basesand by the reduction in overall costsby acquiring new clothing technology.The technology
itself has becomemore accessiblenot just to large but to medium and small sized firms too. This re-

equipping mentality now runs parallel with the traditional labour intensive production methodsstill
employed in the same factory. Quick responseis being forced like Floreal by
upon manufacturers
such customersas the Gap, Next, Zara, and The Burton Group.
 82

principles

Fig 44 Wool advert for Principles

As a consequence of developments in information and communications technologies for example,

faxes, telephone, and E-mail, the factory in Mauritius cam become an extension of the London, New

York or Madrid design studio. Decisions can now be made and implemented immediately, the only

difficulty is the time difference and transportation.

However not even the problem of shipping to Europe, making a minimum two-month lead-time, is

affected. The growth of global sourcing has led to a revolution in the use of air transport for the

speedy delivery high volume garments from location in the world. Further
of relatively virtually any

reductions in the cost of air transport (with a new generation of massive jumbo jets already on the

drawing board) and economies of scale, are likely to make air cargo an almost universal means of

distribution in future for all but the most basic products. Further progress will be needed in packaging

and storage technologies, such as vacuum packing, to reduce volume and long-distance freight costs,

ensuring that goods are delivered in optimum condition. Packaging is also a key issue for

environmentalists, with EU legislation requiring suppliers to take full responsibility for its return and

disposal after use. Marks and Spencer has encouraged the development and use of packaging that can

be recycled, making minor changes e.g. insisting that there are no metal staples in the cartons, or

plastic binders.
 83

3:3 GARMENTS OR THE HUMAN FACTOR

Theprimaryreasonthat the five majorBritish retailers:the BurtonGroup(now Debenhams
andthe
Arcadiagroup),Next, BHS,C&A, andmorerecentlyMarksand Spencersourcethe majorityof wool
from
garments manufacturers
outsideof the UK is price,quantityand designflexibility.
It is crucial for the retailers to achievethe lowest possibleunit cost for a piece of knitwear because

they are under pressurefrom two stakeholders.Pressureis applied by the shareholderswho demand
that the companymaintains and increases profits (in 1996 the Burton Group worked on a 60% intake

margin which was lower than other high streetretailers at the time). Secondly is
pressure applied
from the customers,who have becomeaccustomedto expectever-changing,fashionablequality goods

at the cheapestpossibleprices.
Knitwear forms approximately 20% of total UK garment sales, therefore production and retailing

costs are under constant scrutiny. Repeatedly, retailers find that the largest economies can be

achieved by squeezing suppliers's at the manufacturing base.

"I reassessed
the quality of garments,which the manufacturer delivered to us monitoring what was
going on hold. I worked with the buyers looking at on-time deliveries, correct sizing, had the
manufacturer followed the specification on quality. On top of that I visited the factories. That
analysis showedwhich supplier was worth continuing with and which was not. For if
example, you
take deliverieswhich were constantlya problem, poor quality, miss measured, differences,etc.,
...
and you visit the factories invariably, I found they were chaotic, they didn't know what they were
doing. There was no control and they were inefficient. That meanstheir mistakeswere costing us

money and that their cost prices for successfulgarmentswere costing us money - otherwisethey
wouldn't make any profit". 19

This factor has encouragedthe growth of knitwear imports, into the UK, since the 1970sfrom
developing countries where manufacturing and labour costsare low.20As imports increasedduring

the 1970s the UK textile industry beganto diminish. For instance,in 1970,the clothing industry

employedmore than one million people in the UK, today that figure is closer to 150,000and still
falling. 21

18Hart,J. Shoppingfor trouble in High Street in Evening Standard Business Day, 10th July 1996,
the
33 (Critique of retailers pressurising suppliers for more profits).
s Miller, C. Senior TechnologistThe Burton Group. Interview in London June20 1996.October 14
1998. (Appendix 1)
20The 100% knitwear industry, thriving in the UK, has now largely been replaced by
wool which was
wool blend/acrylic business using state of the art spinning and knitting machinery and fast response
piece-dyesystems. The profit margins are tight but still possibleon long runs but consequently design
variability, which is a demandof today's market, is limited.
21Rushe,D. On the
rack at Marks, The Sunday Times, November8`h,1998p.3
 84

Obviously, knitwear producersin the newly industrialised countries have an advantageover British
in
competitors price alone. However this advantagehas been further enhancedwith the development
of DesignatedFree-tradeZones (FTZs) 22 Mentioned in
earlier the chapter, in relation to Mauritius,
within these zonespermission was granted for foreign ownership, exemption from paying municipal
and provincial taxes,export taxes, duty free importation of raw materials, machinery and
23
equipment. Although British retailers did not invest directly in theseFTZs they beganto source
knitwear from suppliers who had directly investedand immediately beganto reap the benefitsof

greaterprofit margins. The Burton Group manufacturesmuch of its knitwear in FTZ suchas
Mauritius, the Dominican Republic, and Hong Kong/China where labour costsare very low. The

small item unit costsenablethe retailers to achievetheir companyprofits and customersto reap the
benefits also. 24
Ironically, another factor which encouragedBritish retailers to increasetheir overseassourcing policy

was the adoption of the Multi Fibre Agreement (MFA) (Appendix 3), instigated by the world's
industrialised countries in 1977, to control and suppressthe growth of imports from low cost

exporting countries.The MFA (soon to be phasedout) was put in place to give First World countries
time to cushion themselves,whilst they re-structured to competeagainst an influx of cheapergoods
from the rest of the world. The agreementwas made to keep theseimports to a minimum.
Now it is arguedthat the MFA has helped the West to profit unfairly by giving an advantagein price

negotiation. For examplethe West could only take a certain number of knitwear pieces,so the
pressurebecamefierce for countries and companiesto producethe product cheaperthan their
competitors.Consequently,there is a seasonalscrambleamongstsuppliers to win the substantial
British business.Also establishing quotas,which were, and are, considerablybelow the

manufacturing capabilities of the NICs, suppressedthe economicdevelopmentof those countries.

In 1968, UK Retailers begantentative sourcing textile and clothing in low wage countries. It was the
large vertically integrated textile/clothing firms i. e. Courtaulds and CoatsViyella which, were

amongst the first to invest directly in overseasmarkets, a in bid to remain competitive with foreign
imports but also to broadentheir technical portfolios.
This processstill continues.For instance,in spring 1997,the knitwearcompanyCharnosPLC and
trip to eleven
information-gathering
yarn agentsGaddum& WoodHoldingscompletedan overseas

22TheNIC
zonesoften curtailed workers rights, for example long hours, few holidays, no unions, and
impossiblepiece-ratequotas.Theseconditions enabled the factoriesto be evenmore competitive. E.
Wield, D. Heyzer,N. Third world Studiesin Open University Press 1985.
23Paglaban1978: 7).
24McMurray. Stitching Fortune, (Company Burton Group Finance director,
up a shareperks enabled
Andrew IJigginson to bag over £1,000,000 in sharesat a knockdown price today) in The Daily
Mirror, July 1997, p.26.
 85

Far Easternand Eastern Bloc countries visiting knitwear factorieswith a view to establishing

partnershipsfor their production into Marks and Spencer.Charnos PLC are one of the last UK
knitwear suppliers to M&S who have not as yet respondedto encouragementfrom M&S to take a Far
East partner.25
Now, becauseof the volume of overseasbusiness,most large retailers and their manufacturers
have an office and/or agent(s)abroad,and in particular in Hong Kong. Until 1962 Hong Kong was

the only significant exporter of clothing to Europe amongstthe developing countries.26As a member

of the British Commonwealth,Hong Kong enjoyedpreferential import tariff arrangements,which

encouragedeven cheaperknitwear into the UK. (It did not matter to the retailers that goodsout of
Hong Kong had in fact beenmanufacturedoffshore, a processknown as `submarining'. Hong Kong
businesseswere relocating production to even cheapercountries,using outward processing,in Macao

and China, making cheaperknitwear and more profits for themselvesand their clients).
The majority of Far Easternknitwear is usually made from higher quality wool or cotton yarns where

expensiveraw materials are offset by low labour costs.Imported knitwear often has someform of
addedvalue, for instancemulti-colour patterns, handwork, fashioning details, and heavier weights or
includes noble fibres. Theseknitwear piecesare usually excellent quality for the price. Similar

productscan be produced in Britain but at a much greater cost (at least four or five times more). UK
production would have to be knitted on stateof the art machinery in large volumes and have high
production costsbuilt into the unit price, for example, power, labour and machine costs.
HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS
All the large UK retailers work in similar ways this is due to the rapid interchangeof information

about systemsand working practicesbut also of personnel at all levels. In the clothing industry,
senior managers,buyers,merchandisers,and designershave usually worked for the other large
retailers and suppliers either full time, or freelance.In fact with the exception of M&S, moving every
few years is encouraged.Working on the previous season'sanalysisof winter knitwear salesand in

conjunction with profit targets for the next seasonlaid down by the board of directors and
shareholders,merchandiserscalculate the amount of knitwear pieceswhich needto be sold to reach
the company's projectedtargets. In simple terms, the number of knitwear piecesare then divided to

createdifferent collections, which are placed into storesat various times throughout the season.
In a typical winter season,where the bulk of wool saleslie, there may be three collections phasedinto

storesbeginning in July, and ending in December,with a fourth special `Christmas' or `Holiday'

collection, which is often the most profitable, to top the winter seasonsales.This multiple phasing of

25Interview
with Mr Colin Geedirector of Gaddum & Wood Holdings, June 1997.
26Keesing
and Wolf 1980: 13
 86

merchandiseis relatively new to the British market and was adaptedfrom the American retail system
in the 1970s.Since then it has beengathering momentum exemplified by the Gap retail chain aims
for a six-week turn around of stock.
In Britain in the 1970sand 80s, one large order was placed for the whole season,a seasonwas broken
into Autumn/Winter merchandiseor Spring/Summer.Four collections were producedin one year.
Now, the current situation is of four collections a season,with the addition of small, changing, trial

packageson top. A trial packageconstitutesa small range of between3 and 6 styles which are often
in
presented colours from the following in to
season'spalette order obtain some indication of how

popular those colours will be. The styles may be higher fashion using new sub-stratesand salesof
theseitems will give the companyconfidenceto place much larger orders for the following year. This
multiple phasing is very complex logistically but it has proved to be very successful,exemplified by
the GAP which has a 'by it, sell it and don't replace it' philosophy. The buy to sell out method,
ensuresthat the customeris always hungry for newnessand will buy an item there and then rather
than risk being disappointedin a few days time, when it may be sold out. It is also suggestedthat this
systemis now programming the customerto `buy now rather than later' becausethe customer
suspectsthat the item will soon be out of stock and not repeated. The constant changing of knitwear
and other goodson the shop floor certainly offers customersvariety and choice. Multiple phasing also
meansthat complex manufacturing, shipping, warehousing and distribution systemsneedto be in
place to deal with ever-changingmerchandise27.
Now the production of smaller designcapsulesare `called off' from the factory on a regular basis.
Also the launch of thesesmall collections must happen simultaneouslyin storescountry-wide. This is
in contrast to the past when the whole processwas relatively simple. Then two collections for the

whole seasonwere bought, knitted and shipped to the retailers' warehouse,where they were stored for

months and releasedby the retailer when the new seasonbegan. It becameobvious to the retailers
that they were shouldering the huge production and warehousingcostsof thousandsof piecesof
knitwear, months in advanceof the goodsappearing in stores.As part of the ceaselesseffort to reduce

costsand increaseprofits very little warehousingnow takes place at the expenseof the retailer, it is

the manufacturer who releasesstock via the `drip feed' systemand pays for materials, labour and

storagefirst. The retailer is saving costsby applying pressureto the knitwear manufacturerswho
make savingswhere possible.

27M&S have the benefits the Gap like look to that chain as a
realised of retailing systemand others
benchmark. In February2000 M&S launcheda similar concept`Autograph' which amongstother
characteristicscarried a limited stock of varied well-designedpieces.The conceptwas so successful
that the merchandisewas sold out at the Marble Arch store by mid-day of the first day.
 87

"... if you place a lot of businesswith one supplier, you are important to them. Their factory
is full of your product and they in theory tune in to your way of thinking. Things become
be driven down". 28
streamlined and more efficient and then the cost prices should
Multiple phasing and constantcustomerchoice have proved to increasesaleswith customerspossibly
buying three piecesper seasoninsteadof one. The positive aspectof the increasein turnover has
businessfor but
the manufacturers the negative element is that they must invest in a
meant more
much more complicatedproduction and shipping infrastructure. Each small, new collection can mean
a new colour palette, new yarns, new textiles, new silhouette and different machine production all to
be ready for a seriesof guaranteeddelivery dates.
The five biggest retailers in the UK have again returned to 'in house' design studios,which became

unfashionablein the 1980swhen most retail design studios were closed.At that time input on styling,
colour and fabric was contractedbecauseit was far cheaperto use outside studios and consultancies
for information. The retailers soon realised that outsiders,however competent,did not understandthe

cultural minutiae of individual retail organisations.After a short honeymoonperiod, huge contracts

worth thousandsof poundswere ended.
Today the retailers' design studios are used as an in houseservice,which funnels information on
trends from international designersand world markets in colour, styling and fabric into the business.
Designersact as information gatherersand filter information to their oppositenumbers, in the buying

or merchandising departments.Thesedesigners to
are expected act upon diverse information for

exampleon company strategy,saleshistory or quality problems,which may ultimately affect the

design decisionsthey make in producing the knitwear range. Each company developsa critical path
basedon ideal timings for' merchandiseinto store', working approximately 18 months ahead.This

can be reducedto a matter of weeksdependingon range requirements.

The retail design team has direct input into a general seasonalcolour palette, then the knitwear

palette is finalised to to
stand alone or compliment the the
main season'smessage, palettesmay then

be broken down further into phasesfor separatesmaller collections. The colour palette must take into

accountprevious success sales adding new versions and up-dating companyclassics example
in by for

The knitwear is to tie the salesfloor

classicred, classicnavy, and classic camel. palette usedvisually
is
together and a colour vehicle, which instigates newness.Usually is
the colour palette releasedearly
to suppliers so that they can begin to dye and sourceyarns which, takes a minimum of six weeks.
Apart from colour, it is normal for a design team to produce `live' information, which they launch to

management, buyers, merchandisersand suppliers at the in

start of each season a major presentation.
This information may take the form of life-size boards,slides, even videos supportedwith books, or

28Op
cit Miller interview p.83.
 88

files of the reproducedinformation which can beenused in the field. All layers of the business,right
down to the shop managers,have accessto the sameinformation, which should mean that the whole

company is `singing from the samehymn sheet' and is co-ordinated.

After the new season'spresentationsare made and approvedthe design room concentrateson
building the collection for individual product lines. Often one or two designersconcentrateon one or

more product areas, but the relationship between the designers and buyers should mean that each item

should work with its neighbours, for example,knitwear with trousersand so on.
The knitwear design packagebegins with an account of best and worst saleshistory from the buyer.
There is an assessmentof the supplier base,for examplewho can be relied upon with quality and
delivery dates,which countries have quota and yarn, and most importantly whose manufacturing

costshave not increased. From that baselinevolume production businessis bookedwith key
suppliers. Often lines arejust re-coloured,tweaked for size or given addedvalue, which can be small
detail or weight changes.
On top of the volume lines such as two to three thousandpiecesof one style, knitwear layers are built

with more fashionablepiecesthat are inevitably smaller collections. On top of the pyramid is the
`high fashion range', which is the icing on the cake and may be bought in low hundreds.When the
knitwear design packageincluding styling and fabric proposalsis complete, it is faxed initially to the

manufacturer and later a hard copy is taken to the factory by courier.

All technical documentationon yarn, fabric, and silhouette specificationsneed to be as informative as

possible.English is kept as simple as possibleand universal technical knitwear terms are usedwith
the addition of drawings and garment diagrams. Also in the supporting information pack may be

magazine cuttings, garment piecesand yarn swatches,anything in fact, which will give the factory a

clearer understanding of the designsand design concept.Faxes,e-mail and video conferencingmakes

communication easierand relatively instant. Within a few days,knitted textile samplescan be

courriered to the UK and in four to six weeks a collection of first sample knitted garments can be

assembled in Britain or the Far East office from various suppliers throughout the world to begin

selection.
It is usual for the designerto go and work in the factories at the start or during the sample-making

period. It is to
necessary work with the designersand technicians at the supply base,solving design

problems, adjusting garments and sometimesadding to the collection from the factories own sample
collection to enhancethe range.
Knitwear first samplesare returned to the retailer where a first sample collection for selection

purposescan consist of two to three hundred knitted garments. The range is built, in phases,by the
 89

designer, buyer and merchandiser from the bottom volume lines upwards in a pyramid shape, taking

into account the store level, colour, style and price.

To a certain degree the role of the designer becomes less important at this point. When the range is

aesthetically balanced, other factors of quality, quantities, costs and delivery dates become more
important to the business and its profits. The merchandising and distribution teams organise delivery

schedules. Quality control takes place at the factory or distribution warehouse and the team ensures
that the correct goods reach the stores at the correct time so that the shop window displays are

orchestrated to coincide with the season's advertising campaigns and marketing strategy.
CAUSE AND EFFECT

WOOLMARK
Fig 45 The Woolmark logo
The top ten wool producing countries are: Australia, New Zealand, the former USSR, China,

Uruguay, Argentina, South Africa, UK, United States of America and Spain. These countries account

for 92% of world apparel wool production. The expectation is that by the year 2001 global wool

production will have reached 16 hundred million kilos29.

Even though wool forms just 4% of the world fibre production, the wool businessis worth millions to
individual countries and businesseswho focus on it. For example,the annual income in 1997of the

29World
wool review to the year 2000, Knitting International issueno 1225,April 1996,p. 10.
 90

I WS was estimatedat 110 million Australian dollars, or £55,000,000,20% of which has been

generatedby the licensing of the Woolmark30 and Woolrich brands. The Woolmark (fig 45) is the
bestknown textile symbol in the world, recognisedby more than half a billion people and applied to

over 300 million garments Until

annually31. the launch of the pure wool logo in the 1960sproducts

were simply brandedas wool (with virgin and/or recycledcontent). The Pure New Wool advertising
campaignwas a complete successencouragingcustomersto look for the logo and inferring that
anything elsewas inferior. This point marked the beginning of the end of wool recycling in the UK

and Europe. In the UK eachmanufacturerwho applies for and receivespermission to usethe IWS
Woolmark pays£5,000 each per annum.32Originally there was no chargeto use the logo, but it has
becomesuch a well-known symbol, synonymouswith quality for the consumer,that manufacturers

pay a licenseefee to use it. The production of wool knitwear falls into just two categories,
" "labour intensive" production

" "labour less" production

Theseextrememethodsof garment manufacturing are rarely apparentto the consumerunlessthe

garment carries a "made by hand" label or there is hand crochet, embroidery, or beading etc. In
men's knitwear it is much more difficult to know i1 or how much of, the garment has beenmadeby
labour intensive methods.
"Clothes are a part of everydaylife. We rarely stop to think how they are produced.The label

tells us very little excepta country of origin. It tells us nothing about who makesthe clothes

and under what conditions.... doesbuying clothes labelled "Made in Britain" mean that they
are producedwith good working conditions?"33
Surprising also is the geographyof thesedifferent production methodswhen the assumptionis that
labour intensive belongsto the developing world and labour lessproduction belongsto the first world.
However,both methodssit side-by-sideand often within kilometres of eachother. Today the high

street customer demands be

that woollen garments should machine washable, keep their shape,be

colourfast. In addition the garments should be of good quality and fashionable.Theseare minimum
requirementsacrossfibres from discerning customerswho want to buy clothing that gives them what
they want and the retailers are perfectly aware of this.

30The Woolmark has American `futurologist' businessconsultant Kirt

company commissioned
Salmon to give their assessmentof wool until 2005 and beyond,published in 2000, highlighting
secialist markets, performanceblends, sportswearand wool as a value addedfibre.
3?Woolmark
promotional literature
32Author Unknown I WS further down in Wool Record June 1997p. 17.
moves the commercialpath
33Proceedingsfrom World Trade is Women'sIssue. The Labour behind the Label. Women Working
World-wide Conference, Manchester,April 20'h- 21' 1996.
 91

"Successfullymeeting consumerdemandsfor comfort, easycare and high levels of

performancein wear, is not achievedby chance.It is the result of well-targeted and carefully
managedR&D, directed at critical stagesof the manufacturing chain and ultimately adopted
by clothing manufacturersand retailers whosemain priority is to supply, at a profit, what

they think their customerswant" 34

The retailers' "cause" is to give discerning customerswhat they demandwhilst

maintaining/increasing companyprofits. The "effect" is that to achievethis production centres

throughout the world are `fluid', and the continuing successof eachproduction centre is basedon
developmentand unit costs,which will be significantly affectedby labour costs.35
Garment manufacturing is traditionally a labour intensive and poorly paid industry whereverthe

activity takesplace. There have beenmassivejob lossesin the UK during the last 20 years in the
textiles and clothing industries. In 1996 clothing was still the fifth largest sourceof employmentin
Britain with over four hundred thousandpeopleregistered as employed in clothing manufactureand

many more worked invisibly at home and in sweatshops.This meant that one in ten of all workers in
manufacturing industries were involved in textilelgarment production. 6
Bad pay and conditions for textile workers is well documented,but somepertinent instancesof

exploitation by the West will be discussedlater in this chapter. It still comesas a surpriseto
consumerswhen theseexploitative situations occur on our doorstepand it is particularly unpalatable
when large reputablecompaniesare involved. The Transport and General Workers Union magazine
"Textile Record" autumn 96, led with a complimentary editorial by Mike Penteiow entitled the `fabric

of success'.The article focuseson a subsidiary company of CoatsViyella and comparesthe Dorma

factory to its textile competitors.
"... the factory in Burnley - is highly unionised and has the best pay rates in the area,

coupledwith humaneworking conditions. Severalof the predominantly female workforce

have worked in other non-union textile factories doing similar work and have experienced

much worse pay and conditions. One of thesewas Maureen Holt ` there was a set wage of
£100 to £110 a week after deductions,with no piecework. There were no tea breaksat the

other place and we were not allowed to talk to our workmates at all,. 37

34Author Unknown HoechstTrevira New technology keeps

wool competitive Textile Technology
International 1997.
35Rhodes,E. Wield, D. Heyzer,N. Third
world Studies, CaseStudy 7 in open University Press
1985.
bid
37Author
unknown The Fabric of Successin Textiles Record TGWU Union Magazine March
1997,page 15.
 92

In the West, the knitwear clothing industries have beentransformed since the 1970swhen Europe

and the USA lost about one million jobs as retailers placed ever more businesswith manufacturers
mushrooming throughout the Third World, mostly in Asia and the Far East. In the UK and
elsewhere,larger textile companiesre-equippedwith stateof the art technologyto remain competitive
to supply to the high streetretailers. This re-equipping and investmentdramatically increased

productivity, quality and consistencybut greatly reducedthe labour force.

"No longer can quality vary from operatorto operatoror there be any need for the re-

processingof inferior garments for example. In production terms, output achievedper person
can be 3/5 times greater than traditional methods,put it another way, one machine can claim
to savethe cost of 2/4 people. ,38
With labour lessmanufacture,it is easierto control the production chain. This type of production can

accredit suppliersbecauseof their environmental and human rights standards,track the garment life
cycle after the farm, through processingto the knitwear manufacturer, into high street storesand to
the consumer.More difficult but not impossibleto assessis the ecological impact when the garments
are eventually disposedof, post consumer.For examplewe assumethat it is always better to recycle
unwantedknitwear. But should it be for profit, sold to the developing world, leading to an erosion of
the country's own textile and garment industry?
The notion of re-usabletextiles ending up in landfill sights is abhorrent when they can be readily

made into yarns of slightly different quality to those made from virgin fibres for knitting and weaving
or used in householdand motor vehicle upholstery, or broken down for compostand soil conditioners.
At the heart of the Third World push to economicprosperity are the textile and apparel industries.
The rationale for popularising this industry is the theory of comparativeadvantage,namely the
developing countries' vast pool of low cost hard working, adaptableand, to an extent, disposable

workers. In someof the garment manufacturing regions, i. e. Asia and the Far East or even the eastern
bloc/Baltic regions, there is a strong tradition of textiles. But even here in developing regions the
textile and clothing industries are, without question, in the midst of a fundamentaltransformation
with regard to technologyand western working practices,which cannot be reversed.
"Textiles in particular are a useful basis for expanding manufacturing capacity. The range of

simple and complex processesprovides avenuestowards more complex or specialised

production systems. More important, if
most not all, (developing) countries already have
long experienceof the basic processesof textile and clothing production. Even if this is

38Author Unknown, Programmable Knitwear Finishing, Knitting International March 1997, 56.
p.
 93

largely of hand methods,the basic processingtechniquesare already familiar and improved

be
skills can quickly learnt". "

LABOUR RIGHTS
Chapter one discussedincreasedenvironmental degradationduring the late 1980sand 1990sdue to a

seriesof catastrophes.Now ecological issuesare to the fore. Most types of media and at various
levels, such as television documentaries,broad sheetnewspapers,tabloid pressand radio regularly
discussa variety of social issuesincluding rich versuspoor, homelessness,and the demiseof the
National Health service,poor educationalstandardsand GMO issues.Politicians capitalisedon the

changing mood and seemingly increasedpublic consciousness,thesesocialist philosophieswere new

to public debateafter 18 years of right wing conservatism,a situation which won a crushing victory
for the Labour Party against the Tories.
"Almost every hotel group rips off its workers while generouslyrewarding shareholdersand

senior executives.Fast food joints make a fortune but are very good at ensuring that very
little of it gets into the pocketsof staff. Likewise with somemajor clothing manufacturers

and many well-known chain stores.Official figures show that half the adult workforce, 10
million people can earn lessthan the Council of Europe's decencythreshold of £6.03 pence
per hour. Simplistically, becausethesepeople earn so little, executivesand shareholdersget
rich. Now that is a moral issue.One doesnot have to be a Marxist to make the claim. It is
what the Catholic Church said last week; it is why our EU partners signed up for the social
contract; it is why in 1909that well known firebrand Winston Churchill introduce wage
councils to ensurethat employerspaid half decentwages.One solution may be to usethe
boycott tactic, which has a long and impressivepedigree.Barclays Bank sufferedbadly
becauseof its South African links and Body Shop have made a fortune out of the boycott of

products testedon animals, there is also the conceptof boycott in reverse- using a firm

becauseof its good record"."

During 1995/6 a plethora of articles and documentariesin the UK dealt with the subjectof

exploitation by Nike, Reebokand Adidas by the industry giants and their suppliers in the clothing
industry. The exposeof exploitation within the luxury training shoe industry who sold shoesfor £ 100

a pair, whilst paying Indonesianworkers £1.07 a pair to make, led to outrage. At the sametime US
1
training shoeadvertising campaignscost in excessof 187 million poundsper annum. Soonafter,

public outrage in the UK led to the irony of the Oxfam Challengeand a delugeof media coverage(fig
46).

39(I L 0,1973, 63)

p.
40Hughill. B, When
you eat out, hefoots the Bill in The Observer, 27 October 1996. P.26.
 94

Highstreetnamesto
facechildlabour
qu¢ ,-, ',;, ý
..Irr. . I,
i,

0
".ý
.
.I
IhM' ir! kM ;ii. lll A. lttllallli1411AIlll. lrl IIr tt"l ih-n. 'J n had nn L, "I Iý 1:1
n:Udrýrý In ..INI
ham. rmr t" tell U, ctrl nlAin Tfirr 10afaml aIe
aantthehlhlfnrRnwp,
vs with rhdd uh. nr thrlr chdhl., ronn- frnr his wtr"k Ih. d the nmlpam Is writing to as lo sav OWN,have
mty is asking ht.ýcau.re ciuldren am >attk. dq planning ul lntmhw. " an puh, cnmr np wntt a{. ýhp nn child
Slark, A :ýprýrr The Burton In't, 'm to slip IahMir Ttuy are eaytnq if trMn
used trc the y,trment tndnOry
tirWp fM1. %,-, I nd to attdthisranqmlKnwanlsdlstnp pint Ule-1. - I. mlr> 4, Rol I. uv d oIelrhn,
on", oh"". thý"ir rb"q"c am it The rFantc mll ncd,r the At The Button Grip Ihry wonkl be happc In tn9p
II .I ýc,.,, , ýr. lý ýý... ! Ih, ý, rrrý: rr: tlu"m .ýI ýi,. ýqr 'A'" cý ".c.mri;
... "ý, .ý
r".. ýI,..ý. ýýý.. ý", i .ý.. u ý".

Fig 46 The Oxfam Challenge

"Oxfam is to challenge five leading high street fashion retailers to prove they have no

connections with child Labour. The charity is asking Marks and Spencer, the Burton Group,
C&A, Next and Sears to state where their clothes are made
as part of its campaign against
the use of illegal labour". 42
In June 1996 the Observer newspaper ran a full page article describing dubious
clothing production
outlets in London which manufactured for large high street retailers, leading with the headline;
"45 pounds buys this pretty summer dress from Next. The woman who made it earned £1.00

an hour. In Hong Kong or Bangladesh? No, in the East End of London'. The article went on
to say that an estimated 20 thousand people are employed in about one thousand back street

sweat shops across London, few of these people have contracts and those without can be

sacked at any moment. Overtime is often compulsory and if its workers are absent they are

often sacked. This amounts to a Third World - style labour force in many of our major cities.
Melak, a machinist, said her employers have been working recently for Debenhams and

Principles and in a Tottenham sweatshop her father makes clothes destined for Top Man. "43

The article highlighted the fact that factory owners may not declare tax or National Insurance on

behalf of their employees. Owners give workers time off to claim social security, consequently, it

could be argued that the welfare state is supplementing the low cost of their labour and therefore
taxpayers are subsidising the British retail trade. A Third World economy is forced to exist in the UK

to keep prices competitive with the Far East. Rupert Hedges of the British Retailers Consortium,

which represents leading high street chain stores commented,

41 Shakespeare, J. Nike Work December 3`d 1995

at 16p an Hour? Just do it in The Observer, p. 16.
42 Marshall, J. High
street names to face child Labour quiz in Drapers Record, 11 May 1996.
43Shakespeare, J. £45 buys this
pretty summer dress from Next. The woman who made it earned £l
an hour. In Hong Kong or Bangladesh? No in the East End of London. in The Observer Review, p.
7,23`d June 1996, p. 7.
 95

"Tony Blair has indicated a minimum wage of between£3 and £4.10 which, if you take
£2.80 as the averagecurrent rate of pay meansa 40% increasein costs,consumerswon't like

that and for retailers the temptation is to go elsewhere.Manufacturing has becomea

movable feast as exemplified by the Ronsonfactory's move from South Korea to South
Wales chiefly becausethe Welsh offer a cheaperlabour force, £8,000 a year comparedto
if "
£12,000 pounds. It will be just as easyto move back again the situation reverses. µ

It is possibleto identify five areas;industrial cleaning, healthcare,hairdressing and textiles as well as

catering, where there is a high incidence of low pay. In almost all cases,it is women who are
particularly likely to be earning below £3.80. With the exceptionof textiles and clothing where
machinists can earn as little £1.00, the main low pay industries in
are the service sector.In textiles, it
is an important considerationthat the price at which a manufacturer can sell a garment is determined
by the price of an imported equivalent from Macao or China. Those rock bottom prices have to be

matched.If wageswere to be forced up in an East London sweatshop the wholesaleprice would rise.
Either the employer would have to swallow the increasedcosts in the form of reducedprofits or, if
that were impossible,the companywould have to choosebetweenclosing down or finding a more

profitable line of business.

Moving to a minimum wage reflected Churchill's thinking when he set the WagesCouncils in 1909:
that in an industry virtually without any trade unions, statutory protection is necessaryotherwisethe

good employer is undercut by the bad, and the bad is simply undercut by the worst.45
In October 1996 the Evening Standard'sinvestigative journalists visited another London factory

posing as buyers from a design housein Lille.

"Above all, we marvelled at how cheaply the clothes were put together by the rag-tag army

of labourers,wedgedbetweenthe garment racks and bundles of clothes on the Dickensian

factory floor. The factory was busy. Very busy. Making dozensand dozensof luxury Wool

and Kashmir blend for

winter coats a companywe can name. British Home Stores.Today

you might wander out into the high streetsand buy one for £80 poundsprobably without
realising it costsonly £1.70 for a semi-skilled Turkish cutter to make in only a few hours in
Hackney'. 46
Lateron the 12" of November1996the Guardian'sheadlineran, `Child workersnumber250

million', this articlepublishedthe latestfiguresfrom the InternationalLabourOrganisation(ILO)

44Lawrence, B. Free the £3.50-an-hour 30 June 1996,

wage slaves in The Observer Business, p.4.
46Rosser,N. The inside
story of an East London sweatshopin Evening Standard, 30`hOctober
1996,p. 12-13.
 96

showing a child of three, stitching leather footballs by hand in India for export to Westernmarkets.
The World in Action exposeabout Marks and Spencerselling garments,which were manufactured

via sub-contractorsworking for DesmondsLtd, (who are one of the largest, longest serving and most
reputablesuppliers to Marks and Spencer)allegedly using child labour in Morocco did considerable
damageto the reputation of Marks and Spencer.
In July 1997,Newsnight for BBC2 ran a documentaryaboutthe Burton Group manufacturing in
Indonesiavia factoriesrun by the Military Government, and so the coveragewent on.
There is no doubt that the launch of the Oxfam clothes codecampaign challengemade the large

retailers nervousbecause,now more than ever, bad publicity would be bad for business.Surprisingly,
most retailers on the high street, large and small, could not guaranteethat environmental and
ecological standardswere being met in the manufacturing chain. The fact that the public questioned
clothing-manufacturing practicesat all was a relatively recent phenomenon.Marks and Spencerwas
one of the first to instigate a preferred suppliers list, years aheadof this challenge, establishinga
vetting systemfor their manufacturersdown the line. Even so, they did receive a great deal of
damaging publicity over the Desmondsaffair, the truth of which is still an unknown as the much

publicised court casethreat never materialised after Marks and Spencerissuedthe World in Action
team with a writ. These exposeshighlighted the fact that it is much easierto vet production processes

and make recommendationsfor improvementsat the beginning of the chain, i. e. farming, spinning,
dying etc. where the controls are essentiallyquantitative. At the point where people becomeinvolved,
dubiouspracticesand humanitarian issuestake over. These links in the chain are more difficult to

police becausein the garment making processes`good' and `bad' conditions becomesubjectiveas
moral issueswhich have to be measuredagainst company profits and consumerdemands.
Conclusion

On the back of the Fashion industry somecountries are developing at an astonishingpaceand

Knitwear manufacturing alone has driven industrialisation throughout regions in the developing

world. On the one hand, the whole industry is investing in new technology, e.g. machinesand
methods,researchand development,computer aided design (CAD) and manufacturing (CAM) and is
using technology to improve raw materials, such as wool, which are being genetically and
biologically engineered,as discussedin chaptertwo.
On the other hand, running parallel to thesenew developments,workers can stand for ten hours a
day, transferring fine woollen loops by hand from needleswhich they can hardly see,in dimly lit

rooms, in 90 degreesCelsius and 90% humidity. Then they are bussedto migrant worker camps,
where they live almost as prisoners and are paid a few rupeesa day.47

47Personal
visits 1995/96
 97

This practice maintains the profit margins necessaryto satisfy the shareholdersof such as Arcadia

and Marks and Spencer.Moreover, this systemenablesthe British public to continue to buy more and
more clothing which it does 48
not need, at unrealistically low prices. This profit is at the expenseof
the workers who make the productsand without the deduction of costsof the environmental
destruction in the production processand garment disposalpost consumer.The situation is driven by

retailers and factory ownerswho relentlesslypush for higher margins to increaseor maintain their
in
profits, an industry which has in
seriousproduction over-capacity relation to the number of items it

producesfor the UK market. It could be arguedthat the Fashion industry as we know it is in terminal
decline.
This decline is noticeable in Mauritius, where four local families own, or partly own nearly all the

main industries, someof which are partnershipswith investors from other countries, as mentioned
earlier. They live in the affluent north of the island in breathtaking luxury with servantsand private
planes etc. Before they owned `sugar', then `textiles and clothing', but now are focusing on `tourism'
and the `financial' sectorbecausethey realise that future prosperity hinges on Mauritius moving out
of labour intensive, low intrinsic value products to becomea new off-shore and regional financial
49
centre. On the back of the wool knitwear industry, in three short decades,Mauritius is leaving the
clothing industry behind and is fast becoming the hub of the Pacific-rim wheel and a communications
fast track into India and Africa. New employment prospectswill begin to meet the increasing

expectationsof the Mauritain people,who no longer wish to be exploited and who are hoping for a
level playing field when involved in world trade.
There is no doubt that the argumentsfor and against the use of cheap labour for manufacturing
knitwear in the developing world are complex. Is it correct to imposeour `well intentioned' European

working practiceson impoverished economies?In thesecountries long working hours, child labour
and poor conditions are a part of working life, we should also rememberthat our own Industrial
Revolution took two centuriesto convert the horrors of the early nineteenth century into the more or
lesscivilised society of today. It could be argued that each small child who attendsand assiststhe

working adult learns a trade for the future, and in some countries, for instancein parts of Africa, this
work may be the only education the child will ever have. Unacceptable conditions found in garment
in
manufacturing poorer parts of the world which were and highlighted once again in the late 1990s

are a symptom of a developing nation's rush to becomeindustrialised. (figs 47,48,49).

48Evidencedby the to be discussedfully in chapter 4.

annual volume of garmentsthrown away
49Mauritius is the tax in the treaty This has encouraged
only zero centre world with a tax network.
the UK, Germany, India and Scandinaviato invest and alreadythe results are evident. The island's is
now a favoured route for investment into and out of India, with Investment funds such as Morgan
 98

Fig 47 Delhi Shanty Town

What is true is that the exploitation of this situation becomesmore acutely unacceptableas the

powerful retailers connect with manufacturers,which have establishedthemselveswhere labour can

be bought for very little money.

Fig 48 Dyeing elastic for a UK womens wear chain store label

Stanley, Martin Curries, Merrill Lynch and many others (twenty one in all) adding value to the
islands growing reputation as a financial centre of excellence.
 99

Fig 49 Dyeing buttons for a UK womens wear chain store label

These employers have few social responsibilities to their work force, i. e. no sick or holiday pay, no

leave for pregnancy, no pensions and no environmental controls. Ironically the General Agreement

on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) which was put in place to make world trade easier, has made the

situation worse for these workers. The agreement allows anything to be made anywhere, without

protection or proper payment for the labour force, and then to be exported and imported anywhere.
Without restrictions, multi-national firms tend to establish themselves where labour is cheap and

profits high. S°Developing countries have no alternative but to compete with Europe by condoning

miserable labour standards enabling them to offer lower wages. The issue should not be to try to
impose European standards throughout the developing world or to set some global minimum wage,

with restriction in imports from countries which do not comply, once again creating a western

protectionism via the back door. Also it must be realised by the West that these economies locally are

often very fragile in the manufacturing sector. When conditions do not conform to our Western
ideals, the immediate responsemay be to withdraw our business,which may causemore suffering and

upheaval in the short and long term.

so Responsible
retailers and suppliers do have sourcing policies to try to stop exploitation but these do
not go far enough an example of such is in Appendix 4.
 100

However JacquesChirac, the Presidentof France,describedthe ideological scenarioto strive for

when building future working relationships with the developingworld at the G7 Summit in 1996.
"What the French governmentis calling for is recognition that there are certain core Human
Rights that needto be encouragedand enforced.Theseare the freedom to join trade unions

and the freedom for theseunions to bargain collectively, as well as their support in the
abolition of forced labour and the exploitation of child labour. They are basic requirements,
whatever a country's level of developmentor averagewagesare. Polarisation and
liberalisation is not just a North/South issue.Someof the fiercest competition now, goeson

within the South, as the more advancedAsian tigers like South Korea and Taiwan find
themselveslosing jobs to workers in countries such as the Philippines and Malaysia. Behind
them down on the Labour scalecome China, Vietnam and Indonesia.Internationally agreed

social clauseswould help to ensurethat competition is not basedon unfair or degrading

conditions". 51

51Author Unknown Core

values in the global village in The Guardian 3 April 1996,p. 6.
 101

TO THE GRAVE AND BEYOND

CHAPTER 4
 102

TO THE GRAVE AND BEYOND

CHAPTER 4

Introduction
Fashion is a transient industry in relation both to manufacturing bases,which come and go and to
the product, which, quickly becomesunfashionableand thereforeunwearable.A knitwear piece
may be worn once and thrown away, long before it is worn out. Currently, collections are not
designedwith 'investment dressing'in mind, perhapswith the exception of fashion labelssuch as
Prada, Hermesand Gucci. Usually fashion garmentsare cheap, disposable,seasonaland with a
life spanmeasuredin weeksnot years,typical of high street labels such as French Connectionor
Miss Selfridge. However knitwear and particularly Winter knitwear has a longer life spanthan

most lines, due to the fact that they are often `key' pieces,maintaining the co-ordination of the
rest of the merchandise,acting as a colour or pattern vehicle. Also, knitwear is manufactured
vertically with both fabric and garment producedin house.It is relatively more expensiveto buy
than simple cut and sew items and is designedto be time durable. Nevertheless,becausethe
Fashion industry is the epitomeof consumerism,the notion that quality would equatewith
longevity is absurd.Why are fashion garmentsmade to last, possibly for years, from the finest

often finite virgin materials, only to be useda few times, given to charity bound for the third
world or land fill? Surely the life span of the garment should dictate the appropriatesubstrateand
using fibre two or three times in such products should be mandatory.
Unlike in farming, food, and the petrochemicalsectors,the'Green' movementof the early

nineteennineties made little impact on the fashion industry. Economicsand legislation rather
than altruism or a concern for human and environmental issueshas instigated ecological change.
Also the public still attachesthe "worthy" tag to the environmental issues.It is still thought that
Green pressuregroups are composedof students,middle class and female protesters,Churchmen,
New Age travellers, and gay rights activists and are not to be taken too seriously,but indulged.
Why it is not desirableor `cool' to be Green, except in Germany, Scandinaviaor the
Netherlands?
The least discussedenvironmental catastropheis that of waste disposalwhich may be the crisis to

affect us all. ProgressiveEuropeancountries such as Germanyrecognisedthe looming crisis of

waste disposaland forced a changeinitially the packaging laws acrossthe EU. This forced the
retailers to apply pressureon their manufacturing and sourcing chains to reduceand reuse
packaging where possible.The law also enablesthe customerto leaveproduct packaging at the
point of salewhere disposalbecomesthe financial problem of the retailer.
 103

This chapter will discuss the disposal of a wool sweater post consumer and its journey beyond the

grave. The case studies are L. M. Barry and Savannah Rags, Evergreen and Oxfam Wastesaver,

all textile recyclers, who profit by closing the textile loop in various ways. Information is gleaned
from primary research interviews, Government and Recycling Association data and trade

publications.
WHO CARES?

Fig 50
Designers should be urged to consider reduction/ reuse/ recycle or the 3Rs as much as they do

creation because they create the plethora of new items, which in turn lead to the generation of
'
new markets. It could be argued that the designer is central to and instrumental in creating new

goods, which are fuelling the flames of the post consumer catastrophe. However, post consumer
issues are normally never a concern of designers, either as students or as practitioners in the

fashion or textile field because basically the industry exists on consumption.

In general designers have a tacit yearning for beauty which they covet, this is at a complete

tangent to the dirty and unglamorous world of the 3Rs. However designers do unconsciously

recycle and reuse continuously on an intellectual level with concepts, design philosophies and
historical references.

People are familiar with the 3Rs concept, reduction, reuse and recycle (fig50) but there is a
fourth equaly important concept missing which is that of repair. The concept should be the 4Rs.
 104

A discussiondocumentcommissionedby the Environmental Technology Best Practice

Programme', which tried to assessdesignersenvironmental knowledgeand their potential to
influence the supply chain and tried to identify opportunities for designersto consider the

environmental consequencesof their designs.

What the survey did not establishat the outsetwas whether the designerscared about ecological
issuesand if that was a reflection of their knowledge or lack of it? In fact there were peaksand
troughs throughout the discussiondocumentbut, interestingly, it concludedthat environmental

concernswere those of middle and senior managementand not that of the blue-collar workers
and that the least common environmental measuretaken by companieswas the developmentof
cleanerproducts.The documentconcluded.
"Generally, designershave little knowledge of environmental legislation; company
directors tendedto possessthe most knowledge in this area although at a level of only
33%. However, designersat all levels were found to have a very good awarenessof the
Eco collections available in the market today, with 75% aware of Eco textile products".3
This conclusion is a surprise not least becausethere are so few Eco textile products on the market
but it confirms the idea that designersdo retain environmental information if it is presentedin

their own languageas product. Post-consumerissuesin relation to reusewere not mentioned.

To a certain extent post consumerissuesare explored in fine art where it is normal to createa

philosophical or provoking statement.Fine artists have createdinspiring solutions to the As

(reduce,recycle, reuse)question,however,the ideasare works of art to be viewed in galleries or
books. In the introductory notes from the Craft SpaceTouring exhibition "Recycling!", in 1996,
lecturer and architect David Green discussedthe conceptof recycling and economics.He said that

recycling should not be the reconciliation betweenguilt and over-consumption,characterisedby a

Sundaymorning trip to the supermarket'srecycling bank. He went on to point out that we all

recycle in one way or another, on a literal level encompassingmatters as diverseas social

relationships and design ideas.
In textiles there are examplesof successfulrecycling and subsequentmetamorphosis,for example
in the art of quilt-making is the conceptof alchemy, scrapsof waste fabric into products,base

metalinto gold. This metamorphosingprocessin fashion is exemplified by cutting edgedesigners

(fig 51), Martin Margiela, JessicaOgden and Noki, who deconstruct,customiseand reconstruct.
The works of John Galliano and Stella McCartney combine old and new fabrics and garmentsas

2 Cost-EffectiveEnvironmental Improvementsin the Textile Industry Through Design:

Environmental Technology Best Practice Programme ETBPP. London: DTI, 1997.
3 ibid
4 CraftspaceTouring Recycling Crafts Council London, Catalogue the 1996. ISBN
of exhibition
0 952 ¢832 10
 105

does the niche retailer Voyage and reuse is an important theme in the concept design group

Droog. 5

it's re-cycled

w..+ý
ýý
,.d

Fig 51

The integration of old garments or garment parts into fashion means that there is an extra

element integrated into the piece, that of `time'. The garment can take on an infinite number of
identities over its life span and can increase rather than decrease its value as it does so. The

garment's intrinsic value moves it outside `trends' and the traditional concepts of seasonal

renewal (where clothing is worthless) are no longer relevant.

4: 1 OVER CONSUMPTION
During the last decadeenvironmental issueshave given way to ethical concernsin the clothing

manufacturing industries and the problem of'over consumption'.

Over consumption is not being dealt with because both successful and unsuccessful economies

need consumers to buy more goods which will increase the demand for manufacturing, which

means more employment, which in turn leads to more cash and more cash for people to purchase

more goods. It is a vicious circle and it would take a brave government to begin to legislate

against this trend for mere ecological reasons. Instead of beginning to confront the fundamental

problem of over consumption, which mean more goods equals more waste, instead there is to be

an increase in reclamation on a global scale. Global reclamation, it could be argued, will justify

over consumption. World leaders reached this agreement at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil in 1992 and called it Agenda 216.

This ambitious plan was aimed at protecting the environment with a variety of 115 specific clean

up programmes. The enormous costs were calculated at 625 billion dollars per annum, most of
that coming from the Southern Hemisphere where it was perceived that the major problems lay.

S Ramakers, R. Bakker, G. Droog Design Spirit

of the Nineties. 010 Publishers Rotterdam 1998.
6Dudley, N. Earth Summit Helicon Publishing Ltd 1996.
 106

The high ideals and fine words neededmoney to back the rhetoric, which was not forthcoming
from the richer nations in the north. Howeverwhat has happenedis that in Europe the Earth's
Summit's policy principles have trickled down to a local level which is now known as Local
Agenda 21.7Of coursereclamation is a global issuein terms of resourcesand, increasingly,
disposal.In the next 20 yearsthe world's population will have risen by about 2 billion pcoples,

and much of that increasewill havetaken place in the developingworld where cultures are
aspiring increasingly towards Westernconsumerlifestyles Obviously that consumptionwill
.9
escalateat a massivespeedas will the problem of waste 10
disposal.
The fashion industry positively promotesover consumption and thus far has expressedlittle
interest in slowing down production or in wasterecovery. Simply there are too many interested

parties focusedon profit throughout the life cycle of a garment. Similarities lie betweenthe
attitudes of designers,retailers and customerswho, if they are aware of over consumptionissues
care little of the causeand effect scenario.That weekly trip to the recycling bank or seasonal
charity shop trip just is not enough. Sustainability i. e. the amount or degreeto which the earth's
resourcesmay be exploited without deleteriouseffects, should be the answer,but it is not any
good buying sustainablydevelopedclothing (if there is such a thing) if you buy as many or more
items than before. Perhapsthe answerto over consumption is a return to'investment dressing',
buying somethingof a better quality to use longer even if it is more expensive,or extending the

selling seasons,or ignoring the seasonscompletely, having rolling stock with small `buy to sell
out' ranges.Of coursethis conflicts with the commercial reality of the Fashion and Textile
industry where new clothes are designedand marketed to be desiredseasonallyand new

collections mean new profits for shareholders.Theseever-changingtrends keep the business

alive, they sustainthe'buy and throw away' culture which is the root causeof the problem.
Current figures show that the proportion of domestictextiles thrown away in the average
householddustbin vary between2.4% and 15% of the total waste dependingon which references
"
are used. (figs 52,53). In 1996 it was estimatedthat 5 hundred million kilos of items were
burned or buried in landfill sites, 95% of which is reusableor recyclable.12
Unsorteddomesticrefuseis left for collectionand is burnedor buriedby LocalAuthorities.On
it £35
average costs poundsa tonne to dispose of the textilesin this waybut the costswould be

7 Cunningham, J. (MP) How Agenda 21 can Promote SustainableDevelopmentin Egremont

Today, Egremont and District Labour Party, November 1997,p. 5.
s Total Midyear Populationfor the World:" 1950-2050
-
http: //www. census.gov/ipc/www/worldpop.html November 25 1999.
9 Cleli interview Appendix 1refersto the fact that the favourite Mauritian soapoprea is the
American seriesDallas that depicts the lives of rich Texan cattle ranchers.
10Parkinson, J. Does
recyclingjustify over consumption?in Itch Magazine October 1996.
11i. e. The Department the Environment, Friends the Earth Textile Merchant trade
of of or
figures.

12Murray, R. Creating wealthfrom waste. Demos 1999,p.52-53.

 107

33% Paper/Cardboard

10% Glass

7% Plastic

7% Ferrous Metal

Textiles

Aluminium Cans
& Foil

Compostable
38%0 Material, Ash
& Dust

Fig 52 Figures vary and are un reliable

Fig 53 Reclamation Association Figures

 108

Fig 54 Annnual textile waste in the UK has been estimated to be the equivalent in

volume of three times that of Canary Wharf Tower.

ý, . M... ý.. a
. kýwý'Y, " .
ýr
`ýT:.
.... ý

ý;{:. y
ý;,r".. ý:
:: r

This amount of discarded textile waste if compressed into half ton bales and built into a solid

tower, 65 metres by 65 metres for one year, could build a structure three times the height of
Britain's tallest building, Canary Wharf Tower (fig54). It was estimated in 1995 that if textiles

to be discarded in this this be four miles high with

continued country at rate the tower would over

a permanent ice cap by the end of the year 2000.13

The recycling industry in Britain began in the West Riding of Yorkshire 180 years ago with a

new product called shoddy, developing into a huge export business providing material to all

manufacturing areas of the world. The supply body was called the `rag trade'. In 1813 Benjamin

Law ground worn out garments through a water powered pulling machine, reducing them to a

fibre state which could be respun back into yarn and re-used. Dewsbury and Batley (the home of

Evergreen Yarns), grew up because of this developing industry in which in 1858 over 7,500 tons

of shoddy were being produced in Batley alone. The value of the shoddy industry was calculated
 109

to be £375,000,with a price per ton of £50. This was a considerablesum considering that the

wagesof a rag sorter were six shillings and 6 pencea week. In 1862there were 500 people
sorting mixed rags, supplying to 130 in
shoddymanufacturers Yorkshire alone.
The growth of Yorkshire industrial towns and the proliferation of the huge woolen mills occurred
becauseof the wool textile recycling industry which neededa plentiful supply of workers, who in

turn helped to supply the raw material for shoddy.

The decline in the demandfor woollen tweed and duffel fabrics in the last 60 years is well
documentedbut the correspondingdisappearenceof the shoddymanufacturers,wool stocking

sorters,the marine stores,and the rag merchantswas never noticed. Often old family firms
quietly closedtheir doors, leading to the virtual extinction of the textile recycling industry in
Great Britain.

DUBIOUS CHARITY
Textile recycling in this country is small scale(half a million tonnes) in comparisonto that paper
(23 million tonnes). "The industry consistsof about 50 textile reclamation companies(rag

merchants)who are involved in the grading and sorting of discardedtextiles. Most of these
companiesare membersof the ReclamationAssociation.
The industry is run on very simple labour-intensive lines. Discardedtextiles reach the grader's
factory by meanssuch as charity shops,or kerb side collections, textile banks. Then the material
is put onto a conveyorbelt and carefully inspectedby female sorterswho separatethe clothing
into various material fibre types. Good, valuable sortershave years of experienceand can detecta
fibre by touch alone without referenceto the garment label.!' Once sorted into various categories

according to their fabric content i. e. cotton, acrylic, wool the materials are sifted for fashion such
as denim, sheets,and leather. In the next stageof the recycling processthe textiles are sorted for

quality, for example,No.! jumpers are the top quality, No.2 may have a small mark or fault on
them and so on. Gradesare from 1 to 5. The lower gradesof textiles are usedin traditional end

use areas, for example, cotton as industrial wiping cloths for oil spills, acrylics for filling

materials for mattresses,soundproofing in the automotive industry, wool shoddyfor yarn and
felts.

Encouragingly, there are new areasof researchinto textile recycling, such as non-wovensfor

agricultural seedcarriers, biodegradablethread for geo-textile netting for flood zones,the

inclusion of fibre in the construction industry to prevent concretesplitting, recycledtextiles into

13RecyclatexPromotional Literature 1995.

14Murray,R Creating wealthfrom waste.in Demos 1999,p.50-57
15 Barry, L. M. Chairman L. M. Barry Textile Merchant. Interview London 1996.(Appendix 1)
 110

fibre for building insulation and as textile filters (in wool) for cleaning up after marine disasters

and to pre-treat waste water. 16

The easiest and most lucrative area for recycling higher grades of material is, however, the sale

and exportation of clothing to impoverished regions of the World, including Africa, Asia and the
Eastern bloc countries such as Slovakia and Rumania where it is sold in markets and second hand

clothing shops by entrepreneurs. The main sources of supply to the textile recycling industry in
this country are from charity shops, jumble sales and, more recently and growing in importance,

textile banks.
ý

Fig 55

Textile banks are a comparatively new method of getting domestic textiles for
recycling (fig55).
They enable the textile merchant to be independent of the charity shops and collect directly from

the consumer, usually paying a fee for the rent of the site and a figure to the council per ton

collected. In 1999 L. M. Barry paid £7,500 for a one year contract with the London Borough of
Enfield for tonnes of textiles.

A textile bank is capable of holding 750 kilos of textiles. Recyclers, who collect, enter five-year

contracts with local authorities and the collection containers are free on loan. Clearance and

prices are guaranteed in line with the scheme established under the auspices of The Reclamation
Association. Because the textile banks are not secure, they are increasingly a target for theft. For

instance the charity Scope has suffered thefts from textile banks where clothing has been sold on

to textile merchants or resold at car boot sales. They estimate that a loss of just 2 tonnes a week

equates to a loss for the charity of £22,000 over a one-year period'. Scope has 24 textile banks in

the Borough of Westminster, recovering 70 tonnes of clothing a year. Unusually for charities

most of the material is sorted and sold into Scope shops up and down the UK and proceeds
directly help people with cerebral palsy. Merchants recycle some remaining material.

There are numerous charities in this country and Europe that have shops on the high street

dealing mainly in second-hand clothing. The largest and best known is Oxfam but Barnardos,

Imperial Cancer Research, Age Concern and Scope are also large charity chains. In addition to

this are the many small charities, for example Humana (now Traid1S), Family Welfare, Relief

17Author Unknown Textiles Stolen in Materials Recycling Week June 6 1997, 6.

p.
Barry, L. M. Chairman L. M. Barry Textile Merchant. Interview London 1996.
 III

Fund for Romania, Kith and Kids, Gingerbread and the many animal welfare charities e.g.

RSPCA. There is no doubt that charities make the bulk of their income from the donations of

second-hand goods which are mainly clothing. For the most part, the donor believes that their

good quality, but out of date or ill-fitting garments will be re-sold by the charity in their shops for

profit. However, in reality just 5% of these goods are re-sold over the counter because the vast

majority of textile donations are sold by weight once or twice a week to textile merchants, for

various end uses.

It would come as a surprise to the public that 70% of clothing collected by donations is funnelled

through textile merchants to Third World destinations such as India, Pakistan, Ghana, Tanzania

and Zambia and the Eastern Bloc (fig56).

Fig 56 Containers bound for impoverished countries twice a week from Sheerness

18Humana UK
re branded themselves in 1999 with new livery, graphics and name TRAID=
Textile Recycling for Aid and International Development. Designer Wayne Hemmingway from
Red or Dead created a catwalk show with students from the Royal College Of Art for the
marketing campaign. 200 tonnes of textiles are collected country wide the majority of which is
exported to the third world. Charity Changes Name To Traid Traid press release July 9 1999.-
http: //www. traid. org. uk
 112

Fig 57 Import export

The `giver' assumes that it is the revenue gained from 'over the counter sales' of donated clothing

which is used by the charities in these poor countries, or the actual discarded clothing itself is

given as aid. But the reality is that these second hand garments are sold to the highest bidder

whereby the process is purely entrepreneurial rather than philanthropic/ altruistic. The public's

charitable clothing donations effectively line the pockets, firstly of the textile merchants and

secondly the entrepreneurs who come to the UK to buy the merchandise (fig57). fete/6o 4Rf"ý-)S

Przrc(."x I.

Fig 58

The merchant's containers are packed with half ton bales of second-hand clothing, there are 230

bales per container weighing 57 kilos per bale, the most valuable contents are bales containing

ladies underwear garments containing hundreds or thousands of items (fig58).

 113

With vast volumesof second-handclothing being exportedfrom Europeto developing countries,

it has beensuggestedthat the charities are indirectly assistingin the erosion of thesecountries'
indigenousclothing industries.19The variety of Westernclothing in secondhand shopsor on

streetmarkets is infinitely more desirablethan local labels. The result of this dumping is seen
repeatedlyin television documentariesfeaturing vanishing tribes, people in various parts of the
world, wearing western `T' shirts, jacquard knits and football shorts. Europeanfashionsare
found in the most remote regions of the world via this trade, which is fed by the charities.
An irony that exists is Oxfam and Christian Aid etc. generating funds through such exportsand

taking the moral high ground, issuing the big five retailers an ethical challenge on production.
(Seechapter3).
Surely the charities are guilty of double standards.They are businessesin their own right, run by

salariedmanagersmaximising profit from the fashion industry and at the sametime critical of it.
In reality the more fashion clothing is thrown away the more the charities benefit.
Profits are calculatedin poundsper tonne for donatedtextiles. The charities sell to the highest
bidder; 20there is no insistencethat the clothing is disposedof in a specific manner. When the
textiles have left the shop premisesthe responsibility of the charity is over, as is that of the big
five retailers at the point of sale,who at the outset generatedthe product.
It seemedthat the practice of selling goodsdonatedto charities in the UK which are then re-sold
to businessmenfrom the developing/ impoverishedcountries in the world was coming under

somecontrol. However ReclamationAssociationsin partnership with the Charities successfully

lobby against new laws concerning the export of Europeanwastewhich should have come into
force in 1998via the EuropeanParliament.
British textile recyclersand the charities were worried that their profits, which rely heavily on the

export of clothing to third world destinations,might be jeopardised because of a new ruling from

the EuropeanUnion, which would seean end to the exports of textiles to certain non OECD

states. ME Ps voted in June 1997to ban all green listed wastesfrom the EU countries until the
have frontier 21
purchasing countries replied to a questionnaireconcerning shipmentsof waste.

19EUpublishes legislation to ban control exports

or of secondarymaterials to certain non
OECD countries - the impact of the Basel Convention. Bureau of International Recycling,
BIR, the world federation of recycling industries updateJuly 1999.
20op cit L. M. Barry interview 7
p.
21EUpublisheslegislation to ban to certain non OECD
or control exports of secondarymaterials
countries - the impact of the Basel Convention. Bureau of International Recycling, BIR the
world federation of recycling industries February 1997. Thesecountries are Afghanistan,
Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbunda,Armenia, Azeabaijan,Bahrain, Bangladesh,Brunei,
Cambodia,Cameroon,Central African Republic, Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of
Congo, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Elsalvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon,
Guatemala,Guinea, Haiti, Honduras,Kenya, Kyrgyzistan, Laos, Lesotho, Mali, Mauritania,
 114

Briefly the EU questionnaireaskedcountrieswhether they were happy to receive wasteshipments

of
as part normal trade or whether they would prefer red list controls. A non-reply meant a lack
of interest in receiving theseshipmentswhich moved the EU to make the ban effective from
January 1998.
NumerousAfrican countries including Ethiopia, Kenya and the Congo were on their lists in

addition to other important post consumertextile markets in South America and Eastern Europe.
The Presidentof the Textile Recycling Association, LawrenceBarry, said,
"We could quite possibly be near to a situation where the Rag Trade will ceaseto exist
from the beginning of next year".2223
With ever increasing tonnageof clothing being generatedin the UK and ethical questionsabout
dumping at knockdown prices it is astonishing that more effort is not being directed at finding

solutions through the 3Rs.

Morocco, Namibia, Nepal, Oman, Panama,Quatar, Rwanda, Solomon Islands, Sudan,

Swaziland, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan,Venezuela,
Vietnam, Yemen and Zimbabwe.
22author Unknown EU ban threatens textiles in Materials 25 July 1997.
recycling week
23ConservativeMEP Dr Caroline Jacksoninsisted that
eachcountry must reply to the
questionnaire.We are not saying that countries may not import the material we are simply trying
to bring the trade out into the open, so that those importing the material can realise what business
is going on. Trade can continue on the basis of obtaining permission for each individual
shipment. It may well be a cumbersomeprocedurebut all their companieshave to do is to get the
countries concernedto buy a stamp and respond ". At least one country, Uganda,complained that
the Europeanlegislation was paternalistic. Non reply is seenas a negativeresponsewhich means
that countries like Uganda which have not replied would-be in a position, where textiles exported
to the country will be red listed and severelyrestricted. On his return to Britain from Uganda,
LawrenceBarry said "I explained the situation and they (the Ugandan government)said it was
paternalism. They take the matter very seriouslyand cannot seewhy if it has taken the EU three
to four years to debatethe situation, that they are expectedto sign such a documentwithout
passing it through their own parliament" He added,"I just can not seehow this delay in
legislation can benefit anyone.Who will be the winners out of thisT' Uganda attacks the EU
export legislation Materials recycling week October 3rd 1997.
 115

CASE STUDY 1: EVERGREEN

The company Evergreen (fig59) began trading in 1990 and ceased in 1997, it was owned and run

by John Parkinson, producing blends, yarns, fabrics and finished products, which used recycled

fibres in various proportions. Evergreen's aim was to produce attractive yarns, fabrics and

garments with reduced environmental impact by using a high proportion of recycled fibres.

Initially all products used recycled wool fibres, which in the UK is regarded as the bottom end of

the trade.

"Evergreen is attempting to reverse this attitude by manufacturing high quality,

fashionable garments which not only require much less energy than their new wool

equivalents, but cause less pollution and make use of a waste product which might
landfill 24
otherwise go to sites".
Evergreen operated a system whereby it retained ownership of its products throughout the

manufacturing steps although some of these processes were sub-contracted. Raw material was
by Evergreen from from rag merchants and from spinning and knitting
collected charity outlets
factories. This is called post consumer and post-industrial waste.

Evergreen'srecycling systemfollowed the usual method:

" collection and sorting which categorisestextiles into fibre types and then into colour and yarn
families
then the sorted clothing, fibre and rags are put through a rag pulling machine which has
"

spiked rollers which counter-rotate, these tear the rags into their fibre state known as shoddy,

such machines can process 80 kilos of material per hour

" the third and fourth stageis blending and then carding which disentanglesthe fibres, cleaning

and mixing to make a web of continuous parallel fibres

24A Novel Usefor Recycled Textile Fibres. Case study 181, Energy Efficiency Best Practice
Programme EEBPP undated.
 116

" after carding the web is fed through a machine called a condenser, which produces untwisted

ropes of parallel fibres called `tops'

" spinning then takes place, which involves thinning out the fibres and inserting a twist to

produce a specific yarn count, or thickness, these yarns can be twisted together to make a

stronger product

" after spinning, woven or knitted cloth can be produced the final part of the manufacturing

process is to make up specific garments before the final finishing process

In Evergreen's advertising literature the benefits of using recycled fibre compared with textile

manufacturers using 100% virgin fibres is pointed up.

Fig 60
By using post consumer fibres none of the most polluting resource greedy processes are needed,

as raw wool scouring and dying are avoided because the fibre has already undergone these

processes and a wide colour palette can be achieved (fig60). In addition textile waste can be used

which would otherwise go to land fill or incineration.

According to the DTI the benefits of a business such as Evergreen include; 25

" Good quality

21ibid
 117

" competitive prices

" createsrevenuefor charities
" reduceslandfill

" reduces for

demand the in
caused
stuffsand problems
chemicals/dye their manufacture
" reducesdemandfor new fibre production, much of which comesfrom non-renewablesources

" reducesdemandfor water

" reducesdemandon treatment plants and managementof residues
" reducesdemandon energy
" reducedpollution both water and airborne
" reducedtransport and journey times
" reducedpackagingneededbefore,during and after dyeing and other processeson fibre
" createsjobs (sorting is labour intensive)
" raisespeople'sawarenessof environmental issues
" recycleability (there is no limit to how many times fibres can be recovered)
It would seemthat the major objection by spinners,knitters and retailers to the idea of recycled
baseyarns is lack of quality and continuity. Also recycling wool fibre reducesits elasticity

meaning knitting time is increasedand there is a noticeable difference in handle of the final
garment. However,quality can be guaranteedfrom batch to batch either in top or yarn form and
the other problems are disputedby Nanni Filati, one of the bestwool recyclers for yarn in
Europe."'
Evergreenimproved elasticity by including somevirgin organically grown wool fibres in

spinning which helped in terms of strength. However testing proceduressuch as rubbing trials are
so exhaustivewithin the retail area that quality is difficult to maintain. Colour is
continuity also a
specialist scientific operation. Evergreenstatesthat there is a price advantageto businesses

manufacturing from recycledmaterials, however it concedesthat after sorting, recycling costsand

those of running machinesat slower speedsoften mean that processingcoststhen becomemuch

closer to new fibre items. There would be a huge difference if collection and disposalcostswere
included in the kilo price per yarn, which standsat £35 per tonne.2728

2626 (Appendix 1)
27The automotive industry is trying to place a L800.00 levy on new cars to cover the costsof
vehicle disposal. In future cars must be able to be fully dismantled and recyclableas are those
manufacturedby BMW. Disposalwill in future be the responsibility of the manufacturer(fig6l).
28Evergreen: Energy Efficiency Office Department the Environment Best Practice
of
Programme.
It is worth noting that the DTIs set philosophy which drives wastereduction and recycling
information programme is profit motivated and its Environmental Technology Best Practice
Programmeliterature leadswith the slogan, "Good practice: Proven technology and techniques
for profitable environmental improvement."
CaseStudy 181 assessedEvergreenin relation to savings in energy arising from the use of
recycled fibre in the manufacturing of knitting yarns, fabric and/or garments.The report
 118

Fig 61

CLOSING THE RECYCLING LOOP

At the National Recycling Forum in June 1997 Jan Mc Harris discussed the idea of closing the

recycling loop. She explained that this meant increasing the recovery of materials for recycling,

encouraging manufactures to use recycled material in their products and persuading the public to
buy those products. The speech was general but so appropriate for wool knitwear. She talked

about an ever-increasing range of functional recycled products on the market, because of new

technologies and operational practice. However in the area of textiles there are barriers that lie in

that significant environmental benefits could be achieved because many of the processes (for
instance scouring and dying) are not repeated. This meant that less effluent was produced, less
fresh water used and not least, good use was made of old garments destined for landfill sites.
The study estimated that Evergreen made energy savings of £21,000 pounds a year alone and
additional savings on raw material and processing worth £276,000 pounds a year.
"In 1992 evergreen produced about 127 tonnes/year of re- claimed fibre, equivalent to about 114
tons of finished fabric (assuming 10% wastage during processing) half of this output was 100%
wool content fabric and half is wool/acrylic mixtures. On this basis the annual energy savings
was 6,500 G J/ tonne worth about £22,000 pounds. "
Additional cost savings result from the lower price paid and reduced processing required for
recycled fibre in comparison with new fibre. This is particularly true for wool and for animal
hairs such as cashmere. The report made a comparison using evergreen's figures on costing of
100% woollen jacketing fabric made from recycled fibre and 100% new wool. It concluded that
the cost of recycled wool fabric would be £4.86 pence per kilo, of which £0.83 was raw material
(rags into Tops) as opposed to £7.88 pence per kilo for new wool fabric of which £3.85 was wool
Tops. Interesting to note that these figures do not include actual transportation costs in either
product i. e. from a local merchant or from the Southern Hemisphere.
 119

increasing public awarenessto encouragea greateracceptanceof recycledmaterials in the

specification, tendering and purchasing process.

Cost, is of course,the driving factor for many organisationsthat would use recycled materials as

componentsin their products, however if virgin substratesare close in price they will be used.
This is becausemanufacturersbelievethey produce a better product. This may be true in some

cases,but as with the paper industry problems such as ink bleeding on, or the aged appearanceof
recycledpaper has beenremovedusing design and technology. Increasingly, the production cost
of an item be
should equatedwith the product's overall impact from cradle to grave. Gradually a
hand full of companiessuch as Patagoniaand the Body Shop are finding it could pay to switch to

alternative environmentally preferableproducts and heavily market that philosophy.

Businessvalueshave beenshifting to include factors such as `producerresponsibility' to deflect
the rise of public criticism and suggestecological performance.Consequently,the successof
environmental purchasing set within the context of sustainability will dependupon a shared
responsibility to communicateand raise awarenessacrossall disciplines. Someobstaclesin the
Wool textile industry include discrimination against reused/recycledproducts. It would make

sensefor all companiesto have an environmental purchasing policy with a key objective to
increaserecycled material acrossproduct substrates.However, this needslegislation as businesses

will not do this unlessthey have to, as it is easierto buy virgin products from the big suppliers
with guaranteesof performanceand financial come-backif there are manufacturing problems
with their products.
CASE STUDY 2: L. M. BARRY, TEXTILE RECLAIMER
LMB Ltd. is a London basedtextile merchant who begantrading in 1985,taking over from his
father who is a well-known `rag man' in the British recycling industry, LawrenceBarry JR said,

a hard graftl Then our businesswas a lot harder then than it is now. We didn't
What
do second-handclothing to the African markets as we do now. The businesswas built

supplying secondaryfibres. You had to learn about all the gradesof fibres, wool,
cashmere, for fibres
cotton,polly-cottonwe sorted secondary industrial 29
wipes".
and

29Barry, L. M. Chairman and Owner of L. M. Barry Textile Merchant. Interview London June
17 1996.Appendix.
 120

Fig 62
LMB Ltd. has a large, purpose built factory on the Cody business estate in London's Docklands

(fig62) which cost over £1,250,000 to set up. It is from here that the companies own fleet of 20

wagons and vans make 4,000 collections a week from charity shops (who sell to the highest
bidder) and council bank sites country wide and deliver the textiles back to the site to be

ýýnuýýýr<1(f' '(, Zl

Fig 63
 121

"When you have put a few poundson or taken them off, when the clothes are out of
fashion or you are tired of them after a holiday and they are a bit faded,you fold them

up, bag them and take them to a charity shop. The women sort through them and they
decidewhat they can sell. The rest they put into a rag-bag and they sell to us. We get

that and it comesback here. Our biggestproblem at the moment is that we can move
foreword with new ventureslike the one in Africa - but the problem is that the charities
have to developa social conscience. They hold us to ransom! We put a professional
image together to show them what we can do and how we can do it properly employing

peopleat the right rates, etc. A few years ago the ethnic minorities that were supplying
us who didn't know about fibres or self coloursjust about shipping to Africa though
`hey, we can do this ourselves'. They'd go round to the local charity shopsand saywe'll

give you `X' for a bag of rags and we were giving them `Y' and if `X' is more the
charities don't look to seehow those people run their businesses.It could be child
labour. Now that has put our prices up. I think I'm a fair employer, paying about £4 per
hour. We start them on £3. They stay on that for about 4 weeks. Then build up to over
£4 per hour. Comparedto the ethnic minorities who are paying £1.80 an hour. Recently

someonegot `done' employing school kids. The factory was closedall day and only
openedwhen the kids camehome. The charities were supplying him! This was in
Birmingham30. The major charities have no values. If the guy will give them 20p more

they will sell to him. I would say to them `look at his businessin comparison'. We pay
the Charities £1.60 a bag". 31

30Teasdale,S. Cityfirm isfined £400for using child labour in The Birningham Post, January20
1995,p.4.
31ibid
 122

The factory is light, well planned and relatively modern by British standards and is for instance

equipped with one of the largest Italian textile bailing machines in Europe, which can condense

one tonne of textiles into a 1.95 meter cube (fig 64).

Fig 64
The company employs about 125 people, mainly female; who sort various components, garments,

household fabrics and shoes from conveyor belts, into chutes which fill hoppers below. The

textiles are cut and or bailed into their various qualities to be sold on as industrial wipers for the

automotive and engineering industry, as car sound proofing fibre, industrial linings, upholstery

and mattress stuffing or for shoddy manufacturing. However this business is a tiny percentage of
the whole which is fashion export to impoverished countries.

we have contacts all over the world. If we relied on British trade we would be
Yes,
bankrupt. Most of our business is for export. We do 5 or 6 packed containers a week.

60% of our products is exported directly and another 10% tol5% indirectly through

bedding manufacturers, etc. This is predominantly clothing. As I said before we supply

to
self shades a company in Yorkshire which then produces coloured fibre which is then

sold to a Moroccan company. We have our own place in Africa32. We export to Togo.

We export to Hungary, Eastern Europe, Poland, East Africa, Central Africa". "

In 1991 Lawrence Barry estimated that about 25% to 30% of clothing collected by his company,

mainly from charity shops was exported. By 1997, six years later that figure had rocketed to 70%.

spent a lot of time over there (in Uganda) and it works exactly the same way as it
l've
does here. Same as if in the East End stuff is imported from Greece. It is stored in the in

African warehouse and they sell it onto individual shops who market it out. We sell it to

32Lawrence Barry's clothing trade partnership

with an African chief has brought prosperity,
water and electricity to his village (figs 66,67).
 123

our man over there. He's got 3 big warehouses who'll take our contingents and store
them there. Then the local market boys will come (fig 65). There'll be one who deals in

shirts. One in shorts, etc". 34

Fig 65 Clothes for the market

LMB Ltd has been at the forefront of establishing the textile `bank' movement in this country

through Recyclatex, which is a subsidiary of the UK Reclamation Association, which was

originally established in 1913.35The Reclamation organisation has been instrumental in the

successful lobbying of the European parliament to try to rescind the ruling on the tightening of
laws on textile waste exports from Europe. 36

Today LMB Ltd., is one of the top three textile recyclers in the UK who's business expansion

earned owner Lawrence Barry the Queen's Award for export in April 1997 (fig65). This

prestigious award was given in recognition of the company's success in developing profitable

overseas markets (in other words the exportation of second hand clothing to the 3`d world) and

33 ibid

34
ibid
35Author
unknown. Recyclatex - how textiles are recycled in Lawrence M. Barry and Co
Promotional Literature London. Undated.
36EU
publishes legislation to ban or control exports of secondary materials to certain non-
OECD countries - the impact of the Basel Convention. Bureau of International Recycling,
BIR, the world federation of recycling industries update July 1999.
-
http: //www. bir. org/biruk/keyissues. htm
 124

list 110 firms, included heavyweightssuch as British "

Steel.
was among a of which
NEWS

Queen's praise
for textile firm

Fig 66

Fig 67

37Author Unknown Queen's Praise for Textile Firm in Materials Recycling Week April 25
1997, p. 11.
 125

Fig 68 Trade in exported clothing has brought water to the village

CASE STUDY 3: SAVANNAH RAGS TEXTILE RECLAIMER

Savannah Rags began trading in October 1994, initially buying second hand clothing and textiles

to export to third world countries having previously sold new clothes to Africa. Mansfield
Council assisted the business by the aid of Departments of Trade and Industry grant. The

company started from scratch but in an area of high unemployment it was not difficult to find 27

employees to sort about 20 tons of clothing a week.

The raw material comes directly from Oxfam, Red Cross and Scope with clothing banks in

Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. Between 60/70 tons of material is processed each week of

which five tons is collected for the wipers market, 30 tonnes is sent for shredding and the rest

exported to Tanzania in Kenya, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The secret of the success to the business is prudent purchasing and keeping production costs to a

minimum. Lighter weight goods are sold to Africa, heavier clothing to Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The owner Mr Suleman is aware of criticisms that have been made that secondary exports from

the UK harm the indigenous industry in Africa. But he points to imports of new clothing, from

China and South East Asia for example, which have wiped out the British manufacturing

industry and said,

"The clothing and shoes industry in the UK has almost disappeared in the face of

overseas competition and the same could happen in a Africa. ""

A second hand shirt would cost the equivalent of one US dollar from our exports whilst from a

local supplier it would cost between 5/10 US dollars. The owners involved in running the

company, were born in Central Africa. Suleman's African outlets have a supply chain which

38Author Unknown Savannah Rags in Materials Recycling Week June 6 1997, p. 12.
 126

extendsto the remotestvillages in Zambia, Kenya, Uganda, Mozambique, Malawi, Togo, Ghana,

Tanzania, Zaire, Pakistan and Bangladesh,with demandgrowing,

"basically the companieswe are dealing with now are embarking on extending their
in
operations thesecountries said Mr Suleman."39

CASE STUDY 4: OXFAM WASTESAVER

Oxfam Wastesaverwas establishedin 1947 and was set up to disposeof surplus textiles from the
then 860 Oxfam shopsin the UK. This is an integral and highly profitable part of the Oxfam
Trading division, basedin Huddersfield Yorkshire and today is one of the largest collectors of re-

usableclothing in the UK. Oxfam is the only charity to own its own textile sorting and processing
facility operating as do other textile merchants in the commercial sector. Oxfam estimatethat the

unit processesin excessof 16 million garmentsper year which are all hand sorted into over 160
gradesand exportedvia entrepreneursinto 30 impoverished countries world-wide. (This is over
2,500 black sacksof textiles and shoesa day). Approximately 50% of Oxfam donations are heavy

garments,which were recycled into fibre until the 1990s.Now with the apparentcollapseof the
shoddyindustry in the UK, new markets for sheepskins,overcoatsand usableknitwear are to be
found in `easternbloc' countries and regions behind the old `iron curtain'.
But as the lucrative worldwide market for European secondhandclothing continuesto expand,
the rag merchantsconstantly look for new sourcesof supply and charity shop clothing has proved
to be a great provider of that raw material. This has led to a mutually beneficial partnership
betweenthe charities, the commercialtextile merchant sectorand ironically the clothing retailers,

without whom the vast volumesof productswould not be manufactured,and the trade would
collapse.The charity shopscollect and disposeof approximately 40,000 tonnesof clothing each
year (of which a tiny 10% to 15% is re-sold over the counter)40.This trade is worth over 4.5
billion pounds in income to the top 500 fund raising charities sectorin Britain.

waste saver estimatesthat there are 120,000tonnes of surplus clothing in

Oxfam over
the UK from various sourceswhich is the equivalent of 250 million garments,or
approximately 5 garmentsper head of population discardedeachyear (an under
estimation of 367,080 tonnes, according to figures from the Creating Wealth from Waste

There
project41), are over 350,000 tonnes of readily recyclabletextiles thrown away in

the UK every year and the country is recycling only about one-third (an over estimation)
is land fill incineration". 42
of the volume available the rest disposedof via and

39ibid
40Barry, L. M. Chairman and Owner of L. M. Barry Textile Merchant. Interview London June
17 1996. Appendix.
41Op cit Creating wealthfrom wastep 12.
42Notes from Stockwell, A. paper Recyclingfor charities sake: Ecotextile 98 Sustainable
DevelopmentProceedingsof the 2nd International Textile Environmental Conference Bolton,
UK, 7/8 April 1998
 127

Oxfam was one of the first charities to employ a limited door to door collection and are also
involved in kerbsidecollections in conjunction with somecouncils but they are finding increased

competition difficult, not just from officially registeredcharities but from cowboy operators.
Theseoperatorsfalsely claim to representa charity or worse still use a recognisedcharity name to

which they give a tiny donation, a fraction of the true value of the goodsthey collect. Nothing

donatedto Oxfam is wasted, sheepskin coatsgo to Afghanistan, men's suits to Jordan, dresses

and skirts go to Uganda,underwearand nightwear go to the Gold Coast.

Usually cotton clothing is still turned into industrial wiping or polishing cloths, as are old towels

or flannels sheetscut into squares.Oxfam doeshave particular contracts such as that of supplying
quilts and pillows to the London Feather Company from which they reclaim the feathersto stuff
new duvets.Harris Tweedjackets are sent to a German customerwho has a chain of shopsthat
specialisein the English country gentleman look. Oxfam also has teamsof dedicatedknitters
producing huge quantities of knitted blankets and jumpers accounting to over 25,000 volunteers
producing over 20,000 garmentsannually.
Saudi Arabia buys much used clothing, eventhough it is one of the world's richest countries.This
is usedto clothe the imported labour from Bangladesh,Pakistanand the Philippines. However
Oxfam are acknowledgingthat there is conflicting thinking in respectof the morality of the
benefitsof selling secondhandclothing to developing countries,wondering if they are putting

textile manufacturersand garment makers out of businessby destroying jobs in the local

economy.However,Oxfam believethat very few casesof damageexists particularly in the east

West African countries to which there have been large 43
and quantities of clothing exports, and
that in fact the trade in used clothing has brought many jobs to theseregions in wholesaling,

retailing and repairing the clothing before sale for the markets. Also local economieshave felt the
benefit of the distribution of import taxes levied on secondhandclothing.
"It must be rememberedthat peoplewho buy secondhandclothing are only doing so
becausethey cannot afford the price of a new garment. And to peoplewho have very
little money they are delighted to buy good quality clothing at very cheapprices, even if
it comesfrom the throwaway societiesin the developedWest "44.
Oxfam is the largest charity in the UK aheadof the National Trust and the Royal National
Lifeboat Institute, earning £89,000,000an increaseof 21%4s To help raise this money the

trading division, which comprisesshopsand Wastesaverhas a turnover of £70,000,000and

makesa profit of £17,000,000which is achieveddue to their dedicatedworkforce of over 21,000

43
ibid
44Stockwell,A. Managing Director. Oxfam Wastesaver. Interview Huddersfield, June&

November98.
 128

volunteers who give 110,000hours a week of their time for free46and unknowingly line the

pocketsof rag merchantsand overseasentrepreneurs.

textile recycling industry has developedand changedinto what is now a huge
The
international multimillion pound export market in secondhand clothing. This has not
happenedbecauseof the charities involvement, but with the charities as the provider of

the raw material. We in the charity sectorhave a great future in partnership with
commercial industry that to
continues provide charities' with the greatly neededfunds to

continue the work we do. It is a mutually beneficial ""

partnership.
The charity shop sector is growing annually and is relatively uncontrolled. Any high streetcan
have as many as six or sevencharity shopsand the forecastis that by the end of the year 2000

there will be 4,500 nation-wide. Oxfam is the UK's fifth largest retailer,48paying minimum
businessrates, for long and short-term lets and are exempt from VAT. It is now acknowledged
that these shopsare in direct competition with commercial clothing outlets and are accelerating
the decline of high street shopping, in tandem with the `one stop shop' superstoresand out-of-
town retail parks and shopping centres.
However, it will come as a relief to those who give clothing to Oxfam that someof the donations,
however small, are usedto supply refugeecamps round the world such as thosecreatedby the

conflict in the former Yugoslavia for example. Oxfam is currently recognisedas the leading
Europeansupplier of emergencyrelief clothing. Field workers in desperaterefugeeconditions

such as war torn regions of Mozambique,Angola and Rwanda are extremely grateful to receive
shipmentsof clothing, which can restoredignity to peoplewho have suffered.
The Europeanshave a more principled human systembasedlesson pure capitalism. Firstly there

are very few charity shopsfor clothing (although there are commercially run `secondtime
around' shops)and those which do exists support locally based well known charities such as local

hospicesor care centresetc. Local monies are used for local projects49 Therefore high profile

charities have developeda very successfulschemewhereby a town is targetedand by involving

the local community in conjunction with local businesses,the charities quickly collect huge

volumes of textiles which are sold to commercial rag merchantsfor a pre-agreedsum per tonne.
The profit is then sharedbetweenthe local community and the charity. Schemeslike this in
Germany and France collect approximately 200,000 tonnessa year and there are equally well

establishedsystemsin Holland, Belgium and Scandinavia. In Germany, is

where recycling part of

4' Recordjump in charities' income. BBC NEWS

http://news2.thdo.bbc.co.uk/hVenglish/uk/newsid%5f104000/104002.stm
46AboutOxfamShops-http: htm September19 1999.
//www.oxfam.org.uk/shops/about/aboutl.
47Op cit Stockwellp. 12.
48ibid
49Personalvisit Fact finding tour of NL October 1998.
 129

the culture, this method is ensuring that as much as 65% of surplus textiles are isolated from

wastestreamsfor recycling.
But there is no doubt that the textile recycling industry is much smaller than in the past and is

shrinking. The parts which have survived, namely export to impoverishedcountries, which is a

simple lucrative process,is flourishing. Has the innovative reuseof cloth and fibres within the

recycling industry disappeared,

fortunately to be replacedby the exportation of secondhand

clothing from the UK? Or has the recycling industry and the innovative use of cloth and fibres in

productsdisappearedbecauseof the exportation of secondhandclothing from the UK?.

Conclusion

A range of pressuresis coming to bear in the private sectorto improve environmental

performancesat the wool growing and processingstages,discussedin chapter2 `wool from the
cradle'. What is relatively new is that the supply chain has now becomea critical part of that
processof looking at an organisation's overall environmental impact. This is critical for retail as
the averagecorporation spendshalf of its turnover on buying in goodsand services.It is essential
that the Wool textile industry looks at the work already done in this areaby other businessesin
different industries to avoid reinventing the wheel.
Ideascan be disseminatedand applied to textiles and wool in particular:

" the first priority is to demonstratethat there would be clear cost benefitsto using recycled
fibres for example in opening price point (a term used for the lowest priced merchandisein

eachproduct range) or `back to school ' knitwear

" secondly,all employeesshould understandtheir own company's likely environmental impact
in the lifecycle of its products, so that continuous assessmentcan be made of bestpractice

thoughout that lifecycle and employe's awarenessraised

However,the `bottom line' is that recycling will only work if an end market exists for the

collectedmaterial and the material can be collected and processedat commercially realistic cost
againstthe costsof virgin materials.
At presentit is unrealistic to expect that spinners and knitters should use 100%reprocessed/

recycledfibres in their yarns and other textile products whereverpossible.Why should they?
There can be technical and performancedifficulties when using recycled fibres for inappropriate

productsand there is the perceptionthat such products could be viewed as inferior and even
secondhand,or `unclean' from a marketing angle.
The solution, significantly reducing thesevolumes of textile waste,could come from a concerted

effort on the part of the Government in partnership with researchinstitutions in industry and
to
education createproductsusing recycled fibre, and improve the performance, design and
marketing strategyof reclaimed materials. This would createstronger competition with new
fibres, which have considerableR&D backing in the form of funding from the big producers.
 130

The retail industry should be preparedfor the day when it may be held partly responsiblefor the

vast volumes of textiles generatedannually, which is discardedas clothing at a rate of 487,080

Just as it has beenheld accountablefor generatingand recovering packaging
tonnes a yearSO.
s'
waste, which if targets are not met incur penalties. R&D should ensurethat knitwear is

designedto be recycled and priced to make it desirable,regardlessor indeed inspite of its recycled

to
content enablethe concept of closing the recycling loop. Otherwise the perfect solution to

eliminate the growing textile mountain, which would throw the Fashion industry into panic,
would be, as Lawrence Barry put it, to52
"Stop the rubbish at the start of the chain. They have attackedthe problem at the wrong

end".

500pcit Creating wealthfrom wastep. 12.

51New packaging laws were introduced in the EU in March 1994with targets for each member
stateto recoverbetween50% and 65% by June2001. Wise UP TO WasteWaste Watch London,
information pack. Undated.
52Barry,L. M. Chairman and Owner of L. M. Barry Textile Merchant. Interview London June
17 1996. Appendix 1.
 131

THE THROW AWAY SOCIETY

CHAPTER 5
 132

THE THROW-AWAY SOCIETY

CHAPTER 5

Introduction
This chapter setsout current statisticsglobally and locally related to post-consumerwasteand the

situation of textiles as a consequence.Under discussionare the benefits and processesof recycling

and the extent of the research,which is under way to transform this out-dated industry.
Subsequentshort casestudieswill discussthe Italian recycler Nanni Filati, the TNO industries of the
Netherlandsand the London Borough of Enfield, which is a member of The London Recycling
Officers Group (LROG). This will completethe backgroundresearchleading to the final project,
Wool: From Straw to Gold and the developmentof yarns made from 100% post consumerwaste.

5: 1 WHY RECYCLE?
The developedand developing world consiststo a greater or lesserextent of throwaway and recycling
'
societies. Recycling is not always the answer and, often, virgin materials can be better ecologically,
as is the casein India where recycling has beentaken to the extremesand the rag trade has a thriving
businessin soiled hospital waste.Rag pickers sort through bloody plastic bags,bandagesand human

tissuebefore it goesto landfill, salvaging fabrics which are primitively washedand sold to make rugs

and cloth shoes. '

In this country we generate435 million tonnes of waste annually, or the equivalent of filling Lake
Windermere every nine months. Each householdthrows away one tonne of wasteper year of which

over 95% could be recycled and only between2.5% to 4.5% is3 Glass, plastics, metals, organic waste,
textiles and paper are transportedand buried in landfill sites further and further from high-density

cities where the waste is generated! There are 4,000 controlled landfill sites in England, which until
recently was the cheapestoption for 90% of waste disposal. However, this method has createdserious
pollution problems such as gas and toxic liquid seepage,which has at times contaminatedthe water
table and the soil.

I Germany has 'Green' in legislation but Britain has one of the

an excellent profile researchand
poorest track records environmentally, and is branded 'The Dirty Man of Europe'. Between 1985 and
1989the amount of householdwasteproducedper capita increasedby 5% but in somecountries
including Norway the production of wasteper capita fell. 'What a lot of rubbish' Independence,
Cambridge, volume 14 ISBN 1-86168-022-81997.
2 Kumar, S. Deadly Trade in Delhi's Hospitals in New
Scientist, May 11'h1996,p.4-
3 Don't throw it
all away Friends of the Earth London p5
4 The London borough Enfield
of sendsa proportion of its wasteby road and rail for landfill to the
county of Lincolnshire, a distanceof over 200 miles.
 133

At presentthe remaining waste, approximately 10%, are sentto incineration (fig69). This is only part

of the solution because

the ash residue after incineration can be as much 25% to 30% of the original
volume, which often contains toxic chemicalsand heavy metals and still has to be disposedof in
landfill sites, also there are toxic emissionsfrom incinerators (Appendix 5) which createserious
health risks.s.

Fig 69

Oust conwmer textiles along with other household waste Is

Incinerated. The North London Waste Authorht 11Kklerater In
gdmonton in 1996 released Into the air 776,000kg1 of
corbOn monoxide, 1,070,000h9s of hydrogen chloride,
e76,000kO$ of nitrogen Orldas, =5O, 000k91 Of Wlghur
dioxide and 343000kgs of particulates kuraing un-carted
refuse much of which is rgOr. CnesbNL.

There seemslittle likelihood of a reduction in consumption of goods in the UK so wastedisposal

is to
problems set multiply. In the caseof clothing, until a few years ago a call for a reduction in

seasonalpurchasing to easethe situation would have had a seriouseffect on the UK manufacturing

industry, which in the mid 1990semployedmore than 1,000,000people.Now there are so few

employedin the industry (less than 150,000)that a reduction in clothing purchaseswould have a
minimal effect on employmentbut a maximum effect on the retailer and shareholder'sprofits. To
reducethe impact of wasteon the environment, one solution is to buy carefully not cheaply, thinking
aboutthe longevity of a product. For instancepresently, the componentsin clothes, such as yarns and
fastenersare manufacturedto last years, not a few months, and the impact of disposal of these

products with such longevity, is rarely consideredby the manufacturer or the customer.Should the
fashion industry be advising the customervia labelling or swing tags about safe disposal after use of

5 Recycling Now! Waste

watch. May 1997
 134

the garment they have manufacturedto re-createa recycling culture amongsttextile merchants,

which thrived until the 1960s.For instance" this garment is made from 100% wool which contains

no pesticideresidue or carcinogenic dyesand can be shreddedto be safely integrated into your

compostheap".
In 1990,recognisingthe looming crisis of disposal,the UK Governmentset an agreedtarget to

recycle 25% of householdwasteby the year 2000.6This was followed in 1992 at the World Earth
Summit in Rio de Janeiro, by a declaration aimed at achieving an eventualwaste free societywhich

was encapsulatedin `Agenda 21'(Appendix 6). That philosophy has percolateddown, and has
becomeLocal Agenda 21 throughout the UK, resulting in the Association for London Government

aiming for a 75% reduction in wasteby 2020. The Environmental ProtectionAct 1990required all
councils to submit plans outlining their intentions to recycle more to achievesuch figures and it was
the responsibility of Local Authorities to ensurethat this reduction of wastehappeneda
Local Councils are using limited and inadequatemethodsof recycling, hamperedby electedand
inexperiencedcouncil officers who are driven by costs(either the schemewhich is the cheapest,i. e.
landfill, or the schemewhich earnsthe most revenuei. e. third world textile dumping wins). Local

council efforts consist of textile, aluminium, paper and glassbank schemesand occasionallykerbside
or door-to-doorcollections from eachhousehold.Even though door-to-door schemesare more
expensiveto set up, comparisonsshow that a far better quality of raw material is collected and a
higher proportion of uncontaminatedmaterial is sent for recycling. In the longer term, door-to-door

collections may also lead to financial savings.'

Recycle;to passagain through a seriesof changesor treatments,to remake into something
different.10It is widely acceptedthat recycling is the good thing to do, this is becausethere are
in
environmental advantagessuch as saving energy the processingof virgin raw materials resulting in

lesspollution. Many virgin materials have to be imported acrossthe globe, thereforethere is an

economicsaving, which finally the

reduces amount of wastewhich needsto be disposedof. However,

recycling itself usesenergy, it may causepollution and will never fully replacethe need for virgin
materials. Also, being involved trip
with recycling, such as the seasonal to the textile bank and
charity shop, may help peopleto feel they are doing their 'bit' for the environment and therefore avoid
the central issueof creating too much waste in the first place."

6 Impossibleto figures between6% 8% Gardiner, W. interview Waste

achieveas current are and
ReductionOfficer Enfield, 2000.
7 The WomensEnvorinmental Network.
e Personal
contribution made to the consultation document for Enfield's 5-year wastereduction plans.
9Opcitp. 1.
10The ChambersDictionary, Chambers Harrap Ltd. Edinburgh 1998
11Parkinson, J. Does justify in Itch Magazine October 1996.
recycling over consumption?
 135

More and more it is apparent that effective recycling requires the combined efforts of different bodies

such as government, industry, and individuals. The waste management industry has significant and
far-reaching cascading effects, especially in the Netherlands, Germany, Scandinavia and where it has

become a major employer, dealing with a variety of waste management activities other than landfill. 12

(fig70) In addition, many companies are realising that by improving their own waste management

there are cost savings to be made in implementing waste reduction and recycling schemes on their

premises.

Fig 70

Taking into account the considerable increase in consumption of textiles, it is ironic that the amount

being recycled has decreased over the last decades as discussed in chapter four. This is also due in

part to the unrealistically low prices of virgin fibres, in particular wool and cotton and a cavalier

approach to recycling ensuing from prosperity and consumerism.

The theory of sustainability as well as producer responsibility is relatively new concepts,which

requires more than idealism to succeed.The solution to sustainability and producer responsibility is

12 Liuken, H.
TNO Institute of Industrial Technology. Interview Enschede the Netherlands
October 1998. (Appendix 1)
 138

found in the conceptof Integrated ResourceManagementor IRM. 13This systemdemandsthat an

increaseof textile wasterecycling should be carried out in an ecologically and economically sound
In to
way. order reach thesegoals innovative design, researchand technological developmentsare
required.
For instanceit is acknowledgedthat properly identifying and sorting textile waste streamsin a
limited number of well-defined materials is the key to producing high quality recycled fibres making

the most of the intrinsic value and subsequentlygeneratingrealistic market opportunities for new
products. However it is only automatedtechnologies,basedon rapid and clear identification of textile
materials, which will be able to meet today's stringent requirementson costs,quality and quantity.
5: 2 TEXTILE CONSUMPTION

The consumption of textiles and clothing is increasing with global textile fibre consumptionper

personat 7.5 kg annually, estimatedto increaseby 1 kg per person by 2025. However, in the EU
countries textile consumption is far higher at between15 and 20 kg per person.This implies that in
the countries of the EU about 5 million tons of textiles and clothing will be discardedeveryyear.
German Governmentfigures estimatethat in Europe only about 1.5 million tons of textiles are reused
in someway or another while the remaining 3 million tons are land filled or incinerated.
Textile recycling on an industrial scalehas existed for more than 130 yearsand high recycling rates

were realiseduntil the late1960searly 70s. In Germany in 1970,90% of textiles were reusedbut by
1991 this percentagehad droppedto 18%. In 1970 the main applications for recycled textiles and

clothing were for secondhand use,wiping rags and fibre production. Textile wastewas also usedin
industry in 14
14%.
the paper which utilised 60% 1970, a figure which by 1991had plummeted to
The recycling of textiles and clothing is now merely an overseastrade to lessaffluent countries in

which the intrinsic value of the product is not used and the merchandisegoesto the highest
entrepreneurialbidder. At presentthe recycling of textiles meansthat the productsare very rapidly
downgraded.
Currently, there is no good alternative for lower grade textile wastejust incineration (with or

astonishingly without energy recovery) and landfill. For instance,only the best quality cloth is

gatheredother textiles such as curtains and non-wearable,worn, damagedclothes are not gatheredat

all in mostcountriesof the EU.

The energy consumption in the production of fabrics with a high content of recycledfibres are often

much lower comparedto the energy use in the production of virgin materials. Savings of 50% and

13Ecotextile 98 SustainableDevelopmentProceedings 2nd International Textile

of the
Environmental Conference Bolton, UY77/8 April 1998
14R'97 Recovery, Recycling, Reintegration Conference Vol. VII Workshop Textiles WasteTNO
Institute of Industrial Technology, GenevaSwitzerland, February4-7 1997. ISBN 3-905555-14-X
 137

more are reported in literatures but more sophisticatedtextile recycling according to the principle of
cascadingcan have even greaterenvironmental benefitssuch as
" lessuse of raw materials, fertilisers, pesticidesand energy for the production of textile fibres

" less areaneededfor growing/production of virgin fibre

" lesswasteproduction
Textile recycling must use sophisticatedtechnologiesavailable elsewhereto begin to be keenly

competitive with virgin products, also there be

must an integrated to
approach all links of the chain in

order to regain fibres of a higher quality and greater intrinsic value. The main causesfor concern and
the areasurgently in need of researchsupport are16

" low gatheringrate:the traditionalwastestreamsaredryingup andrecyclersarerelyingmoreand

moreon charitabledonations
" unsortedgathering: obvious qualities are collected and the rest discarded for incineration
" fibre damagein opening the fabrics

" impurities in the gatheredmaterial

" manual handling: leading to high labour costs

" low end markets: where post consumertextiles are viewed as rags for export to third world sold

and by weight
The low gathering rate is a problem becausefor a given end product a continuous stream of waste

material of a certain quality is needed.Only then can a feasiblemarket for the end product be
developed.In the past, many recycling projects ended due to lack of discardedmaterial. A high

quality end product can only be producedif the gatheredmaterials can be sorted in an efficient way,
is
which at the moment by hand. A more sophisticatedand automatedsorting systemwill improve the

quality of the obtained fabrics. In opening fabrics (a processof tearing cloth apart numerous times to

return to its constituent fibres) with current technology, the fibres are often damaged severely.The

averagelength of the fibres can be decreased

enormously, leading to fibres which have a lower value.
The general quality of recycled fibres meansthat often only the low-end markets can be servedwith
100%qualities, resulting in a lower margin of businessprofits.
GATHERING
There are different sourcesof textile wastes.The highest quality is production wasteoriginating from

the textile and clothing industry. This waste stream is relatively clean and well-defined i. e. the

chemical composition is known, although the volumes are restricted. A secondimportant waste
streamoriginates from commercial or institutional organisationslike professionalclothing and textile

15ETBPP GG79 Reducing

- coststhrough waste management:the woolen sector
16opcitp. 5.
 138

rental companiesand from industrial laundries. The composition of this (post consumer)textile waste
stream is often lesscomplex comparedto textile waste from householdsgatheredby charities.
This last streamconstitutesby far the largest but also the most complex and most contaminatedpart

of the total textile waste streams.The gathering and sorting of this waste,with its complex content is

very difficult, especiallywith respectto logistics and economy.The gathering of production wasteas
well as institutional waste is only coveredto a certain extent. The gathering of the post-consumer
waste from householdscan be largely improved by (These
new gathering concepts. are in fact old
systemslike depositson goodsretrievable upon return to point of sale such as glass and plastic
bottles, and `return' shopsas seenin the Netherlands). A higher density of containers for textile

wastewould discouragedisposalvia the domesticrefuse systemas would organisedkerb-side

collections on a more regular basis. Only in this way with a maximisation of the collection quantities,
combinedwith advancedrecycling technologiesresulting in high-end applications, can the
economically feasibleprocessingof post consumertextile waste be realised.
IDENTIFICATION
In order to implement textile recycling on an industrial scale,the waste should be sortedaccordingto
demandsput forward by the specific end-marketsor end-users(e.g. colour and chemical

composition). Automation of this processis also desirable,in order to reducethe sorting costsand to
enhancethe quality of the resulting fabrics. Conceivableresearchconceptsfor automatic colour
sorting include, for example, the useof image-processingsystems,which already represent
establishedfacilities for similar identification tasks in other areas,but identifying the fibrous
materials and chemical composition of textiles involves considerablymore complex tasks. In other

areassuch as the sorting of plastics, near -infra-red spectroscopy (NIR) is employed to identify

material composition, but due to the complex composition of textiles, this technology is presentlynot
to
yet able provide satisfactoryresults." Other fast identification technologiesinclude laser induced

breakdown spectroscopy(LIBS) and thermal impulse response(TIR). LIBS is basedon plasma locally
induced by a short laser pulse at the surface.The analysis of the plasma spectrumyields information

about the composition of the fibrous material. This technology possibly also enablesthe identification
of dyes and finishes. TIR usesthe temperatureand cooling measurementsof materials, upon heating
by laser. The software usedto processthe analytical data is a key element for identification

technologies.Further improvement will make this tool evenmore powerful. Looking toward the
future, neural network technologiesand artificial intelligence will be leading the identification

process.Further improvement in "remote sensing" from greater distances,increasedanalysisand

17Liuken, IL
TNO Institute of Industrial Technology. Interview Enschedethe Netherlands
October 1998.
 139

identification speed,automatic focussingon parts, and the combination of various methodswill

enablethe industry to advance identification capabilities immensely.

Currently available identification techniquesare often developedfor the identification of specific

materials or products like plastic bottles and metals. Thesetechniqueshave to be for

adapted the

recognition of the chemical compositionof textile wastes.Many of the devicesin use today arc based

on researchinstruments. In the future they have to be tailored to industrial applications, making them
simpler, smaller and lighter, more robust in rough conditions, easierto handle and lessexpensive.
"The identification has to be carried out on single piecesof textiles. Due to the complex

structure of textile products, including the use of different materials, somedegreeof pre-
shreddingmay be required as well. The technology of this pre-treatmenthas to be further
developed,as the results are crude. Upon identification a separationstep is necessary.This

physical separationhas to be carried out by mechanical or pneumatically devicesor by air-

jets. The interface betweenidentification and separationequipment has to be developed".18
As a result, the textile waste is sorted in a limited number of categoriesin order to make textile waste

recycling economically feasible.The most important categoriesof textile wastesare 100%cotton,

100%wool, 100%polyesterand blends of cotton and wool with polyester.Furthermore there will be a
large residual categoryof lesscommon fibres and fibre mixtures. This categorycan be mechanically

recycledas well, but generally to low value end-uses.These complex mixtures can also be incinerated
but this must be in combination with energyrecovery which is often completely inadequate.
CLEANING
For certain reprocessedproducts,textile wasteneedsto be cleanedof impurities and/or disinfected.
This is carried out by meansof washing or chemical cleaning processesbeforeor after sorting. At

presentthe washing and cleaning processesfor textile waste are adequate.

In order to obtain the more valuable uncolouredmaterials a decolourationstep could in somecases

the
enhance economicsof textile recycling. Decolouration can be combined with the disaffection of
the textile wasteand a removal of a number of finishes. Only a number of dye classes,like azo-dyes
can be fully decolourised.However, it has to be realised that decolourationcan have a negativeeffect
on the mechanical properties of the fibres. As an alternative, separationbasedon colour is heavily

used.
UNRAVELLING
The unravelling of textile materials into fibres can be performed on an industrial scale. Specialised
is to
machinery available open the textile to
materials their full extent. Total opening is very
 140

UNRAVELLING
The unravelling of textile materials into fibres can be performedon an industrial scale. Specialised
is to
machinery available open the textile materials to their full extent. Total opening is very
important for the subsequentprocessingof the fibres on the textile machinery normally in use in the

textile industry. The quality of the regainedfibres can vary greatly; dependingon the origin of the
textile waste,the chemical nature of the fibres and the way the unravelling is performed. The length

and the mechanical properties of the regained fibres are important and determine the possible
application of the regained fibres. Also, the colour and purity of the fibres are important: white or
uncolouredmaterials and mono-materials and mixtures of materials with a known compositioncan
be used in high quality end products. Only then can textile waste recycling on an industrial scalebe

economically favourable.
NON WOVENS & FELTS
In terms of quantity, the use of reprocessedfibres in the production of bondedfabrics is the most
important area at present.Familiar products here include mattress fillings and insulating mats for

cars. Deficiencies still exist in this area with regard to the processingof only coarselyopened
reprocessedmaterial and special bonding processes.Existing fabric-forming systemsrequire
adaptationto enableprocessingof the particle range which results from the highly productive tearing
of textile waste(short fibres, yarn pieces,flat pieces). Opening of the reprocessedmaterial up to the
individual fibre is unnecessaryfor many applications involving bonded fabrics, such as insulating
fabrics for thermal and sound insulation. At present, existing web-forming machines,which function

according to the aerodynamicprinciple, are not ideally adaptedto the processingof only partially
openedwastetextiles.
Further researchwithin the field of non-woven-fabric manufacturing is also required on the subjectof

the strengthening of bonded fabrics. It should be possibleto expandproduct diversity with regard to

appearanceand or functions by meansof a supplementarythermal treatmentprocessto the

reprocessedfibre-bondedfabrics containing bonding agents.
YARN AND FABRIC PRODUCTION.
The area of yarn and fabric production coversthe spinning of reprocessedfibres into yarns and the
further processingof theseyams into textile fabrics, such as woven fabrics, knit fabrics and other

structures.These fabrics are used in household and home textiles for blankets,upholstery fabrics and

carpets; in the clothing sectorpullovers, jackets, and suits; and in technical textiles for filters etc. In

the area of spinning preparation various machine constellationsare available for opening, cleaning

and blending the most diverse fibre materials, and theseconfigurations are able to fulfil the
processingrequirementsfor secondaryraw materials. Developmentwork is required in the areaof the
 141

to
mechanisms remove remaining non-textile componentssuch as buttons and zips which can cause
damageto machine elementsand lead to problems in the subsequentprocesses,one of which is
flammability. The various reprocessedfibre yams are subsequentlyprocessedinto textile fabrics and

other structuresby meansof a variety of fabrics forming and finishing processes.For this purpose,the
fabric-forming and finishing processesrequire to be adaptedto the yarn properties, which result from

reprocessing,so as to enablethe most diverse possiblerange of products.

PRODUCT DEVELOPMEMENT
Virgin fibre producersunderstandablyargue,that recycled fibres are inherently of a lower quality
than virgin fibres and that the only way to add value to productsmade from recycled fibres and raise
their image is to improve the performancequalities and the design of end-products.Involving
designersthroughout the whole recycling and product developmentprocessis crucial. Working

concurrently with all parties involved in the recycling processwill create links with technology,
science,manufacturing, businessand marketing. This is where ideas for new applications and designs
will grow. Focusing on researchand design maximises the potential to create innovative new
products for both textile and non-textile applications. Good design will createnew markets with
productsthat closethe loop of the recycling supply chain, inevitably creating demand for recycled
fibre products.
Conclusion
Textile recycling can be moved to a higher level when recurring problems can be solved.Theseare

" the collection of large quantities of textile waste in order to guaranteea continuous streamof end

products
" the developmentofa fast, non-labour intensive, reliable identification and sorting system

" minimisation of fibre damagein the `pulling' process

However product developmentplays an important role in specifying the specificationsof commercial

attractive new products from recycled fibres.19

19Much this is from interviews literature from

of chapter adapted personalnotes, and supporting

Ecotextile 98 Textile Environmental ConferenceBolton, UK, 7/8 April 1998

 142

Fig 71

CASE STUDY 1: INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY (TNO) THE

NETHERLANDS.

The TNO is a multi-disciplinary organisation for applied scientific research with over 4000

employees based in the Netherlands, which is spearheading the development of recycling technology
(fig71). Research is carried out in 12 institutes, covering a broad range of expertise in the fields of

industry nutrition, health, environment and defence. Its aim is to collaborate with businesses to

strengthen their competitiveness and profitability through the application of innovative technology.

"A distinctive feature of TNO is a combination of expertise and the capacity to integrate and

apply breadth of knowledge and a variety of facilities. With the demand for flexible and

innovative technology businesses can benefit from the practical expertise the Institute can

This from short term, low volume orders to projects requiring a broad and
offer. ranges
integrated approach. Whether the project involves creating a product concept or

in mass production, for

manufacturing and producing a product, either as a one off or

consumers or for professional applications, the Institute of Industrial Technology can put

together a team of specialists that has the specialised knowledge to answer the brief. The

TNO Institute of Industrial Technology has numerous divisions covering Product

Development - Production Technology - Product Manufacturing including Rapid Prototyping

Materials Technology and Product Testing". 20

-

20TNO Institute Industrial Technology the Netherlands, promotional literature. 1998.

of
 143

The activities of the "Product Development" and "Product Testing" divisions arc carried out under
ISO 9001 certification. Moreover, many of the activities are accreditedon the basis of EN 4500121.
Unusually, researchon recovery,recycling and reintegration of a number of materials and waste

streams,which include textiles, is carried out mainly in the division "Product Development", where

expertiseis available on collection technology, identification techniques,sorting techniquesand

reprocessingtechnology in order to reusewaste.In the caseof textile materials the combination of
advancedproduct developmenttools, new product conceptsand products out of waste materials are
under developmentfor a large number of industrial companies.The TNO is involved in many
recycling projects and in a large number of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) studies.The Institute
participated in the organisation of international like
environmental congresses R'97 and R'99 in
Geneva.
Textile Research& Testing Researchon textile processesand textile applications is carried out by the
20 employeesof the TNO Centre for Textile Research,part of TNO Institute of Industrial
Technology. The main clients of the Centre for Textile Researchare the textile industry, textile and

clothing importers, consumerorganisationsand the floor covering industry.

In production technology, energy conservationin textile processingis one of the main items. Also

much attention is paid to the reduction of the environmental impact of textile processingby'process
integratedmeasures'to reducethe use of water and chemicals through techniquesfor control and

measurement.Textile wasterecycling, wastewatertreatment, water recycling and the development

and implementation of new environmental friendly processesare key items as well. In product testing
all international standardson textile and floor covering testing can be carried out from simple
fastnessteststo testing clothing on skin models and flammability tests. In product developmentnew

textile products are developed.The Centre offers all kinds of product development,from product up-

grading to totally new products containing textiles. In product developmentthere is often a close co-

operation with other specialistsin TNO Industry on coating technology, materials scienceand
industrial design.

21ibid.
 145

each specialising in simple processes, for instance, spinning, dying, yarn twisting, beaming, weaving

and finishing. The various activities are coordinated by the mills, which constantly collaborate with

one another in setting up a huge variety of networks and a multitude of end products. The integrity of
the manufacturing system and the legacy of the accumulated technical know-how have facilitated the

continuous adaptation of offerings to satisfy world demands from dynamic markets. (Prato exports

over half of its production and does business with more than one hundred foreign countries). The

many independent companies which form the Prato community, of which Nanni Filati Sri. is one, has

a common objective consisting of high quality and standards, rapid delivery, small lots and

competitive pricing. Prato's industry is distinguished by its capacity to design, develop, and market a

wide assortment of original products, growing out of the combined efforts and research of several

companies working together. The annual production of over four thousand yams and one hundred

and twenty thousand new fabric designs is not unusual. It is estimated that research and development

of these new products represent 5% of the total textile turnover.

By retaining their original organisation, Prato's industries effectively
combine the typical advantages
of industrial scale production, (like efficiency and reliability) with the advantages of the craftsman's

small scale of trade and customer care. They are flexible enough to deal with rapid product change,

custom lots and prompt response to market demands and is an outstanding exception on the First
World textile scene.

Nanni Filati is a family-run woolen spinner, with the Woolmark licence

and produces virgin and
reprocessed quality yarns in tandem (fig 73).
llim*w
 146

The factory has state of the art, with spinning and research and develpoment facilities (1ig74).

Fig 74

The business creates for top end clients such as Vivian Westwood
and Paul Smith, but the bulk of its
products are used in mass-market knitwear for ladies and mens jumpers guaranteeing a recycled
blend of a minimum 70% wool 30% mixed fibres. Out of a turnover 2,000,000 kilos of yarn
of about
a year, more than 1/4is reprocessed. The company has a network of agents and exhibits at Pitti Filati,
Filatia in Hong Kong and Transform in Mauritius.

Mr. Galli is certain that if you produce reprocessed wool

using the same scientific approach, as when
using virgin fibres there is no real difference to performance. However he acknowledges that there is

one problem with reprocessed fibre which is that 100% wool qualities can not be achieved because the
hand sorting of garments can not effectively divide pure new wool items from blended items.

Nanni Filati carry in their collection completely reprocessed blends from a 90-shade colour palette

Fiz75
.. P ., *w.
ýý1. ` Y
ý
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was own'!
#n " an
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r ra was
ýýý rýý
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 147

They buy reprocessedwool fibres in garment form, which they sort for colour, card, and processthe
fibre. Mr. Galli is concernedthat it is getting more and more difficult to get post consumerwaste,
becausemore and more is going to the Third World via the charities from where it has to be re
imported. (Appendix interview Galli)

CASE STUDY 3: THE LONDON BOROUGH OF ENFIELD AND REPORT

ON THE PRESENTATION TO THE LONDON RECYCLING OFFICERS
GROUP WESTMINSTER FEBRUARY 2 1999.
LONDON BOROUGH OF ENFIELD

There are 111,760householdsin the London Borough of Enfield, producing 118,496tons of domestic

waste,which is over one ton of wasteper householda year. 83,000 tones of that wastegoesto the
incinerator at Edmonton, which is owned in by the London Waste Company. Someof the material

collected from dustbinsvia the dust cart goesdirectly to unload at the incinerator. The remaining
36,000 tons go to Civic Amenity sites or rubbish'tips' and taken for landfill, carried by road in
'bulkers' which are very, very large vehicleswhich no single Council would have as part of their fleet

and are operatedby London Waste.London Waste Ltd., which operatethe Edmonton incinerator try
to minimise the cost to itself of disposing of such large tonnages,which cannot be burned as there is

so much. Enfield's wastetravels by road as far as Lincolnshire and Bedfordshire to be land filled,
essentiallyburied wherever it is the cheapest.
The additional cost of landfill over incineration is met by London WasteLtd, which balancesits costs
by dealing with commercial customers.London Waste Ltd. is a very profitable company in which 7

constituentBoroughs in north London have a share:Barnet, Camden,Haringey, Hackney,Islington,

Waltham and Enfield. By the middle of 2000 all these Boroughswill be incinerating the majority of

their collected waste.On the one hand Councils are trying to reducedomesticwasteyet on the other
hand they part run the incinerators from which they profit, through disposingof their commercial

customers'waste.More commercial wastemeansmore revenuefor the Councils.

Little or no pre-sifting goeson at the incinerator but steel and iron are removedafter combustion.The
is
ash remaining about one third by weight of the original material. It is a concentratedresiduefrom

which thosemetals are extractedby magnets.The London Borough of Enfield get a proportionate
reduction to the recycling costs for this metal which was about2,000 tons from Enfield in 1997.

Enfield Council will not support any recycling which is not self-sustainingand self-financing which
is one way of ensuring that the recycling doesnot stop and start and the people lose interest.
Currently no kerb side collections exist as at £30 to £80 per household,it is a considerablecost for the
taxpayerto pay out on somethingwhich is not proven to be the best option. However,for aluminum
 148

cans,paper, metals, and textiles there is a very clear casefor recycling becauseof energy and the
environmental benefits from recycling must out weigh the cost of landfill and burning. But because
the groundwork and the lifecycle of those processeshave not been done it is subjective.
The Council has estimatedthat the 5% increasein domesticwastewill cost Enfield, an additional £'/+

million annually on a tonnage basis and with landfill taxes and the cost of transportation increasing it

has to be more and more economicalto recycle.The benefit to the Council is f inance and agencies

offering the best financial return for the Council in relation to recycling win the contracts,zero cost to
the Council meansit is sustainable.
LONDON RECYCLING OFFICERS GROUP
The meeting of the London Recycling Officer's group or LROG was held in Westminster.
Approximately 20 recycling officers attendedthe presentationfrom a variety of the 32 London
boroughs.The presentationtook the form of a selectionof slides, which broadly and simply
highlighted the researchto date at the Royal College of Art on the project Wool: From Straw To
Gold.
I explained the life cycle of wool from the farm to the manufacturerand post consumer,focusing on
the environmental and social costsof that production chain. The recycling officers at the meeting

were fascinatedand at the sametime shockedby the complexity and controversyof the story of wool
and its implications. The group saw themselvesfor the first time as part of the textile lifecycle and
they saw their industry in relation to the numerouslinks of the chain.
Will Gardiner, who is the WasteReductionOfficer from the London Borough of Enfield, madeit

possiblefor me to make this presentationto LROG. Ile took great pains to point out to those
that
assembled Local Authorities throughout Britain were unknowingly contributing to the trade in

the exportation of textile wastesto the Third World. He was concernedabout the reaction if such
information was leaked into the public domain and that he or rather they should be looking for an

alternative use for collectedtextile wasteswhich could be sustainable.

After the presentation,there was a question and answersessionin which I was careful to point out
that my researchwas about asking'the question' in order to challengethe statusquo and not to

provide the answer.I also was at pains to explain that the primary reasonfoe giving such a
presentationto the borough officers was to engagetheir support, as part of the links in the chain, in
executingan experimental design project.
The questionand answer sessionwas very lively with a genuine concern shown by thosepresent

aboutthe way in which councils disposeof textile waste,primarily through agentswhich was to those
presentshockingly inadequate.
 149

It would seemthat the main frustration is that currently there arejust three solutions to the increasing

problem of textile waste

" the first is to recycle through agentssuch as LM Barry (which createsrevenue for the council)

" the secondto incinerate giving the council energycredits and revenuebut also somecosts

" thirdly to landfil, an increasingly expensiveexercisefor the ratepayer

The chair of the meeting, who representedthe Borough of Lewisham, said that it was textile waste

which earnedthe most revenuefor the council, this in turn enabledthe council to develop other
recycling activities as the market had disappearedin relation to recycledpaper and glass.
Another delegatefrom the borough of Merton said that they had numerouskerbside collections in
their borough, which cost the council nothing, as the collectors were independentcharities. The
benefit to the Council of allowing kerb side collections by others was that there were zero disposal

costsfor the council. Where the council did tender for merchantsto collect textiles from textile banks
etc, an averageannual fee was round about £7,500 for literally tons of textiles. One delegatewas
concernedthat the Councillors he answeredto would not understandthe point of the researchproject
because,in general, Councillors were part-time and not experts in the field. They would find it hard

to agreeto stop the contractswith textile merchantssuch as LM Barry, which they would seeas

purely, lost revenue.

They felt, as did Will Gardiner (who has advisedme periodically on my research)that the way
forward would be to get the problem into the public domain i.e. make a documentarywhich
highlighted the situation, forcing Councillors nationally to confront the growing problem. Another
delegatewanted to know what would happenif such large streamsto the Third World were stopped.
In other words if thesecountriesrelied on garment wastesfrom the DevelopedWorld, how much

suffering would be causeif that were to cease.

The outcomeof the debatewas that there is a sincerewish to contribute to the project in any way

possible(except financial) to establisha model that proves that recycling textiles can work. There

were offers of tonnesof textile wasteto use in the future.

Perhapsthe most interesting offer was a carefully targetedkerb side collection, which would be the

start of the documentationto record the design project, post consumer.

 1so

WOOL: FROM STRAW TO GOLD

DESIGN PRACTICE

CHAPTER 6
 151

WOOL: FROM STRAW TO GOLD

DESIGN PRACTICE
CHAPTER 6
b. o Introduction
The life cycle of a wool fibre has beendescribedfrom `cradle to grave' and `beyond' in preceding

chapters,where the environmental and social cost of producing one wool sweaterhas beendiscussed,
at the farm, in the factory, via the UK retailers and finally as post consumerwaste.
It is a long and complexjourney of thousandsof miles betweencontinents, where wool fibres are

subjectedto chemical and genetic manipulation, are instrumental in environmental degradation,

human exploitation and greed, and are finally worthless after a short life span as a fashion item. This
is a story of extortionateprofit, dubious charity and government inertia contributing to dumping

wasteon the Third World.

has
There are many links in the wool knitwear production chain and each beenseparatelyassessed
with
the assistanceof authoritative literature such as at the `start of pipe' (or beginning of the production),
John Hearle'genetic engineering of wool'; at the manufacturing stage in Annie Phizacklea's
'Unpacking the fashion industryi2;in design such as Nicholas Coleridge's ' Fashion conspiracy'3and
finally disposalin Murray's 'Creating wealth from waste'4to name but a few. Howeverno single

work makesa total ecological assessmentof the lifecycle each stage

of wool, which assesses from

'birth to death' and beyond.

This researchhas flagged up that industrial specialistsare well informed about the work of their
immediate neighbours i. e. the knitwear manufacturer knows about black lung' and carcinogensin the

spinning and dyeing processand about profit margins and quality at retail. The knitwear
manufacturerwould, however, normally be unaware of scientific practiceson the farm or the looming

crisis of landfill. Similarly disposal agenciesare unaware of the exploitative conditions in factory

'Hearle, J. Can the in Textile horizons, Vol. 16, No.

genetic engineering enhances miracle of wool?
8, April/May 1997,p. 12-15
2 Annie Phizacklea's 'Unpacking thefashion industry' Routledtze1990
3 Coleridge, N. Thefashion Journey through the empires of fashion
conspiracy: a remarkable
1957London Heinman 1988
Murray, R. Creating wealthfrom waste Demos 1999.
 152

in
camps wool manufacturing countries,or that they are instrumental in the growing lucrative trade

of exporting textile wasteto the Third World.

THE PROJECT
At present,wool production, consumptionand disposalis a'one way street'. Wool leavesthe farm,

goesto the processor,the dyer, the spinner the garment manufacturer,the retailer, and the consumer
where it has `a brief moment in the sun', then to incineration, land fill or to the third world as waste.
(Diagram A Appendix 7)
The wastedisposalsituation is at crisis point in the UK and the exportation of textile wasteunder the

guise of charity is culpable. Therefore it is apparentthat methodologiesfor reducing and

transforming textile wasteshould be revisited as a matter of urgency to alleviate the problem, aiming
to closethe loop and achievesustainability. (Diagram B Appendix 7)
The businesspartners in the wool apparel chain are international, however for practical purposesmy
in
partners the 'regeneration'project are British. My previous researchand professionalpractice
unearthedsomeof theseblue chip industrial experts,who are already involved in various wool
knitwear processes.Thesehand picked companiesagreedto be part of the experimental development

of a small range of yarns and garments,composedof post consumerfibres made from 100%waste.
The project partners `closing the loop' were:

" The Boys Brigade 16`hEnfield Company and the London Borough of Enfield for door to door

textile collection.

" Oxfam Wastesaverfor transporting the collection and textile sorting.

" JP Textiles (Evergreen)and Lightowlers Yarns for shoddyand yam production.

" CharnosPLC for knitwear manufacture.

" The British Standards

Institutefor theoreticalaccreditation.
Before beginning the project, having won the BSI award for environmental design I travelled to
Europeto meet with companiesat the cutting edgeof textile reprocessing.Mentioned in chapter 5,
Enchedein Holland is where the TNO Institute is spearheadingmechanicalrag sorting technology.
The TNO have funding from the EU to developa project basedon the developmentof new machinery

which will increasethe recycling of textiles (currently at 2% of total textile waste) by 10% resulting

in an increaseof 500,000tonnes per annum. (Appendix 8)

I also travelled to Prato in Italy to seethe factory and rangesof reprocessingexpertsNanni Filati also

mentioned in chapter 5, who continue to use post consumerwool fibres in their ranges,either as
100%recycledwool qualities or in blends with virgin fibres.
I did not have time to developmany blends of post consumerwool and other fibres, both natural and

man made, virgin and post consumer,nor did I have time to explore a variety of products, using
 153

regenerated fibres, for fashion and non-fashion. However these are potential projects for development
in the future.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF YARNS AND GARMENTS

The following pagesdocumentthe production of a small collection of yarns and garmentscomposed
of 100% post consumerwasteand the innovative collaboration of partnersto `close the loop'.

" The first stage was to establish a direct house to house textile collection, which results in the best

quality post consumer textiles becausethey are clean and uncontaminated.

ýý:: ýý

Fig 76

In conjunction with the Waste Reduction unit at the London Borough

of Enfield (fig 76) and the Boys
Brigade 16thEnfield Company, a target ward for the pilot textile collection
was identified.
Flyers (Appendix 7) advertising the date of the textile collection and the type of textiles neededwere
delivered in the target area a few daysbeforethe collection date.
ýY- r-

Fig 77

On the day, a team of boys from the Boys Brigade co-ordinated by their captain Mr Brasher (fig77)

gathered the sacks of textiles, which were left on the pavement (fig78) and collected into the brigade
transit (fig79).
 154

Fig 78

Fig 79
Enfield Council paid the Boys Brigade £222 for the collection, replacing the newspapers they

previously gathered every two months and which are now virtually worthless.
The benefit to the Council in the long term will be waste reduction, minimising disposal costs and

Possibly becoming sustainable in the area of textiles.

 155

" The second stage, saw the first collection of the unsorted textiles from Enfield Boy's Brigade head

quarters, by Oxfam which was transported via their Welwyn Garden City depot to Oxfam
Wastesaver HQ in Huddersfield (fig 80).

Fig 80

Fig 81
It is here that the textiles are hand sorted into generic qualities of wool and cotton etc. (fig 81). The

benefit to Oxfam is the establishment of a direct textile collection of good quality material, generating

more textiles than do textile banks or Oxfam shops in a similar area.

 156

Fig 82

" In the third staee the processed rted wool r,ws (fi. v 82)
,
\I

Fig 83

with zips and buttons removedbecameshoddy (fig 83),

 157

via John Parkinson(fig84) JP. Textiles Ltd. (Evergreen)Dewsbury'.

Fig 84 John Parkinson at the factory

1John Parkinson's company 'Evergreen' is

cited constantly as the perfect example of a successful,
environmentally sensitive textile producer. He and his work is quoted in Eco literature, referred to at
conferences throughout Europe, and his company was even a case study on successful environmental
textiles via the DTI. Ironically, Parkinson was not taken seriously by the textile industry and
Evergreen went into liquidation in 1998 despite his company's fame and success. However he
continues a personal crusade and believes that waste of such magnitude for landfill and exportation is
immoral).
 159

Fig 85
The wool shoddy was combined before spinning with post consumer polyester from plastic bottles and

cotton fibre from old denim jeans (fig 85) at Lightowlers Yarns Ltd. Huddersfield 2
.

2 Mark Lightowler, Managing Director has Parkinson for and was instrumental in
worked with years
the development of yarns made from 100% and blended post consumer fiber on the woolen spun
principle. His Father owned the Victorian mill which is equipped with spinning mules, used to make
woolen yams from regenerated rags 200 years ago. Lightowler believes that in 5 to 10 years time the
textile industry in the UK will have disappeared, as week by week the small and large industries in
manufacturing, such as spinners, dyers and knitters are closing their doors. This tragedy, he believes,
has been caused solely by the power of the big five retailers and their tireless quest for the lowest
price.
 151)

9 Then the fibre mixture was carded (figs 86,87).

Fig 86 mixture goes into the hopper

Fig 87 the fibre is carded in fine toothed rollers

 160

Fig 88 Blended web of fibre mixture

Fig 89 wool cotton polyester

sliver
 161

Fig 90 Victorian
machinery spins the fibre
I

Fig 91 single
and double knitwear
yarns
 162

Fig 92 School uniform knitwear composed of 100% waste

" Finally the yarn was delivered to Charnos PLC in Derby where it was industrially knitted as trial

samples into school uniform pieces of knitwear. ' (fig 92)

3 Charnos PLC are major knitwear suppliers to Marks and Spencer and are one of the lucky few to
have avoided the contractual withdrawal of M&S from its UK supply base. The company has close
links to senior technologist Mervyn Davies at M&S, who has advised me periodically on the project
and the uniform pieces have kindly been knitted commercially by them).
 163

ýilý"1"
I11111'1` Iýlilll 1ý11' 4'I1v II'1)IlIllf`Ilý

IMnnviron»nt

Fig 93

" The yarn and resulting knitwear could be given a BSI accredited label, which flags up the fact that

the yarn contains a proportion of post consumer fibre. 4 This would form the basis for a future
development project.

" Samplesof the yam and swatchesalong with a small collection of post consumerfibres and

textiles are to be found in Appendix 10.

Conclusion
The sample yarn collection and supporting text is simply a tool to enable the status quo to be

challenged, to enable the right questions to be asked and to confront entrenched attitudes and moral
inconsistencies within the textile and clothing industry. The yarn, it could be argued is not new, nor

° In 1998this research the BSI/RCA award for European Environmental design (fig 93). The
won
BSI were keen to support a product which could carry an accreditation which was a part-recycled/
regeneratedproduct.
To establishtesting procedureswould be complex and expensivethough not impossible, i. e. one test
could be microscopic visual recognition of reprocessedfibres. However it would be simpler to give the
accreditation to a yarn or garment through the involvement of accreditedsuppliers in the manufacture
 I(ý4

is the concept of textile recycling. But what is new is the over vieww hole stop of wool.
of the %%

enlightening various industries to the problems of their physical and environmental partners. and

pointing up the idea of producer responsibility within one production chain.

This collection shows that design in the 2I" Century can focus on post consumer issues and the

manufacture of aesthetic, commercially viable products created from %%aste

materials.
4r
!

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

" to collaborate with sorting technology researchers to produce design solutions for recovered fibres
from domestic waste streams

" to create experimental design solutions both on craft and industrial levels with textile waste from
kerb side collections

" to collaborate with retail on special projects to transform textile waste such as RTM (return to

manufacturer) into alternative products

" to collaborate with Local Authorities such through LROG and/or charities to develop alternative

strategies to incineration. landfill and Third world dumping of thousands of tones of textile %%aste

of the product using post consumer components. Such an accreditation could be a model. %%hich
could
be applied to various substrates and products. not just in the field of textiles.
 165

APPENDICIES
 166

APPENDICIES

Appendix 1

Interviews

1. Liuken, A. TNO Institute of Industrial Technology. Interview Enschedethe Netherlands

October 14 1998.
2. Miller, C. Senior TechnologistThe Burton Group. Interview London June20 1996.
3. Barry, L. M. Chairman and Owner of L. M. Barry Textile Merchant. Interview London June 17
1996.
4. Cleli, M. Mother and Aunt of workers at Floreal Knitwear Ltd. Interview Mauritius May 20
1996.
5. Galli, R. Chairman and Owner of Nanni Filati SrI. Interview Prato Italy October 28 1998.

6. Gardener, W. Waste Reduction Officer The London Borough of Enfield. Interview London

December 5 1998.

Appendix 2

The Burton Group Factory Evaluation Report

Appendix 3

Multi FibreArrangementDetails

Appendix 4

Burton Group Sourcing Policy

Appendix 5

Incinnerator Emission Details

Appendix 6

Earth Summit Details

 167

Appendix 7

Diagrams A and B

Appendix 8

TNO Project Proposal

Appendix 9

Kerb Side Textile Collection Flyer

Appendix 10

Fibre Yarn Fabric

 APPENDIX1
TNO INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY

Interview with Anton LUIKEN

Centre for Textile Research
October14'h1998,Enschede,
Holland

J. Pleaseexplain a little aboutthe textile sorting equipmentyou are trying to develop.

L. We are looking at the chemical and composition of a material. There are scientific
differencesbetweenpolyester,cotton and wool. You can also make the distinction between
severalmixtures such as cotton/polyester,in 50/50 blends or 65/35 polycotton. The most
frequently usedblends are wool, wool and polyesterblends, which you can separateby
manmaderecognition.

The laser systemevaporatesa small piece of material and the fumes arc analysedwhich is all
old technology.

J. What feedbackhaveyou had from the Industry about such a machine?

L. They are sceptical,but that is typical of the textile industry in general. When you talk to the
rag merchants involved in exporting garments out of the EU they are involved in a lucrative
trade at presentand their answeris "Why bother?" But we would like to make the textile
chain more sustainedby adding such a product.

J. In my researchI have met with negativity at every stageof the wool processfrom farming to
the point of sale the production chain has no responsibility after the point of sale.

L. Yes! The producersgeneratethe volumes and that is why we at TNO which is a large
organisation in focusing its efforts on this work We can't changethe amount people buy.
We don't intend to influence that but we want to make more use of the intrinsic value of the
fibres, and materials, which are producedin one way or another irrespectiveof the typesof
fibre. In natural fibres in fact all fibres have a certain impact on our way of living, on the
Polyester manufacturers have developed somerecycling procedures like
ecology of an area.
is
ECOLOR and QUORN but it a small part and relatively easypart to process. But you have
to go further.

in for
Wool processinghas been approbation centuries;cotton processing has been done for
centuries because when you went to East Germany 10 years ago you had the ZERO system
where was an offenceto throw away any textile which could and was re-used. was a
it It
great system,which can be applied now. But we can replacepart of this systemof separating
fibres by the useof technology. We now have the technologyto separateneatly undamaged
fibres becauseevenwhen you have trousersfor instanceonly parts of the trouserswill be worn
at the lines for but parts of the trousers contain fibres of the highest quality.
example, will

J. There is also a questionabout producing garmentswith a tremendouslongevity even though

be in 12 3 in discarded. Surely
they may unfashionable months, worn 2 or times a seasonand
there is a question about the sub-stratedurability of a fashion item. If you look at the paper
industry then a percentageof the product must contain a re-cycled/re-usedclement, in certain
lines.

L. I think that ultimately it is the quality of the material that counts, not whether it has 80% or
50% virgin fibres. That is why the successof the 100%virgin qualities i. e. 100 pure new
wool has been sustained. Some textiles which have a part recycled content do not have the
intrinsic quality you like. In may opinion when you talk about textile recycling you must
make it as good as new. In fact there is no difference betweenthe two.

I
J. Therecanbe a differencein paperproducts,for exampleprinting on recycled
papercanbelessefficientthanon a virgin product.

L. Yes, that is true but 10/15years ago all thoserecycledpaperswere grey and brown. Now
after sustainedR+D thoseproductsvisually are indistinguishable. They have all the
characteristicsof virgin paper; i. e. they are white, etc.

Here at TNO we are working on suchproblems. For instancewe have a large de-inking
facility, how can we removeinks from such paper. Now there a number of Dutch paper mills
working solely on recycledpaper products, no virgin fibres whatsoever.

In textiles we are lagging behind 15-20years in our thinking. It is so important now that the
whole chain is working together so that there is good end product including design. I don't
have the view that it is possibleto use recycledfibres everywhereor to make surethat all
fabrics are made cut of recycledmaterial.

J. Why should we, in a way, becausea shirt is washedonce or twice a week at the end of its 5-
year life it has servedits purpose- as had the upholstery in car estimatedto havean average
lifespan of 15 years,earning itself the right to go to the incinerator or to landfill - but a
sweateryou wear a few times and throw away should have other things madeout of it?

L. Yes, it is important to look for the right applications, which have good design, and be
attractive. The governing of the whole textile chain is determinedby the last step,the life of
the fibre survivesbut the articles may not. You have to make the sameprofits as you would
with virgin material. In my view you could make higher profits probably.

J. Who are the playershelping to develop suchproducts?

L. On the Dutch side we are concentratingon the fireside but will incorporate spinning and
wearing and finishing. Also the clothing industry will be involved. Partly becausethey
would like to get rid of their industrial wasteat this moment but also here industry is
interested,always looking for new opportunities. The don't seewhat the opportunitiesare at
the moment but they don't want to miss them either. That is why we are able to make very
large projects including technological projects at this moment. We would like to make a
range of end products in this Dutch National Project ranging from non wovens,wovens,yarns
and knitwear and now that we are attachedto a "school" we can constantly make productsto
show what can be done. We have gatheredmany samplesfrom Evergreenand the end
productswere quite good although they were not that technologically sound. But it showsyou
that the yarn consumerdoesn't know what the possibilities are. We even don't know
ourselves.

J. Part of the problem with Evergreenwas productswere developedwithout an end consumerin

mind. Items were madewith the promise that someonewould buy it.

L. Herethe consumers will be the school. Theywill often testor designthe productmade from
recycled fibresandwill get instantfeedback. But the
were chainusually falls downis with
the retailer.

J. Yes, that is why I think it is important to focus on one product or one small area and try to
developthe perfect product, rather that product a wide range of items.

L. First you should look at what can be managed,to join all those separatesteps? What type of
yarns can we make? What kind of numbersis achievable? Look for a line of products,which
 canbe madeout of suchyarns,i.e.jackets?Theymustnot look like secondhandor recycled.
Theyhaveto beasgoodasnew.

J. One of the drawbacksin the quality of recycledyarn is knitwear becauseit breaks. But if you
look at the technologyof integral knitting from the hosiery area, there is no stressand strain
on the yam in knitting. So the correct machine must be also in the equation.

L. In our project we have spinner who's using drew technology,which is very suitable for
recycling short fibres. They are a small firm, Atofil, with 2 or 4 spinning techniques
to
operating make specialityyarns. We also have material, machine cut but when you have
cutting you damagethe longer fibres. You have to go to tearing and shredding becausethe
weakestpoints break first retaining the longer fibres.

J. But in the tearing there is lots of damagetoo?

L. Yes, but I'm looking at ways to limit this damageand re-makethe yarn into fibres on a good
scale. There are number of studiesby Italian machine builders which show that if you
control the tearing you can minimise the damage. In Germany,in Aachen they are working
with tearing, taking out the yams first then reducing the yarns to fibres, then by wind-shifting
you can sort out the fibre lengths.

J. Parkinson wants to work on the project somehow.

Do you know the Prato organisation and the collection system?

L. A colleagueof mine,Mr. De HootDelft, hasbeenin Pratorecentlyandhasvisitedvarious

people.Phonehim for details.

J. I needto go there finally for the BSI project. The BSI are willing to test a product which is
part recycledand accredit it. At the moment there are so many confusing cablesbut they
recognisethe BSI logo - which could be accreditedto a product and be recycledinspite of
itself. The product would be an opening price piece of knitwear for example which would
carry the mark. This be
would subliminal labelling rather than a major selling point. In the
UK peoplecan be alienatedby the idea of a product being second-hand.

L. Here in Holland and Germanyalso there is a re-cycling culture. Peoplehate to throw away
things, but they want to buy new items so we have a problem. To solve this there is likely
trade in second-handclothes especiallychildren's cloths, which have never worn out.

J. In the UK clothing is given to the charity shopsor thrown away.

L. Having said that though there is still a lot of material thrown away. The averagefibre
consumption in Western Europe is between 15 to 20 kilos per year. I have heard even higher
numbers in Germany but an average per person on a Global is 7 kilos. We are talking about
-
huge amountsof potential material - even if you could make one product like String out of
gemsyou would instantly reducethe mountain.

But we needto seethe whole picture and possibleproducts for recycledmaterial. Here in
Holland peopleare preparedto sort their refuse into green brown and grey bins. They are
consciousof the consumerproblem.

J. how have the population becomeconsciousof a needto recycle? Do you have information
packages?

L. Yes, sometimesthe Governmenthave advertising campaigns. There arc programmesin

schoolsand local authorities are active in giving information. Also it is made easyfor people
 to sorttheir rubbishto recycle;thereis no trouble.

J. In the UK it has beenmentionedthat there may be a levy introduced to householdsper sack of

rubbish taken away. Do you have sucha systemhere?

L. This is beingintroducedin Hollandalso,but whatwill happenis that peoplewill drive to the

nexttown anddumptheir sacksthereor on the highway. This won't helpus -everyoneis
payingthe sameamountto getrid of thewasteno matterhowmuchtheyhave.

J. Do you have any systemto pay people for the materials they had in to be recycled?

L. We do have that systemon returnedplastic bottles. There is a levy on eachbottle: when it is

returnedyou get reimbursed-1 guilder. The fillers are all part of the loop. They collect,
clean, refill and deliver to the shops. In Holland the bottle recycling systemis very good
indeed. The bottles go round and round again. Beer bottles have a levy of 50 cents. Cans are
free and are thrown away but always removedfor recycling along with
other metalsat the
depots. We don't have a levy on clothing but there should be something
per item and some
discussion.

J. How do you thing that would work though?

L. The main problem is gathering. Were to you bring it back, in

what kind of form? Should you
bring it back to the retailer? Shouldyou bring it back to the
producer? There are problems
becausegoodsare coming from all over the world but back to the be
- point of sale would
ideal. Otherwise it is separatecollecting bins from each householdlike
paper and glass,etc.
J. Earlier this year there was chaosin Europe amongst textile
merchantsbecausethe EU were
considering labelling textile exports (used goods)as wasteand what then would happento
their businessesand to the mountain of waste? But that decision was reversed.

L. Yes but in my opinion that legislation will come and it will come soon especiallyif the
-
technologyexists to make good recycling productsout of it is available. At this moment there
is not the facility to usethe amount of textile wasteavailable. That is why it is more
interesting to try to find ways of using this textile wasteand re-usedfibres. The technologyis
coming available as it is for carpet materials. You probably heard of the project DSM in the
Southernpart of Holland. They are recycling carpet materials in order to recoverthe `nylon
6'. It is de-polymerisedand recovered. The project is looking good and they are building
such a factory in the USA in partnership with `Alan Signal' and DSM to recovercarpet waste
in the US.

J. How do theygatherthe material?

L. They are working together with the main wastetransportersto recoverthe material. At the
moment they arejust using office and industrial carpet wastewith massivevolume. It is
proven to be commercially attractive to recoverthe material. The residueis incinerated to
produce `chary' which is addedto the cementprocessto improve the colour of the cement. It
is a very reasonableuse.

With all materials we should be looking at using the fibres once or twice before burning. The
Governmenthere is also intervening insisting that the way carpetsarc manufacturedshould
change,for example introducing a strippable carpet method which will enable the fibres and
backing to be separatedwith a dissolvableadhesiveor'hotmelt' which may be the future.

J. Would you seerecycledproductslyarnsused in floor coverings, carpetsand suck like?

L. Well, carpetyarns are very thick and it may be that recycledfibres are not good enoughfor

IV
 I
thepurpose. would look at bedding for
materials instance,
trousers,shirtsandnon-wovcns.
For shortfibres the
maybe paper industrysuch as banquettes
which need quality fibresto
the
make paper. Maybe all should
synthetics be as
re-processed in the casewith polyesters
and suchasareplasticsandrubbersarerecycled.

You don't haveto alwayslook to seeif it canbe re-usedin a textilecase,but perhapsin a

non-textilewayalso. Of coursethere will be a largepart of the textile materialrecovered
do
whichyou can nothingwith and that be
will used for incineration.

This is why separationis so important. We don't like to separateon colour but we can
in
separate colours mechanically but it is more difficult. We needto make the separationon
chemical composition (dyes). We are also looking at de-coloration when some type of dyes
can be de-coloured quite easily to leave white materials, which are more useful. But colours
be
can changed for instance if you have greys and browns you can make them black - but part,
not all, of the recoveredmaterials we would like to de-colour. Probablyyou can de-colours
(de-coloration is in handbooks but the is
and disinfect at the sametime all the textile problem
producing it on a large scale).

When you produceyour yarns keep it in place in the steamerfor a period of time to disinfect.
Or keep them in carbon dioxide then your microfills will dye if they are present. You could
have the processat the autoclavestageif not earlier.

J. At the moment the merchantshave a good living disposing of wasteas they arc. What do you
think would make them re-think their methods?

L. Probablyonly legislation.

J. Do you havelinks with your Governmentto give theminformation?

L. Yes, we do. We have official lines of communicationsto take with the Ministry of the
Environment, which is very important for us. The Governmentalso contributesor sponsors
is
part of our researchon eachproject, which separate from any EU funding. The National
Dutch Project is funded by the Ministry of Economical Affairs combinedwith the Ministry of
the Environment. I inform Government is in the textile industry in
the of what taking place
this country.

There is no doubt that when there is a good recycling method the exportation of clothing will
be over in a matter of short years. Then I can seethat the post-consumertextiles will come
through the charities only and the other sorting/merchantareaswill die out.

V
BURTON MENSWEAR.
Interview with CatheyMILLER
Senior Technologist
June 20th,1996

Q. Whatis yourjob title androle?

A. I am a Technical ServicesManager. I am responsiblefor the quality of merchandiseand

sourcing base from initial design/conceptinto work, through to quality of deliveries into the
warehouseand distribution centre and any feedbackfrom storeson quality of merchandise
issues. My responsibility is for overall quality, rather than just quality of manufacturewhich
was the historical role.

Q. Responsibilityfor overall quality, that's all issuessurrounding the manufactureof the garment?

A Yes.

Q. Including social issues?

A Yes. The Burton Group has a sourcing policy laying out guidelines, i. e. no child labour, etc. It
is my responsibility as part of the factory evaluation procedureto make sure that our suppliers
adhere to the guideline conditions. The guidelines feature in our suppliers' handbook. I make
a photographic record of the factories I to
visit remind me just what they looked like, as I have
beento so many.

Q. How did you cometo be in thisjob?

A. I've always been interestedin clothing. At school, my O+A levels were clothing/textile related
I did a diploma courseat Hollins (part of ManchesterPolytechnic) in clothing and footwear. It
a
was very broad technical/industrial course including marketing, business studies,statistics,
garment cutting, running a factory. In I
my year out worked for William Baird who
manufactured for Burberry and Pringle and Sussmans shirts in Essex. It was a deliberate
choice, which made me realise that I loved factories especially well run, organised ones.
However (ambitiously perhaps)I realisedthat there was only so for I could go being
predominantly male dominated and that in retailing I had a better chance. I decided against
Buying and took a position as an allocater with Burton to decide what I wanted to do - that was
in 1989. Although the job was awfully boring it gave me insight into how merchandising
the support of design I
worked and buying. Buying at that time was very creativeand without
felt I wouldn't be happy and possibly couldn't do it.
Quality control wasjust starting to gain in importance then and I decidedthat would be a good
compromisecombining office and factory garments. I became the first quality/garment
technologistat Topman and helped to set up the apportion there. After 2 years I became Senior
Technologist and ran a team acrossTopman and Top Shops until March 1995 when I joined
Burton Menswear.

Q. When you joined this division you took on existing suppliers. How did you decide if you should
continue with them or that you should look for others to build new relationships?

A. Yes, we already had relationships with suppliers. I reassessed the quality of garments,which
the manufacturer delivered to us monitoring what was going on hold. I worked with the buyers
looking at on-time deliveries, correct sizing, had the manufacturerfollowed the specification on
quality. On top of that I visited the factories. That analysis showedwhich supplier was worth
continuing with and which was not. For example, if you take deliveries which were constantly
a problem, poor quality, mismeasured differences, etc., and you visit the factories invariably, I

i
 foundtheywerechaotic,thedidn't knowwhattheyweredoing. Therewasno controlandthey
wereinefficient. That meanstheir mistakeswerecostingus moneyand that their costprices
for successful
garmentswerecostingus money- otherwisetheywouldn't makeanyprofit.

Also the Groups decisionto reducethe supplier basemade it easierto focus on the suppliers
who were using the best factories for best product. For instance,Floreal's businesswould come
from our buyer; Florcal would then decidewhich factory to make the garments. It would be
their responsibility to get the product right.

Q. Whatpromptedthe Groupto reducethe supplierbase?

A. Economyof scale.

Q. Meaning what?

A. Meaning that if you place a lot of businesswith one supplier, you arc important to them. Their
factory is full or your product and they in theory tune in to your way of thinking. Things
becomestreamlinedand more efficient and then the cost prices should be driven down.

Q. Would you saythis was more than just an economicrelationship?

A. Yes, it is much more than economic. If you are managing five suppliers rather than twenty-
five, you can give thosefive suppliers more time and effort to building the working
relationship. Communication is much better. Quality of information is much better becauseit
is concentratedon certain people and your relationship and trust grows with them. I would
think that the key supplierswe have now are the best of the original bunch.

Q. Do you travel for supplies

the
world searching and vetting them?

A. Yes,from theNorth of Englandto Bangladesh.

Q. What do you find when visiting a place like Bangladesh?

A. Bangladeshis quite a lot like India and I find it fascinating, purely becauseBangladeshand
India are so different. The people'sconceptsof right and wrong are so different that from a
personalpoint of view it is a leaning curve, culturally. I'm not keen on the open sewers. I don't
like walking into buildings which have no light and you can't secwhere you are walking and
the smell takesa while to get usedto. I never feel unsafeor threatenedbecauseyou arc
chaperonedwhereveryou are. The fantastic poverty doesn't disturb tue, becauseit is a poor
country and I expect there to be poverty there.

Q. What do you know about the production of fibres, for instancewool? Do you make sure that
you know how it is grown, produced,dyed? Are you awareof the environmental issuesrelating
to production?

A. Less so than I should be is the answerto that. As a business,we arc looking to have product
manufacturedand put together correctly with colours, which won't run, and fabrics that don't
shrink. This is the secondstageof the "Grand Plan" if you like that is to get control further
back up the chain of production. The aim is to get in contact with the mills, dyers and
spinners. The mills that I have been to have been largely formalwcar mainly in Portugal for
weaving and spinning. In terms of wool I don't know anything aboutproduction for instance
effluent output. I did however,when I went to Madagascar,I looked at how they were getting
in
rid of waste,particularly sucha poor country. was I quite interestedin where it goesand
how it is treated. In Madagascarthey were cleaning the effluent first before disposal. Now,
sincethen, I have tried to get more into, trying to checkout the chain but it is difficult because
at presentit is not part of my job description.
Q. So,it is not in your presentjob description?

A. No, my job description is largely what I make it at present. It should be but I didn't have
enoughtime at Fernley Spinning in Mauritius for instancebecauseit was quick. In fact we
have only just startedchecking out factoriesproperly now. Since April last year (93) we have
come up with a factory evaluation across the group with a system of grading. That has been the
first phase. The secondphasein getting to the dyehousesand making sure that they know what
they are doing and are ecologically sound. The third stageis the mill, but it is a long
programmeof development. You comeacrossquite a lot of resistancefrom suppliersand
factoriesthat have their friends and historical links to other suppliersinvolving yarn or fabric.
It is a sort of Mafia, which is difficult to crack. I approachit along the lines that we arc trying
to help theistget it better and we will cone with them to their friends and suppliersto talk
about theseissuesdirectly.

Q. Further back in that supply chain is the hidden end of the fashion businesswhere the public arc
perhapslessclear about how the chain of supply works. Why do you think that it hasbeen less
Important to know about start of pipe issuesas a business?

A. I think it is a historical and parochial businesswhere traditionally buyersarc courtedby

supplierswith "here is the garment, this is what I can do for you". The buyer would changethe
colour and lay down the order. They have never askedwho's dyeing it, which's knitting it. It
has always beenthe supplier saying, "I can give you this". The chain has always beenlong
with the buyer at one end and the supplier who is also an agent working through another agent
through 2 or 3 factories. The factories may have 2 spinning mills and other dychouscsthat they
will use: it has all beenquite convolutedand it is only now that we are clamping down on the
number of suppliersthat we can'weed out' further up the chain. Now there are lessagents
around, less middlemen and retailers can go directly to key suppliers and factories. Now we
can have those conversationswith factories about environmental and social issues,which were
impossiblebeforebecauseof the complexity and parochial nature of the system,which had an
attitude of "I don't really want to know... ",

A. As far asdyehouses
andfinishing go,what arethebestandworstyouhaveseen?

Q. The best one of the limited few I have seenwas Brookside Dyers and Finishers in Ilinchcliffe.
Worst in India with someonewith a big old drum and the dyesand chemicalsin plastic buckets
and a big scoopto ladle out the dyesinto old-fashionedscales.

ý. Is that recently?

A. Yes,about1 is -2 yearsago.

Q. It doesn'tsurpriseme,becausein India therearerecordof knitwearproductionfor examplein

volume. But thereis no recordof whereit is madeor by whomon what machinery.French
Connection,Next andnowBenettonareall manufacturingout of India despitetheproblem.

A Yes,India asa countryhascut of potentialbut you haveto guidethem. You haveto

understand their cultureto enableyou to getwhatyouwant.

Q. It is a massivehomemarketalso.

A. My knowledgeand experienceof technology has always beenfactory and manufacturing based

rather than chemical dye based. I have help from expertsin that area like Gay (now
technologistat Next) for that information.

Q. Have you ever seenchildren working In factories?

ýtl
A. Yes,in India, theyalwayssay"Oh, the childrenaretooyoungto go to school;theyarcjust
sitting with their mothers- theyarenot working".

Q. Whatis the minimumagetheBurtonGrouprequireof factoryworkers?

A. The minimum age we require is the minimum age in that country. China hasvery stringent
laws about children and how many years they are expectedto attend school. I have never seen
in factory in China Places like India and Bangladesh, it is much harder to
children any at all.
control because they don't have birth certificates and you don't really know how old these
peopleare and as a culture they look quite young anyway. wentI into a factory in Bangladesh.
I askedfor her personnelreports to check her age. And that factory tries its hardestto meetage
by
requirements using birth certificates, etc. This I
girl who suspected of being under age was
in fact approximately 30 years old. You never really know. Someof the countrieswe are
dealing with have a school leaving age of less than fifteen.

Q. In Mauritius for examplethey have a labour problem and have to bring workers in from China.
Do you know how that works?

A. Yes, they come in on a two-year contract and they are generally single women from the North
of China. Because of poverty the Northern Chinese is
region much poorer than the South so
workers either migrate south or abroadto earn money to send home are. They comeover and
are provided with accommodationwith two or three meals a day by the company that is
employing them. So, for instance, a company like South Ocean Novel in Mauritius, they have
accommodation blocks on the factory site. Floreal also have Chinese workers also. They are
if
strict with the workers and they want to many a local their contract is terminated. If they fall
pregnant they are sent home.

Q. Are they allowed to go home?

A. In terms of Mauritius they are allowed one trip home within the 2-year period.

Q. Are they your or old workers?

A. Becausesingle peopleare preferred they tend to be young - 25-30 mark - someof the men arc
older and sendmoney home. They earn quite a lot relatively.

Q. I think it is less than the Mauritius workers.

A. the Mauritian salariesarcquirehigh.

Yes,I am sureit is, because

Q. If you think about Floreal in particular and the fact that they have had to look offshore for
manufacturing evenventuring into the East coastof Africa and India to get cheaper product
becausethey are constantly squeezedby retailers, how do you think your relationship will
developin the future.

A. What do you mean?

Q. if
Well, theycan'tmaintainthepricesto you,whatwouldyou do? Wouldyou drop themand
find anothersupplieror supportthem? Becausein a way,the BurtonGroupis pushingthe
situationandit couldbearguedto an inevitablescenario.

A. The prices are governedby what peoplewill pay in the High Street. Yes, eventually if Floreal
becomenot cost effective as part of the strategy they would be given a fairly long period of time
to get their costs down because we are not the partnership ethic. We do want to work with
people for a long period of time rather than just switching and we would give them about a year

iJ
 to help up new units. But
to becomecost effective and we would give them sameproduction set
have to make a profit to keep operating and the prices arc driven by what the
ultimately we
High Streetconsumerwill pay the in UK. Where if you look at places like France and other
Europeancountries the cost of living is much higher and peopleare prepared to spendmuch
more moneyon their clothes. Even some American retailers can pay their manufacturers more
than we can for us to maintain a profit margin.

Q. Theprofit marginis quitehigh in this business.Is it not relatively?

Yes, the intake margins are around GOish lower than someIligh Street
A. percent and are much
retailers.

Q. I just wonder weatheryou feel is

there a moral question here, if you arc constantly driving
down costsfor a companylike Floreal.

A. Well, it may be that eventually Floreal may keep spinning on but will becomean office that will
factories Pacific Rim if think it, that is exactly how
control satellite within the which, you about
UK manufacturing has gone.

Q. I supposethat makessense. If they startedfactories in Africa you would get thosetoo?

A. Well, if you take the Floreal Group in Madagascar,I have beenworking with them on
leisurewearhelping them to get the factory set up properly so that we can give them work.

Q. Do you stipulate conditions, for instancelength of working day? Would that be in your
supplier's handbook?

A. No, it is not. If a country had a horrendousworking day expecting the workers to work a 14 or
15 hour day, then I would go to managementto suggestthat we talked to them about re-
structuring their working day. In terms of operating 24 hours, I don't have a problem with that,
provided the shift length is reasonable.Floreal knitting in Mauritius on the stall machines
hours day. I ho long the days arc, how long for breaks,
operateall of the generally ask working
how many daysa week they work and how many holidays. If they seemreally excessivein
to
relation what the rest of the is I
country offering, would raise and discuss the subject. But
because in China havejust 3 days they don't
you have to relate to the country they off a month,
have weekends- that is how the whole country operate. So it becomesa moral question really:
are we within our rights imposing our Western values and working practices on them? I have a
conflict in doing that.

Q. In your role too, you have to ensurethat you don't becomedc-sensitiscdas you have to qualify
and prove that what you do is correct. Do you think that retailers should take more
responsibility for their manufacturers?For instance,historically the businesswas vertical with
retailers owing the chain. Now the risk has beenremovedfrom the retailers with a gentleman's
agreementwith suppliers. On the face of it 12 months trading to put things right at the factory
soundslong time but it isn't. Do you think there will be a return to more of a vertical structure
eventually, for instancethe way Gap appearsgiving back and owning the spinner?

AI seethe developmentas being vertical but it is a vertical partnership rather than a vertical
ownership - so we would be driving it right the way back to wanting to know where the fibre is
from and who is spinning to ensurethat people are taking responsibility right back through the
chain. I don't seeus being a manufacturing companybut I definitely seeit being vertical in the
partnership sense. I think it is a long way off for us as a group but it is the way we are going.

Q. At the momentyou have a risk-free operation?

A. Yes, the supplier is responsible. We do as much as we can do at this end but it is up to the

J
 supplierto alter their waysof working. It is thementalitytrying to be far sitedenoughto sec
be
whatwill needed in the next fine yearsandgettingover the fear of the unknown.

Q. Thankyou.

VI
L. M. BARRY TEXTILES
Interview with Mr. LawrenceBarry
Docklands, London.
June 1996

J. beengoingandhowdid it start?
How long hasthebusiness

L. It startedwith my father the forces in '47, had jobs

several selling lorries to
who, cameout of
lorries to Tom More. Realising this man was buying a dozenat a
various companiesand sold
time made my father think that More's businesswas a very lucrative one.

More offered my father a job. He startedon the bailing press,which is really hard work. He
day he bought Tom More out in
startedat the bottom and worked his way up at the end of the
1975. I startedworking for my father in 1976. I thought this looks goodjust as he did, no
dinner (I in fabulous life. My father thought `you
more suits worked casinos),wonderful and
be
must mad to join I
me'. said `no, this was much better' he
and put me on the bailing press
(laughs).

What a hard graft. Now then our businesswas a lot harder then than it is now. We didn't do
second-handclothing to the African markets as we do now. The businesswas build supplying
secondary fibres. You had to learn about all the grades of fibres, wool, cashmere,cotton, polly-
cotton we sortedfor secondaryfibres and industrial wipes.

Then we had 15-16 drivers 5

and others, and we usedto do 15-16 tons every week, all for
about
recycling.

J. fibreswhatdo you mean?

So,whenyou saysecondary

L. Going round a secondtime! Primary fibres are raw wool. Secondaryfibres arc reclaimedfrom
garments.

J. to thesefibresin '75?
Whathappened

L. It waspulled,carded,garnetedandre-madeinto wool again.

The death knell for the secondaryfibre industry was the Wool Mark. Until then companies like
Burtons, their industry was madeon the overcoat the in `50s `60s. The anorak did not
and
exist. Everyone to
went work for a few years to buy themselves a lovely raglan or crombic and
it was an expensivething. He would have his he
blue-dyesuit, which probably got for his 21"
in it. Go to a christening in it and get buried in it (laughs).
and would get married

That Industrywasmadefrom thesegarmentsand mostof thewoolusedin thosegarments

came from this industry. That's also how they couldproduce suchvolumes of material so
to in the high street. You couldn't afford in thosedaysto have a tailor make
competitively sell
a suit from pure,newwool - it had to be from recycled fibres.

Now you buy a suit from Burton and it is madefrom a variety of mixed fibres making it even
cheaperthan in thosedaysusing recycledwool.

J. What happenedto cotton?

L. Cotton went for a predominantly industrial wipes. Kimberly Clarks and other supplying
packageswipes for the Industry went in such force then. In the `60s we supplied all of those
fabrics. Industrial cotton wipes were far superior than paper which is mostly used today. If

4
I
 therewasan oil spill thenit wascheaperto mopit up than repairthe machine.

Many yearsago we usedto make a gradecalled fines' made from white cotton which was used
to make a grade of top quality cotton. We still do a job similar to your old fines. Ever looked
through a pair of industrial gloves? The white cotton fibre inside is attachedto the rubber. We
still senda lot of white cotton to a mill in the North who makesthesegloves. Or they can grind
it, use it with a plastic fill like: 2 of sand, 1 of cement,and they use that for the cotton as a
cheapener.

J. What happenedto your synthetics?

L. They would have turned out as a plastic bowl! It is petrochemicalbase,which can be reused.
Nowadayswe sort the multicolour from the self shades. If somethingis 2 or 3 colours it
doesn't matter. What you do with it; it always turns out a grey colour. When they teaseit and
pull it, it always end up an underfelt colour. Now, that would be pulled and sold to companies
making car insulation panels. If you sort the self shadeswe sell them to a companywho if it is
blue they are sorting will make severalshadesof blue, such as turquoise, pastel, blue navy. It's
like a paint chart. The girls will make severalshadesof blue or severalshadesof red. Then
that goesto a mill that pulls it, cards it and spins it right back up and it ends up as a blanket.
The Spanishand Moroccanshave the big mills over there that usea lot of recycledsynthetics.
They buy it rather than buy new. Now, a few years ago Courtauldswere producing the fibre so
cheaply. It really did look as through it would rock that business. We have to cheaperthan the
raw material. Luckily chemical prices have goneup, their prices have gone up and our
industry, becauseof that, is reasonablysound.

I don't think that we could hold onto a businesslike my father's now without the second-hand
clothing. You couldn't live on recycling today. You really couldn't.

J. Haveyou foundthat the Industryhaspeakedandtroughed?

L. Oh yes, 7 yearsfull and 7 yearslean. We have beenon a really good run in recentyearsbut
now we are on a downward trend. The trade has changescompletely. Now the emphasisis on
It
reclaiming. was all recycling myin father's time. Now my father is still involved in the
companyalthough now retired. He advisesus on policy and is very much abreastof the
situation. This business has been very much a family business. The big companies, for
example ICI and others, don't to
want come into this: theyjust don't want to know. It is hands
on knowledge, small markets. We are dealing with an unquantifable product. We dependon
what peoplethrow away and what they donateto the charity shops. We don't make raw
materials.

Now, in dad'stime it wasthe totterwho clearedthe streets.He wasthe mosteffectivewayof

He
recycling. went round in his horse andcart (now it's a transitvan) and he wouldtake
anything that wouldreturn him the to it
effort pick up. If it it
wasragsand would returnto him
£50a ton hewouldpick it up. He'd do it. Sohe wouldtakeanythingthat wasrecyclable.

When it cameabout that he couldn't afford to make a living anymoreas a totter they would go
into a factory or sign on the social.

We had the last working totter with his horseand cart coming to us as last as the mid `70s
(laughs). This guy trained his horse to shit after it had been weighedon the weighbridge
(laughs) to make up the weight. Imagine the weight of 2 bucketsof what's its especiallyif he
was doing wools! It was a lot! (laughs).

Do you rememberRoberof Cambridge? Pocketsfull of wet sand lie also had a water tank on
his lorry so that when took the lorry off and it was unloadedhe would turn on the tap over a
drain and let the water run away to lighten the vehicle (laughs).

11
 Thecouldn'tmakea living in that eraandtheydyedout.

J. Wasyourbusinesson a differentsitethen?

L. Oh, yes,Crickey. We hadveryhumblepremisesuntil recently.Father'syardwasa unique

Huge
pieceof architecture. metalandcorrugatedstructurefreezingin the winter andboiling in
the summer.That wasin Barking,33 thousandsquarefeet.

J. When your father startedwas it a respectablebusinessto be in?

L. No. You seepeople confusethe rag-trade with the scrap-metaltrade where there are
unscrupulouspeoplein business. In the rag-trade we are very hardworking honestpeople. The
scrap-metalbusinessdeals in stolen metals, etc. This is an honesttrade where your word is
your bond. Even if is 20-30 thousand-poundsale. I agreeit, send it anywherein the world,
and I'll be paid for it. It doesn't matter what anyoneelse offers me for those goods. I wouldn't
sell it twice.

J. Do you call yourself a recycler?

L. No, a ragman.

J. Are you touch with the other recyclesin the UK?

L. Yes, I was the founder memberof "Recyclatex". We looked at our industry and realisedthat
the public perceiveus as a Stcptocand Son, not that we employed 125 peopleand 20 lorries
going all over the country.

Peopledonateto the charity shops;they don't know what happensto it then. Only 10-15?Of
thosegoodsare sold over the counter. So we put together Recyclatexwhich would work with
the local authorities and set up recycling banks. We did that first with Richmond council.
That worked very well. I said to a couple of other merchantsif we were to go foreword and we
went to the local authority to, say, clear asbestos,then they'd want to seeaccounts,property
they'd want to make sure you are working as a fair employer, etc., etc.

My father in the old dayswas a voluntary ember of a group who dealt in wastetextiles and we
put together a packageincluding 15 of the most respectedrag merchantsin the country 1%ho
had decentpremiseswho would employ people sensiblywith a sensiblewage structureand
were running a businessas a firm should be run.

We get very small-minded peoplewho are running a businessin a very antiquatedway, no

health and safety,a couple of sonsemployed. They are not very professional.

So we tried to changethe image but we were too successful! We all put in to the group a bond,
which guaranteesfidelity so that if any memberde-faultedon a deal there would be a guarantee
payment to the wronged party. So far we have never had a claim on it in 5 years. Their word
is their bond.

J. Thereareall British companies?

L. Yes.

J. Do you network with anyoneabroad?

L, yes,we havecontactsall overtheworld. If we reliedon British tradewe wouldbebankrupt.

Most of our businessis for export. We do 5 or 6 packedcontainersa week. 60%of our
 is directly and another 10-15% indirectly through bedding manufacturers,
products exported
is As 1 before self shadesto a company in
etc. This predominantly clothing. said we supply
Yorkshire, which then producescolouredfibre, which is then sold to a Moroccan company.

J. Wheredo you export?You mentionedAfrica.

L. We haveour ownplacein Africa. We exportto Togo. Weexportto Hungary,EasternEurope,

Poland,andEastAfrica, CentralAfrica.

J. How do you break into theseexport markets? Do you have an agent?

L. No, they come to England and ask for our reclamationjournal and they contact us. Also, word
gets around. The Chamber of Commerce is also useful for new enquiries. Also, because our
product is good, peoplefind out through the shipping offices worldwide that sentthe goodsand
contactsspring from that route. For instance, there is a guy in Uganda who we do business
with who put a lot of effort into marketing our product. He's loyal an reliable. We could
probably get slightly higher if to
prices we sold others but he made the market for us so we
stayed faithful to him. We know the market price for if
our product and we get a fair return for
our product, that's fine.

J. What happenswhen the product reachesUganda?

L. I've spent a lot of time over there and it works exactly the sameway as it doeshere. Sameas if
in the East End stuff is imported from Greece. It is stored in the warehouseand they sell it
onto individual shopswho market out.it We sell it to our man over there. He's got 3 big
warehouseswho'll take our contingentsand store them there. Then the local market boyswill
come. There'll be one who dealsin shirts. One in shorts, etc.

J. Are the garmentsclean when they get there?

L. Whenyouthrow stuffaway,wheredo you put it? In a textile bank,charityshopsor dustbin?

J. Charityshops.

L. Have you ever beenguilty of taking your clothes off and giving them to a charity shop dirty?

J. No.

L. That's right. They are washed,often ironed when we get them.

Whenyou haveput a few poundson or takenthemoff, whentheclothesare out of fashion or

tired them a holidayand they a bit faded,you fold themup, bag them and
you are of after are
takethemto a charityshop. The women sort through them and they decidewhat they can sell.
The resttheyput into a rag-bagandtheysell to us. We getthat and it comes back here.

What we get from textile banks isn't necessaryso clean - but for us to wash that would put
kill the market at the other end. Also, they can wash dirty stuff for peanutsat
expenseon and
the other end.

J. So,theywouldlaunderit andprepareit for sale.

L. I'll show you and African laundry (gets out photographsand albums).

J. I didn't realisejust how much knowledgewas neededabout all aspectsof fibre and clothing to
run a businesslike this.

6
Iý
L. Well, don't forgetthat beforethe second-hand
clothingpurefibreswasour business.It was
everythingfor us. The sortersareskilled With their eyesshuttheycan tell youwhata
garmentis madeof, whetherthe garmentis a mixtureor it is solid

(I begin to look through the photographs. Brilliant shots of African Villages, chiefs, water and
laundry markets).

J. Thesearewonderfulpictures.Did you takethemyourself?

L. Yes, I have beento Africa many times although not so ollen this year. This is a hot of the
laundry and back in Alai. My wife and I were honouredas village chiefs in a Nigerian village.
It is really outback and primitive. Here we are in traditional Ibo hats. The Ibo tribes consider
themselvesas JewishAfricans. The hats look like sailors' hats, don't they? Apparently the
costumeis derived from the Dutch navy.

J. From thesephotographsyou look like you are treatedlike a VIP in Africa.

L. Yes, although it is all very friendly, a partnership. Chief Oji (in the photograph) and I do a lot
of businesstogetherand also in the past. And yes, if I go to Nigeria there is tremendous
hospitality. I would never go to Africa without calling in to seehim. It would be too
disrespectful. The Chief lives in Togo but his actual village is in the outback in Alai, a sort of
Richard Attenboroughplace. Since the businesscamehe's put in generatorsso there's lighting
in certain parts of the village. Water has come too which is amazing becauseyou arc mud-hut
land!

J. Has that happenedon the back of your businessrelationship?

L. Yes. Althoughit hashappened on thebackof him beinga goodbusinessmantoo. Hewasn't

born with money.But, oh yes,thedevelopment of thevillage is dueto our development.
Actually there should be more photographsbut M+S have some. Channel 4 took someand
BBC2 recently were here about someprogram they are making. We arc very popular!

J. Do you havea companyphilosophyor MissionStatement?There'sa lot of interestandkudos

attachedto this industry,for examplerecyclingandregenerating
- because
of environmental
issues.

L. We think it is quite comical. When father had a disastrousfire we nearly had to call it a day
and I almost worked for someoneelse. Then at the last minute we found premises. We had
spent nearly a year finding somewhereto open up a rag dump. There were little areashere and
there but in generallocal authorities didn't want to know us. You'd seeout in Rainham, scrap
metal yards and breakers yards rubbish dumps. Father's place in Barking was brilliant site but
then no local council wanted us and our business. We were perceivedas being unprofessional
and not seriousabout what we do.

But you've seenthis factory and the way it is run? It changed(council policy) so much so that
Docklands (LDDC) pushedreally hard for us to be here on this site. Yes, they pushedvery, very
hard indeed,becausewe wouldn't be categorisedto come onto a site like this. Everyonebent
over backwards,Recyclesyes, they said. The whole image of our businesshas changed
completely. It is all hip and trendy now. It has beengoing on from time immemorial (laughs
in disbelief). For instance,we've always recycledcars! It is all crap this hype.

If we are not careful we'll go down the sameroute as Germanywhere I've spent sometime.
You are going to pay fortunes to recycle stuff with no market. You can recycle anything. For
instance,the drinks carton with plastic on the outsideand paper on the inner is called Tetra
Pack Squeezedand crushedyou can make paletteswith it. They make all thesewasteproducts

v
 with no real enduse. Payingfor andusing of
masses energyto produceunwantedproducts.
No endmarket.

We were doing it becausethere was an end market that made it pay. It costs the average
German housewife£25 per week in recycling costs. And there are somelovely companies
big money out of recycling. We could have done the same. Because the that be
making .....
will ray it is in vogue and we must be seen to be involved. They arc wrecking the whole
in Europe. They dumping it
recycling trade in Europe. There in so much recycledpaper arc
on the other countries,which is insane, isn't it?

It should (recycling) be hand in hand with market forces. Let me show you an African rubbish
dump here. Now there is recycling where it works. Look anything with any value has gone.
They take everything out of it that they can possibly have.

J. Where do you think the future lies?

L. Our biggest problem at the moment is that we can move foreword, new ventureslike the one in
Africa - but the problem is that the charities have to develop a social conscience. They hold us
to ransoml We put a professionalimage together to show them what we can do and how we
can do it properly employing peopleat the right rates, etc.

A few yearsago the ethnic minorities that were supplying us who didn't know about fibres or
self coloursjust about shipping to Africa though 'hey, we can do this ourselves'. They go
round to the local charity shopsand say we'll give you 'X' for a bag of rags and we were giving
them `Y' and if 'X' is more the charities don't look to sechow thosepeople run their
businesses.It could be child labour. Now that hasput our prices up.

It thinks I'm a fair employer,paying about £4 per hour. We start them on £3. They stay on
that for about 4 weeks. Then build up to over £4 per hour. Comparedto the ethnic minorities
who are paying £1.80 an hour. Recently someonegot `done' employing school kids. The
factory was closedall day and only openedwhen the kids came home. The charities were
supplying him! This was in Birmingham. The major charities have no values. If the guy raid
him. I `look his business in
will give them 20p more they will sell to would say to them at
comparison'.

J. I'm surprisedthat in Charity policy the public I'm sure isn't awareof that.

L. Salvation Army, South Kettering textiles limited. Peoplethink they are donating clothing for
the homeless. There is a countrywide trawl on a the moment - not for the down and outs but
it's not. It's going to a private companyand someoneis getting very rich out of thatI

J. That is fantastic,isn't it?

L. it is really stinking up the name Sally armyl

J. Who do you think this doesn't get into the news?

L. It doesfrom time to time but arc people really interested? The charity shopscan sell their
license door to door collecting old clothes but not on behalf
name under and collectors can go
of the charity.

(COFFEE)

J. Do you have peoplecoming here who try to buy rare items or valuable?

L. We ain't in a businessof trying to make the last dollar. They come down here; they arc a

VI
 cottageindustryasit wereif theycamedownandsortthroughour stuff, takewhattheywant.
Wearequitehappyfor themto do it andthere'ssomeprofit in it for us. Whattheyearnout
thereat the endof the dayat Camdenmarket,etc.,etc. is downto them.

J. How much to pay the charity shops?

L. We pay them by the bag. The averageprice at the moment is £1.60 a bag.

J. And that is for a mixed bag.

L. Yes, howeverit comes. Shoestoo. There's photographsof markets in Africa there where all
the shoeshavebeencompletely rebuilt. Handbagstoo. The look brand new, completely
refurbished.

This is what I say to the charities. I haven't put my prices up for clothing for 3 or 4 years; my
end market is the guy who buys a shirt in Ghana A shirt for a man in England is £30. That's
OK out of an averagesalary. When we senda shirt to Africa it is washedand starchedlocally.
Gone into the market stall, everyonehas had their cut out of it. The guy who is buying it is
costing him a day's wages. He is my ultimate customer. I never forget that. I spenda lot of
time there. I eat in the markets. I never get a bad stomach. When I start selling to a country I
go out there, spendtime there trying to understandthe place and customer. What peoplewear
in Nigeria is totally different from what they were in Togo. What they were in Togo is different
from what they wear in Ghana. For instancewhat they wear in Uganda is anything from the
1950s. The want blue and white striped shirts, won't wear jeans. Yet I can sell that to Nigeria
and they would love it. So you have to spenda lot of time sitting and observing,taking
photographsand understandingwhat they want.

J. Wouldyou everconsideradvertisingbecause
at the momentyou arerelying on your
relationshipwith the Charityshops.

L. We work closely with the charities but unlessthey realise that they arc being a bit greedy,well -
for instanceGreat Ormand Streethavejust sold their name. Peoplenow can go calling on
doors collecting using their name.

If that situationgetsworsewe will do a recyclingprogrammewith the localauthoritiesand

completelyexposeandcut out the charityshops- because theyarejust greedy.

At the moment you donateto the charity shopswho sells it to raise moneyfor its good works.
If they had to pay competitive ratesand wagesto its shoppeoplethey would get slaughtered.
They are so particular. I've offered for them to buy me out for them to becomerag-merchants
and do it properly. Have the ups and the downs the market forcesbut you have to do the job
of
right. Other it I
than that, they sell to us. will employ peopleand cvcrything will be put in
line, not employing volunteer workers, etc. and they should saywe deal with you becausewe
know you do it right and we are not preparedto work with peoplewho take short cuts.

J. Do you deal with key-playersin the charities or do you deal with them locally?

L. Bernardosare very good. We have dealt with them for years and they arc very interested. I
know we run our business. We do a lot with dear old CancerResearch. I'll give you a print out
of the charities we deal with. We have a good relationship with all the charities. The people
we deal with are good people.

It is when you get theseUniversity people in whosebusinessmorals belong in the gutter! They
don't care how they get moneyas long as they get it. I'm afraid they forget what they are there
for.
J. with retailersdisposingof newclothing?
Do you haveconnections

L. (thingsneededsignedmissed )
.....
J. Your driversgo out with an itineraryandcall on the charityshops?

L. The drivers clear every one of thoseshopson the list once a week, the whole lot, about 4000
collections a week. Someday it's market day, it's
someday early closing. You have to take all
that into consideration.

The thing I though of a few years ago was that if you look a Barclaysemployee,etc. what
happensto all their old uniforms? If they releaseit to landfill, they are not seento be green. If
they give it to a charity, it becomesa high security risk. So we got involved with the big
companiesand said we had a serviceand we could disposeof theseuniforms, i. e. British
Telecom, building societies,etc.

Halifax was the latest one to have a changeof clothing. We were given somethinglike 27 tons
of uniforms. So we went through it and said that the trouserswere like any high streettrouser.
Thereforewe would disposeof them outside of the EEC. Someof it would be cut for wipers,
somewe have to shred. We maximise the most to both parties benefit.

British shoescorporation have a fabulous distribution centre over tens of acres. They supply all
shoeshops in the country. Now it is all fully automated Now, if shoes fall off the belt there is
no one to pair them back again.

They make about 7 tonnesof shoesa week which are shoeswhich have lost their destiny, either
being seconds,mismatchedin the box, etc.

The Mirror or the Sun got hold of it, found out that they were shredding them and why went
they giving them to charities or selling them to charities? Sally Army had 26 million in their
bank accountat the last check, without their other investments. They don't buy anything. If
you were to fall over outside one of their buildings they wouldn't let in
you unless you had a
DHS certificate so that they could claim £750 for putting you up for the night. Sally Army is
the biggest hotel chain in the world. No one goesin there free.

We got in touch with British Shoe. We went to secthem first. They went keen. In the past
their stuff had endedup with market traders in the UK undercutting shops. We offered to put
up a bond as a sign of trust. We'd collect the shoesand pair up about 50-60% of them backs
here. We sent out the rubbish and ship them straight to Africa. There's about a dozen guys
pairing them up. The benefit goesto Africa and it doesn't affect the UK market. It has been
going on for a couple of years now.

We are counting M+S at the moment. For instance,the recentManchesterbombsrived

clothing in the store. lithe stuff went to landfill it be
would as rape as the driver at the dump.
If we get the contract to removeit we can guaranteeit won't end upon UK market stalls. It
will be shredded,colour-coded,used as wipes, etc. They can be certain it is safe. We see that
as growing businessin the future. At the moment we are contracting major retailers.

And for Royal Mail to say to the pressthat they have recycled2,700 garmentsit is brownie
points for them. Also they can be seento be helping people in foreign countries with no
security or otherwise risks to them. If it is shreddedit ends upon secondaryfibres.

J. I was reading recently that from Europe has come a directive to reduceby the year 2000 landfill
by 60%. Do you have links with landfill owners?
L. Yes,I work closelywith tow of themandwith localauthorities.I'm a memberof the recycling
forum. We meetanddiscusshowto reducethe landfill burden. If you couldat the moment
takeout all glass,paper,tin, textiles,timber,all thosebulk thingsyou get in rubbishbins,what
would be left with? You are left with all the toxins. It would make a very toxic waste tip
disposingof just that. If you look at Essexalone,we do enoughgraveland ballastextraction
we need landfill to compensate. When the GLC was around it couldn't fill the pits asfast as
theywere dug! We needlandfill and the technology is thereto make those sitessafe. With
landfill we areonly takingonething out andputtinganotherthing back.

In my view the best solution for the future is not just reducing landfill by recycling components
it
of necessarily. It is to reduce the packaging of goods in the first If
place. you go to ©+Q for
the screwsthe packaging weighs more than the screws. If like the old daysyou bought nails in
a brown paper bag you can compost that bag yourself at home if you wanted to. Stop the
rubbish at the start of the chain. They have attacheda problem at the wrong end. We should
reducethe packaging by 50% at its source. At the beginning of the chain.

Yes, I think that view could be taking looking at a lot of products. Less is more, etc.

Interview ends.

lX
INTERVIEW WITH MRS CLELI

Motherof a FlorcalKnitwearworker
Who spokethrough an interpreter in Crcaole
Mauritius May 20'h 1996

Q: Whatis your name?

A: My name is Marie Yvette Cleli.

Q: How old are you?

A: I am 65 years old.

Q: Where is your family from originally?

A: My grandfather camefrom India to Mauritius. I don't know when that was.

Q: Where were you born?

A: Mauritius.

Q: How big is your family?

A: I have 4 brothers and 4 sisters.

Q: Whatdid your fatherdo for employment?

A: He usedto bea supervisorin thefields,thena contractorin the sugarcaneindustry. Whenhe

wasyoungerhe usedto fish for a living.

Q: Whenyou wereyoungdid you havea formal education?

A: Yes,I wentto schooluntil the third year,but I wasthe oldestnextto my ciderbrotherandI had
to leaveschoolto look aftertheotherchildren. I neverlearnedto reador write.

Q: How old were you when you got married?

A: 23.

Q: Howmanychildrendo you have?

A: Six children but one died. Two girls and three boys.

Q: Where did your husbandwork?

A: He wasa carpenterwhenhe wasyoungerthenhe wasa Masonworkingin the building

industry.

Q: Where did your family live, in a village, small town or countryside?

A. In a small village.

Q: Beforeyou weremarried,do you rememberwhat life waslike in Mauritius?

i
A: Peoplewere poor -a lot poorer than now. Peoplenow live quite comfortably.

Q: Did you have electricity?

A: No, it wasall petrollamps.

Q: Did you haverunningwater?

A: No, we got water from the public tap in the square.

Q: When do you rememberthe changescoming, electricity, cars, etc.?

A: I rememberwhen we got electricity in our village in the 1960s.

Q: Where was your village?

A: About 3 miles from the airport Plain Bois.

Q: When Mauritius becameindependentfrom the British in 1968 did you notice changesthen?

A: After independencethe changeswere for the benefit of the people. There was a statepension
for the children (child allowance) and old people.

Q. Is there social security for peoplewho don't work?

A: No, there is no social security. The people who have no employment must work for 4 daysa
week in the community digging the road etc. for the government, then they are paid something.
If you don't work as a domestic,cleaner, etc. you get nothing.

Q: Is there unemployment?

A: Yes, much unemployment. Usually your family supportsyou, and you can get a little amount
for the work you do for the governmentbut it is not enough to live on. If you arc handicapped
you can get a pension. Very old people get a pension. If you arc sick you get nothing.

Q: Do peoplework into their old age?

A: No, they stop when they are 60-65. If you have worked as a labourerctc. You have paid some
money into a fund and you get an old agepension because of their I
contributions. get an old
people's pension even though I was a housewife.

Q: Whatis an averageworkingwagein Mauritiusfor a plantationworkeror textileworker?

A: A labourerworking 5-6 daysa weekwouldearn40 rupeesa daythat'sbetweenharvest.

During harvest he would get a bit more especiallyif he's big and strong; it dependson their
strength how much they If to
get. you go work in the sugar factory you get about 1500 rupees.
It is better than the labourersbut not as good as working the sugar factories.

Q: In the hotels?

A: It is the sameas in theknitwearfactoriesbut theygetbonuseswith food,or maybetheyget

someluxuries. Domestic,cook,porter,it is not ashardasthe knitwearworkersor labourers.

Q: Is it true that most of the employeesin knitwear arc women?

II
A: Yes,manywomenwork to supporttheir men.

Q: Why doyouthink mostemployeesarewomen?

A: Somemen do work in knitwear. They will do it becausethere is no other job, if they have no
qualifications from school. They would rather work in the factory. For instance, the Indian
origin peopleswould traditionally have a small holding, have cows, etc. Now they don't want
to do that. Their women don't want to bring food for the cows. If the men can't getjobs, they
stay at home whilst their wives go to the factories, and they look after the children. The
conditions could be improved.

Q: Are 40-50 rupeesa day enoughto live on?

A: No, the labourersare still really poor.

Q: Do you have a television?

A: Yes, everyonehas a television.

Q: Do you have Europeanand American programs too?

A: Yes, American, English and French.

Q: Do you have soaps?

A: Yes, yes. Dallas, very good!

Q: Whatdo peoplethink abouttheoutsideworld in EuropeandAmerica?

A: They would like to live like that but what can they do about it? It is just like a dream. I think
this is why Mauritians want to cometo America and England where they think they can be
rich.

Q: Is thatwhy old traditionalemploymentlike keepinganimalsis lessimportant?

A: Yes, now we have a big view of the world. We don't want to work like that, very hard.

Q: I notice lots of women in the factories wear Europeandresses.

A: Yes, it is a much freer way to dress,even if they arc Hindu, although they will be traditional
when they are with their parentsand when they get married. They want to have all the
comfortableEuropeanthings. They will get loans to get washing machinesand microwaves,
etc.

Q: Do you always remembera textile industry in Mauritius?

A: No, textiles came in the early 70s. Before that girls learned sewing and embroidery.

Q: Was that to earn money?

A: No, you learnedto sewsothatyou wouldbe a goodwife. There waslittle else.

Q: Now Mauritius is known as a honeymoonand holiday destination, isn't it? Tourism is an

important employer?

A: Yes.

Il i
Q: And I knowknitwearfactoriesin Mauritiusarelookingelsewhereto manufacturemore
cheaply,i.e. Madagascar
and Africa. What do you makeof that?

A: My daughter saysthat the biggestprofits and pay are for the bossesnot for the workers so they
look to another country to get more profit. Now they can take the profits out of the country
(since 1992).

Q: Would you agreeMauritius has changedrapidly in the last 20 years?

A: Yes, the young girls are beginning to complain about the conditions, standing all day, the 'fly'
in the air, etc. It is very busy in June in the factories. They work long days and arc askedto
work on Saturdayslonger than 7:36 - 5: 15.

Q: Have you heard that Mauritius has becomea tax haven for Europeancompanies?

A: No.

Q: This should make Mauritius visible to the International Community and the governmentetc.
should becomemore accountableto its people. This will have benefits for all the people.

A: Oh, that is very good news. Thank you.

Q: Thankyou.

Interviewends.

iv
NANNI FILATI SRL.
Interview with Rolando Galli,
Chairmanand owner of Nanni Filati Sri
October28 1998Prato Italy.
J In the UK amongstthe retailers there is an underlying notion that reprocessed/rccycled fibres is
inferior. Yet at the UK 97 conferencein Bolton, Mr. Luigi Gcstri of Prato presenteda paper
the
which supported useof recycled fibres insisting that they were equal to but different from
virgin fibres and pure wool qualities. Could you comment on that statement?

G We are Woolmark licensedso we producepure new wool items but we also produce
items
reprocessed so I have a completelybalancedposition. I have no `push' one way or
anotherbecauseI happily produceboth.

J but whatwouldthebenefitsto yoube to userecycledproducts:is it a priceissue?

G Actually at the wool price currently that we seetoday, prices are almost comparable. But this is
a very particular moment in the wool industry history for sure. Wool prices have never, never
beenso low since the IWS began. This really is the bottom of the wool price.

Anyway, I completely agreewith Mr. Gestri becausereprocesseddoesn't mean inferior.

Reprocessedmeansdifferent; it is true. Pure new wool is a brand which gives you a particular
point of salebut looking at two items - one producedwith Pure New Wool, the other produced
with reprocessed- you would comparethem and realise that the difference is very, very
minimal.

J What about performance?

G Well, performance,if you producedreprocessedwool which is certificated and you do not

include any kind of wastewhen you produceyarns. If you do it with the name scientific
approachwhen you use reprocessedas when you usevirgin fibres there is no real difference to
performance.

Sure,you can't make100%wool from reprocessed becausethe picking of thegarments

couldn'tbe soeffectiveasto dividepurenewwool itemsfrom blendeditems. Soit is difficult
to produce100%wool item from reprocessedwool.

J Do you blend with other virgin fibres then?

G We have items which are completely reprocessed We have items which arc blendsof
reprocessedand virgin. We have 100%virgin products also.

J Whenyou marketyour reprocessed do

ranges youusethat asa marketingtool or do you ignore
that element?

G No, we don't use it as a marketing tool, but we may in the future. For instance,I am amazedat
the successfulmarketing of PET by the Americans especiallyMaiden Mills with their polyester
fabrics reprocessedpile. So we are thinking about away to usethe reprocessingof wool as a
marketing aid.

J Do you find manufacturesin Italy ready to accepta textile product with a reprocessedcontent?

Manufacturersall over the world would acceptreprocessedfibres but the point which
encouragesthem is price, becausefor sure you have an advantagewith price except for the
unusual situation we are experiencing as I said before with wool. But this is not usually the
case.

I
 Thething that I'd like to point out is that throughouttheworld thereis a tremendousamountof
waste.For instance, yourpullover:the neck becomes broken,
you throw it away. Your
becomesfeted it
and you throw away, because you have not maintained the fabric and
pullover
so on. The if
garmentsget used- you have to waste this item you have to burn it, bury it that in
for
turn makessmokeand poisons the environment. You consume energy. So, it is a
completely wrong point of view to destroytextile waste!

J Do you believe this from a professionalor personalview point?

G From both! It is completely wrong to destroythe textile waste. It should be collected then
reusedin the textile process.

JI have recently returned from the TNO in Holland where there is a project to develop a
mechanicalsorting system. I don't know if you know about their work?

G No.

J So, when that happensthe machine will run night and day cutting the sorting coststo a
minimum, making the raw material even cheaper. I am in part working with them to secthe
textile wastedevelopmentin the future.

G To choosethe different fibres... Mmm... Very interesting!

JI find it interesting that you have an idealistic view point in relation to recycling.

G Yes, I certainly do. One more thing, one of the most polluting sequencesin textile production
is the dyeing. Using reprocessedwool you savea large part of the dyeing process,i. e. using
black for black, red for red, etc. and savesa tremendousamount of pollution and cost.

J Yes, but if you have continuousorder can you guaranteecolour continuity?

G Yes, I can offer 90 colours per card on a stock basis system.

J On what sortof product?

G For pullovers Mens and Womensin our cheapestrange. Actually it is one of the company's
best-sellersbecauseof the quality, handle and performance.

J Whatsortof blendis it?

G 70%wooland30%otherfibres:we can't guaranteewhat percentage

contentarc theother
fibresbut we canguarantee
the wool.

J What are your personalviews on the textile wastesituation wherebycountries like the UK are
exporting textile garment wasteto Third World countries? At presentexport accounts for 65%
of garments.

G You know, it is a very difficult situation. Now we seemassiveamountsof wastewhen 30 years

ago there was one box of waste. Now you have 4 as a minimum such as one for aluminium,
one for glass,one for plastic, one for organic. So I think that we should enforcea
consciousnesson the consumer insulation to waste. For instance, to isolate textile waste into
cotton, wool and blends at the household by label, i. e. 3 bags, if we were each to do that it
would be a `peach' to reprocessall the textile waste.

J Are you a vertical oportion here?

G but
yes,we are we do buy reprocessedwool fibresfor the mostpart. But we do someourselves.
Wereceiveit, sortthe garmentfor colourthenwe cardthe garmentto be processedBut it is
 andmoredifficult to collectthe because
waste, moreand moreis going to the
gettingmore
Third World.

Wefeel two things:firstly a difficult to find the wastewhich is sentto the Third World and
thencomesbackhere.

i It comesbackhere?

G Sure,otherwise where do we find the things to make reprocessed?

J Do you collect in the Third World?

G Oh yes, not us, but our suppliersgo to India, Tunisia, Eastern Europe. So we have difficulty
collecting the product. The Third World is buying the goodsand making the commerceof
their own. On the other hand, we have another problem which is cost of picking, for instanceif
you have a bale of textile wasteyou choose to divide the bale into acrylic, cotton and wool, then
you have to cut away the labels, the nylon tapes zips, etc. Then you have to card the things in
order for them to be worked. This costsan incredible amount of money in Italy because our
labour costsare very, very high.

There are two chancesto overcomethis. First is to increasethe consciousnessof people, letting
them divide the wastein-house. Or on the other hand to teach them Third World company to
make the reprocessed fibres correctly and to savethe money reprocessingin the developed
countries.

You know, people like Marks and Spencerswho produce huge amounts of pure new wool and
high level wool productsand blends, for us it would be a very interesting relationship to acquire
their textile waste,i. e. `return to manufacturers'. It would be a good chancefor instanceif the
Governmentforced Marks and Spencersto take back their used garments. It would be a good
chancefor us to usetheir product.

J We have talked briefly aboutjust that point. Becauseat presentRTM goesfor burning, they
are reluctant to let the RTM products go to merchantsbecause of security, in that merchants
have re-sold thesegarmentsto market-stall holders, etc. for little prices.

G You know, if Marks and Spencerswould consider such a relationship we would be happy to
discussa relationship such as this, e.g. prices of wool waste at £1.00 per kilo. They sendout
for examplethey sendout 20 tonnes,we pay them with insurancethat they will not rc-sell as
in
they are garments. They will be reprocessed and put into the reprocessed pool. On the other
hand they could buy from us 20,40 or 100 tonnesof yarn with their product or force their
suppliesto buy in the composition they like.

1I guessthe ideal scenariowould be for Marks and Spencers to sendyou the CMT and RTM
wastewhich could putbe into a special line of yams to be by
usedagain the manufacturers.
Partly their wastecould be used in a reprocessedline at an entry price point thus closing the
loop. Marks and Spencersbuys the fibre, producesthe garments,the faulty garmentsarc
reprocessedinto quality yarns for a Marks and Spencersline.

G Shouldtheywantto experimenton 5/10tonnesof garmentsandsecwhat we canproduceI

wouldbe morethan interested
to meetwith a for
representative discussions.

Marks an Spencersdeal with seriousproducerslike ourselvesand not merchantsor middle

men.

J What volumes in general doesyour companydeal in?

G We have a turnover of about 2,000,000kilos a year. We make about 5-600 tonnesor

%,
reprocessedso of total production. We exhibit at Pitti Filatia, Filatia in Hong Kong and
 Transformin Mauritius.

J pressureor supportfor your industry?

Do you haveany Government

G You know, Governmentsupport now in Italy is completelyabsenttaking money from Fashion

and Textiles but don't return any. Fashion and Textiles are 2 of the top money producing
businessesin Italy.

J thepeopleto havea recyclingmentality?

Do theyencourage

G No, not at all. The Italians have little consciousnessof the environment and pollution as in
Northern Europe such as Germany,Holland, Austria, etc. France is a little like Italy, we arc
behind.

J Do you havea systemwhereby the householder

couldbepaid for giving you their items?

G No, hereit is collectedby charitiesor the Churchandsoldto merchantsasit is in the UK.

Interview draws to an end and a tour takes place at the plant.

IV
LONDON BOROUGH OF ENFIELD.
Interview with William GARDINER
WasteReduction Officer
December5 1998

J Do you know what tonnageof refuseis collected from the London Borough of Enfield (LEE)?

G Yes, it is 118,496tonnesof householdwaste p.a.

J From how many households?

G 111,760households. It is over one tonne of wasteper householda year.

J Where doesthe wastego?

G 83,000 tonnesof that goesto the incinerator at Edmonton which is the London Waste
.....
That's all the material collected from dustbinsvia the dustcartswhich go directly to the
incinerator. The remaining 36,000 tonnesto our Civic Amenity sites or'tips' and taken for
landfill just becauseof the way London Waste operatesthe system.

J Is it landfillcd in your Borough?

G No, it goesoa variety of places. London Waste Ltd., who operatesthe incinerator, will try to
minimise the cots to themselvesand so the waste may travel as far as Lincolnshire; the waste
currently goesto Bedfordshire. It is very much wherever is the cheapest.

J How is it transportedto landfill?

G It is carried by road in 'bulkers' which arc very, very large vehicles, which no single Council
would have as part of their fleet.

J Do you (LBE) pay for that service?

G The additional cost of landfill over incineration is met by London WasteLtd who balancetheir
costsby dealing with commercial customers. London WasteLtd is a very profitable company
in which 7 Councils have shares- so it is a bit of a contradiction becauseCouncils are trying to
reducewasteon the one hand but they part run the incinerators by which they profit becauseof
the diversification of commercial customers.

J Are these7 Councilsin London?

G Yes, there are 7 constituent Boroughs in North London who have a sharein the incinerator.
They are: Barnet, Camden,Harringay, Hackney, Islington, Waltham and ourselvesEnfield By
the middle of next year all theseBoroughs will be incinerating the majority of their collected
waste, but at the moment Barnet and Harringay send their by
waste rail for landfill to Hendon,
but this is closing.

J There is another big incinerator in South London, Lewisham?

G Yes, South East London, combined heat and power. That is a more modern version than the
Edmonton version, which is less advancetechnologically. I have beento Sclchip, which is very
impressiveand compact. Both incinerators had to meetthe new EC emission standardsof
1996. The directive forced the incinerators to meet thesenew standardsand that is why most
incinerators in the country have closedbecauseif you didn't meet thesestandardsyou closed.

I
 Any additionalresourceswhich London Waste hadlast yearwere usedto meet these new
haveachieved,otherwisewe (LI3E)would be in a total landfilled
emissioncontrolswhich they
situation.

J Why can London Wastenot incinerate everything and a large proportion still go to landfill?

G Becausethere is just too muchof itl We are lookingat a 5% increase

of wastein the nextyear
from the 7 LondonBoroughswhich is very,very worryingasa wastereductionofficer.

J At the incineratorsiteis thereanysifting or sortingof thewastepre-incineration?

G Yes, there is called an F.P.P. or Fuel PreparationPlant material which is bulked up from the
Civic Amenity site, is sortedand someis destinedfor incineration. A variety of wood waste,
etc. are suitable for burning. There is a large cylinder with large holes - waste in one end and
different wastefalls out. However it sits there unused- becauseresourceshave beenusedon
emission improvement. They haven't a
seensorting waste as priority however it is up to the
constituent Boroughs to press London Waste Ltd. to a policy of waste reduction. This sorter
would be ideal as the first part of call in a materials' recycling programme.

J Presumablythey do remove metals?

G No, that is done after the burning process. Steel and iron are removedafter combustion. The
is
ash remaining about 1/3 by weight of the original material for burning. It is obviously a
concentratedresidue from which those metals are extracted by magnets. We (LDE) get a
for is
this metal, which about 2000 tonnes from
proportionate reduction to our recycling rate
Enfield last year.

J Theburningprocesscontributesto energy?

G is
Yes, there energy recoveryat Edmonton from burning the rubbish and the energy is fed back
into the national grid at a subsidisedrate becauseof the current policy of the useof non-fossil
fuel.

J It lookslike it is up to the Councilto inform the residentsaboutthe rubbishtheyarethro'' ing

away,to divide it andrecycle.

G Yes,we do encourage to
people recyclebut thereis a loopholein the law which that
means at
the momentCouncilscannotencourage
wastereduction because of legislation.

J Why is that then?

G in
There was a mistake the original legislation is a waste prevention bill
and there actually
loophole this month and readdress that. Recycling
going through now which should close that
is very much down the wastepipeline and you have to deal with waste reduction first.

J As far asker bsidccollectionsgo, do you think theyarc achievinganything?

G They are definitely achieving something. It is whether that is the bestpractical environmental
option for those waste streams. We have issues in Enficld that we won't support any recycling
isn't self-sustaining. That is one way of ensuring that the recycling doesn't stop and start
which
and the people lose interest. We make sure that it is self-financing. Currently we couldn't do a
kerbside collection becauseof cost. Even very simple collections cost £30 and more combined
material collections £60-80, so it is a considerable cost for the tax payer to pay out on
something which is not proven to be the best option. But for aluminium cans, paper, metals,
paper textiles there is a very clear case for recycling because of energy and the environmental
benefits of thosethings by recycling must out weigh the cost of landfill and burning, we would

1I
 argue. But the and
really groundwork the lifecycieof those hasn't
processes beendoneand
thereforeis subjective.

JI was reading in Germany eachbag of rubbish left for waste disposal has an extra fee (over and
abovetaxes) levied on it. What are your views on this system?

G Wearehamperedagainby legislationin this countrywherebywe cannotchargea feefor

collectionof household
waste. Whatwe can do is requirepeopleto put out wastein a certain
waybut we can'tcharge.

J So, 20 bags coststhe sameper householdas one bag?

G Yes, in other countries they can charge by weighting wasteand anything over and abovea
certain weight has a charge. But in this country we don't have that technology. It is Germany
and Holland. We have talked about rebating people on their Council Tax for recycling more
and that is a route the Council will look at.

J Industrially, recycling has to be beneficial financially. There is no philanthropy involved it

seems;the bottom line is cash.

G That is how householdsview it also. The Council has to look at the 5% waste increasetrill
likely cost Enfield on a tonnagebasis about'/, million additionally and that is when it starts to
bite. And if you look at landfill taxes increasing the cost of transportation will increaseand so
it has to be more and more economicalto recycle.

J Doesthe lack of availabilityof landfill concernyou?

G Well, predictionsarethat UK landfill will run out in 2010.

J As far asterminologygoes,whatis red andgreenwaste?

G That is an Europeanclassification which is related to wastewhich is transportedfrom one

country to another and in particular to countries outside the EuropeanCommunity. Effectively
Greenwastecan be transferredwithout obligations to countries outside the EC. Red wastecan't
be; it is effectively precluded from exportation. There are certain exceptionsto that rule. We
in Enfield export waste; our paper for instance goesto Swedenbecauseof the current stateof
the recycledpaper market in the UK, which is determinedas Greenwaste.

J Is that cost effective? Do you get a paybackon that?

G We do,yes,it is a smallfinancialbenefitfor the Councilof about£2-3per tonnebut

environmentallywe haveto look at this for
carefully the bestenvironmental option. We
the shipswhich takevirgin pulp to this countryfrom Swedenreturn
currentlyjustify it because
to Swedenwith wastepaper. But to be honestit wouldbebetterto import lessvirgin pulp and
usemorerecycledpaper,perhapsin newspaper for example.

J Yes, interestingly that was the argument the Victorians had when they brought wool from
Australia. The ships returned there with convicts.

G Yes, nothing has changedin the last few hundred years (laughs). The Council has a policy that
the only way we can currently collect wastepaper at all for recycling would be through that
route.

J You don't then clarify your own wastewithin the Council in those tcnns?

G No, in GreatBritain thereareothercategoriesof waste,i.e. householdw%-aste,

municipalwaste

III
 is
(householdwaste a proportionof that) and that is trade and commercial waste. 'T'henyou
hazardouswaste including medical waste, oil, batteries,
asbestos, etc. We
moveontospecialor
collectthoseat our recyclingcentresand aretreated in a differentway. Clinical waste,needles,
swabsalso.

J I'm surprisedthat you don'tcategorise of it.

thewasteyourselveslookingat the components

G There is a descriptive clementthere becausehouseholdwastecan contain batteriesand clinical

Those things form a large component of household waste. But because we have at
waste,etc.
the moment legislation, which meanswe can't charge for collection, all of that waste is
effectively treatedas a single category. Obviously within that somewaste should have special
treatment, particularly if its destination is landfill. It is really only when you are transporting
wastebetweencountries that the other terms apply.

J It would help if wastewas categorised,particularly with regard to recycling and sustainability.

G Yes, the EuropeanCommunity is looking at introducing a new directive in relation to landfill,

including hazardouswaste. This waste will be defined.

J Looking at the areaof textile wasteand textile merchantsand the Council's relationship with
them via textile banks, what is the benefit of the Council?

G The benefit to us? Well, we have contactswith a variety of people including the textile sector
for textile banks and collection. The benefit to the Council in that of finance: the current
standing order I work to is that I must look for the best financial arrangementavailable unless
there is a good reasonnot to, e.g. if the contractors are questionable,otherwise I have to check
it and I choosethe one with the best financial return for the Council in relation to recycling.

J And you getrid of yourwaste?

G Yes, and we make a saving in terms of disposal costsso there is a value for the wasteitself and
a saving in the disposalcost.

J Is a contractwith the Councilsubstantial?

G Yes, but it depends. All recyclablecommodities move and it is one of the few situations,which
Councils enter into whereby contractsare negotiatedwhich changeto those levels. For
instance,our paper contract 2 years ago expectedto raise over £120,000in income alone then
savingson top. That was an annual income of £120/125 during 96/97 but it %s-isdin that period
that the paper price crashed. We would look for a return of that sort of figure acrossmaterials.
In terms of textiles alone we arc looking at the value of about £80 a tonne for textiles. So last
100 tonnes that £8000. If it goesabout £10,000 we have to
year we collected about so made us
go through a formal tendering process which is to choose the best quote out of three.

J Yes, the Charities also sell to the highest bidder and as long as they get the best price for the
bagsof textiles they are happy.

G That is something I'm concernedabout becauseif you take thosedecisionspurely on financial

grounds there do
are only a certain number of checksyou can on companies. There is room for
misuseof the systemand certainly there is evidencethat Councils and Charities have been
involved in contractswhich have resulted in questionablepractices.

J Yes, I have come acrossanomalieswith regard to recycling textiles. That is why it is

hardening that companieslike Marks and Spencerstake months and years to make certain
decisionswith regard to suppliers: their decisionshave to be watertight.

IV
G Councils do try to be as fair as possibleand that is why we have a policy of no net cost which is
sustainableif you like. But that doesn'tmeanthat our current arrangementsare the most
environmentally beneficial. Really if we are looking to supporting recycling it shouldn't be on
financial groundsalone.

J Is therean Inter CouncilForumwhereyou meetanddiscussproblems?

G Yes, there are a variety of different forum. There is a local one which is for the 7 recycling
offices of the North London Waste Authority and then there is a London-wide forum. There is
also a London-wide forum concernedwith a London-wide challenge,which is a £121/2
thousandbid, and we (LIIE) are part of that forum too. There's the Thames Regional Forum
run by the Environmental Agency, so there are plenty of ways to raise issues.

J Do you attend?

OI go to the local and regional one but don't attend the national one but get feedback.
Information travels fairly fast. For instance, if someonedies in a textile bank we «ill know
about it instantly and action taken very soon after.

J Do you have accessto political decision-making through that forum?

G Yes, Governmentlegislation is passeddown and discussedat Council level.

J Does the Governmenttake advice on recycling from you?

G No, usuallyfrom the NationalForumon Recycling.Thereis a Local Authority Advisory

Committeewho advisethenationalbody. We areaskedto commenton a particularlegislation
andhow that mayaffectus detrimentallyor otherwise.It is a prettygoodsystem,but the
decisionsmadedon'talwaysreflectthe Local Authority point of view.

J As far asthe Local Authoritygoes,how closeareyou to the decisionmakers?

GI write the reports, which go to Committee for Council member's approval. That is a 2-way
processand the Council to
relies on me advise them on waste reduction, and full decision is
madeon that.

J Are they specialists?

G Particular membersmay take an interest in environmental issuesso there is an environmental

committee,which dealswith that problem. Then there's Community Serviceswhich looks at
recycling issuesin particular so memberson thosecommitteeshaven level of power and
expertiseand represent the Council of the North London Waste authority who advise. It is a
sharedresponsibility.

Interviewcomesto a close.

J
 d

APPENDIX2
". f

' 'ý
."rý
SWEATER FACTORY EVALUATION REPORT
!

DIVISION: ý.;.f . /. 1J. Ci:.:

i.. "ti ..:........
" DATE:.#
....:......; .
yS
............ .....

MINERAL VENDOR INFO MATZO

'......................................... CONTACT:..............f
COMPANY: .....................................
.................
TEL. NO.: .................... FAX NO.:...........................................................
.......................................

FACTORY-DETAILS

.I. Z
I ESTABLISHED:...... ....................................................................................................................

FACTORY NAME:....
C t7b:.......................................................................

CONTACT:........ ADDRESS: 0.:.. ýX...ýtý.

ý...CUýýl..
1....
........:.ý .....
TITLE:
...
ýýýý. ý... /, .
::;...........
.......................... ....................................
,.................
TEL. NO.:
................................
...:............................ ..............................................................................
FAX NO.: ".. ". 1".. ".. ""y...........................

... ... ..............................................................................

....

P$ jN TPAi, PRODU T
.
Njl4L.,....., g...... tiJ00L.,,k,. ý7`t'o! J A>Vý Cýi'TON aLýiV2S
YARN TYPES:
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p t7S Latt.... Sf:!!CA7? e fi. &
SWEATERTYPES:.......... ... .................................................
358, .....?
PRODUCTIONCAPACITY :.................. ZeceS ........................PERMONTH
ýýckz
öb'J;
KivzýI týVä ýiLi, *Jkr hyguznr6 Iýý2ýSszn i-3 ;
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COMMENTS:..................................................................................................................:.....................
ýi....... Z
MIN QTY PER ORDER
........................ .................................................................
y0N%Ns.. 07Tsx6! VfýýZonl.O. 'OLCGIeS..,
PRODUCTIONLEAD TIME:...!
v
"ýt, "

CURRENTLY USED BY "*.: "ýýýýýýýý ............................

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wý'!? kc/.
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4..... 9riýS...
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...................................................................................................................................................................

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 0
I
0

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MAIN MKT & PRINCIPAL CUSTOMER:

IYTý ýf.
/VýXT:..... NS
Yi
% Y.ý. CUSTOMER:
... .............. ... ......................................................

45 % FQj.
CE.......
Af. CUSTOMER:
.................................................................................................
.
15 )% -GUYANy..... CUSTOMER: .................................................................................................

OTHERS:
................................................................
CfecsJ
..............................................
PREMTSES
ý ýL. ý
ARE PREMISES?: OWNED.... lL............. OR LEASED:
....... ...................................
DO THEY CONTAIN:

a. RAW MATERIAL STORAGE YES..Y.... NO 1Q sqft

......... ...... r:.m...........
/ ý ........
b. KNITTING DEPARTMENT YES. NO sqft
........ ......
c. LINKING DEPARTMENT Qý
YES.S//. NO sq ft
........ .......;?. ..........
V. ýý: ý: ý..... ft
d. FINISHED GOOD STORAGE YES.. NO........ sq
....
APPROXIMATE TOTAL OPERATING SPACE: ý3! 0 M. ft
I. :.....
.... sq

ý{:.UNLIý.ý?ý. kN ý? ýÄ
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ACCREDITATION: I. S.0.9000.............. B.S. 5750
...................
WORK STUDY UNIT: YES NO
........ ............ ............................
Q.C. INSPECTIONSYSTEM: ON LINE 1 RANDOM FINAL ....... °ö
.. .. ...... ....... .....
SPECIFYSYSTEMSUSED: COMPUTER; LIGHT BOX/ LIGHT TUBES ETC.....
Y. ýA T47,
YAF.ýN/ACCESSOR.
IES INSPECTION: 1Nf.... 'ý^ý So,ýz ýQ y...7y. m--,
... ............................ .. .... ..
OwAj Lgscejor zcnl......`... X9
Vie. 3uLk.. ýuCý? S.,p? gc-ejcv ION
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IN LINE INSPECTION: y & GZF?
coNýAý2ý ý.T..?^!S
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FINAL INSPECTION: 1... `.
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...................................................................
.
2
 4

6
:
r.

EO NT IPM
.
NUMBER OF KNITTING/LrNKING MACHINES BY TYPE:
1,HANDFLATKNITTING'V' BEDMACHrNES

CAUSE ýR AýI N.i: 1F

ý ý:.5. '..
THýý... ýýs..
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.. .».........
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4.-lý I ý.. ý
ý...................................
ý'.....
.....
l0oz .........
...........
o. ...........................
_...............
6ý?..................... _... .....................................
".................................
It
....
..ý., .......... .......................
...... .
ýi.
ý. ý.ý..b..».....».. .»............ ».....»... ......................................................
»............ .....................................
.....
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....
».....».....................
2. AUTOMATIC ' V' BEDS MACHINES

I]ý GAUGE &BAýM NAME

3ý '..ý'Iarlr...
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M.. ý3.. '. s.
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S... 0...ý......:.. ýs... ý............
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`..ST.
Qýi.,.ýM.ý. '..................
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.................. .. . ýýtý.. ....................
ý....
......
....... ý...
..........
3. AUTOMATICCOLLARiSTOLLING
MACHINES

S:ýTT (iA 1.. 13RA--Q

NAME

ýý............... ýo.ý.ý
7..&...
... .... ý ...........
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4.4...
... .............
.........................................
................
................................
_..................... »...................
_...........................
4. JACQUARD/INTAP.
SIA MACHINES

L!N1I GAUGE N&E

BRAN-fl
3 ý.ý6..........................
....................
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R.
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.
.................................................................................................................................................................
........................
{'..
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S.DIAL LINKINGMACHMES

Crý' E BRýsýh. A,1,jE

4az ý, 7... g. ýý.. ýý `.. ýýHBze,.....
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. .......... .! ... .
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...................... ......................................... I.........................................................

...........................................
................................................................. ........................... ,..............
................. ......

3
I.. ,
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ý

0
/

OTHERS ..........
.............................................
............. .....................
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......................................

.
.......
.......
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...... . .....
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........ «.........
......... ...

..............
.................. ........................
.....................
................................................. .....................
..................................................

............ :......................................................
......................................................... ....................................
.................................

NUMBER OF SEWING MACHNES BY TYPE:

j.
1. SINGLE NEEDLE LOCKSTITCH " .................... :
...................................................................................
3d......
2.3RD, 4TH, OR 5TH THREAD OVERLOCK
...................... ..... _..............................................................................
P...
3. COVER STITCH
....................... ...................................................................................
4. BLIND HEIM ........................ :............................................................
».....................
S,...............................
.11
S.BUTTONHOLE ...
..................... ..........................
...........................
6. BUTTONSEW .....................: ....................................................
....».....................
OTHERS
...............................................................................................................
»..........................................
»....:....................

........................................................................................................................................................
.............................................

....................................................
............................................. .................
_..............................................................................

............ ........................................»....
.....................................................................................................................................

NUMBEROF WASHINGMACHINESBY TYPE:

1. WASHINGMACHINES 7...
ýýýý'ýc... sPýcýe,....
.................
1ý...................
ý. ýý.....
ý..........
_........ ý.
ýý...
2. HYDRO EXTRACTORS ................... ...................................
»...........................
ý. ýa. ý1ý.............................................................
^.ý......
3. TUMBLE DRIERS 1,.... »........
................... .
S. ýýý
ýc... ý':ýftceHýý
OTHERS C... ý^ý?
........ ..... ... ...... ........ . ...... .........
.............................................................

..................................... ....................................
......................... ......................... .................................
.................
........................

................................................................................................................................................................................................

.
.........................................
....................................................................................................................................................

NUMBER OF PRESSINGMACHINES BY TYPE:

1. STEAMIRONS

2. VACCL'M TABLES
ýo: ýý..
:..
....................... 5Fý... . .....................
...
......
0,............................................................
........................ ................
OTHERS ... .
........................................................ ..............................
.................................................

..........................................................................................................................
».......................................................................

............
_....................................................................................................
».................
».............................................................

.1

d
"6"
 4

1 wý ... .. v. ý-v. .. v. ....

LJ

SPECIALIST MACHINERY/CAPABILITIES .......................................................................................

........................................................... .............
................................................. .._...................................................
...................
"".... I. "M. """.... "...... "".......... " I............ ". I.... I... I.. I"II.. w..... ""I.........

I...I..... .....................
"I.. II...I.....II.I.
"...........
«........... I......... 1...... N....... "
..

-k ......................................................................................................................................................................................
....
CONDITION OF EQUIPMENT: G....V..... 5............ F...........P
.......... ...............
RATING: E= EXCELLENT GOOD S= SATISFACTORY F- FAIR P- POOR

SAMPLEROOM:
1. NUMBER OF KNITTING/LTNKTNGMACHINES 30.., F3L1 Cý t}EiýIS ICNý,,, N)3.CR;L&CS
,..... ,., ,
BY TYPES: ... ................
"..................
»...........................
t............... ...

ýý...LTrV, ý...icýý5
ltauvs...
..... ..........................
......................................................................................

....................................................................
«................
L
A
................................... «.......................................... «...

2. NUMBER OF WORKERS FOR HANDKNIT,

.... ý...
............................
HAND CROCHET,HAND EMBROIDERY
..................................
»..................................................
AND BEADINGS: ....... w..... N.......... "....... 1... 1....... N... 1... N....... NIN..... NN.. w. N

S(18- C10Ný,
Qf
3. NUMBER OF WORMERSFOR SEWING
ý0...
ý4ý%. E::...
ýý...
':
EMBROIDERYAND APPLIQUEWORK:
........
`ý ......................................................................................
. ý.. ,
......................................................................................

4. NUMBEROFKN=G TECHNICIANSAND Jýý... QS............................................

...........
INTARSIA PATTERN MAKERS:
......................................................................................

......................................................................................
OTHERS:

...... ..................................................................................................................
.......................... ".........,.....................

...............................................................................................................................................................
...... ....
..................................................................................................................,...............................................................

_ý ý
.:
5
'""ýjOj'
 a

l:

10

PERSONNEL

ý. NUMBEROF PLANT MANAGEMENT 3oýC ..................

............ ý
b. NUMBEROF LINE SUPER.
VISOR5 'ý ý .. J"wQ
......... ""

c. NUMBEROF PRODUCTION
PERSONNEL ......... .......
..........................................................
d. NUMBER OF TECHNOLOGISTS .............. .......................................................
RIrD OQ,
S 6.5 ý
e. NUMBER OF QUALITY rN P .............. :.........................................................
ý 4 60
TOTAL . ............................

t.
FACTORY WORKING DAYS PER WEEK
........ lavä
HCL.
...................................................
WORKING HOURS PER DAY u
......... ....................................................
(:;
HOLIDAY PERIODS 1,
.

rOtimt:
ýNý... ýion1, lýýr. n1ES, RUNl
. ..... .......
. .... ýWýý.

ýRQ.ý
V..
ý'Ný3uRý'arý....
..
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.. .................................................................................
....... .._...... .....
a..
..........
..............................
......
. ...........................................
.......................................................................................

GENERAL C_ONCLUSION/R_ECOMMENDATIONs

................................
.................. ................................
...................... »............
.................. ..............
».............................................

.............
.......
IA, ýTý°nýs. ýýn.,eýA........
ý.... .
yý...CýNsTýý M0.0...
.... ..... . ........
GPR. ýýeý.
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ýTPýý
..............................................
........................................................................................................
»..........................................................................,................

...................................................................................................................................................
I............ ..................................
I

OVERALLGRADE: E 5............F............P
............. .... ...............
RATING: E= EXCELLENT 0 GOOD S- SATISFACTORY F- FAIR P- POOR

..
 r
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ýV9LU9ýoN llgs MAD'ýý
Cý
a
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.'
THE BURTON GROUP PLC
SWEATER FACTORY EVALUATION REPORT

DIVISION:
&,. FCTRu EVALUATOR:.t......... "'..
l...
'..... ýý DATE:..
I.ý
1.
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(_ ENERAI. VENDOR NEORMATTQD'

COMPANY: .................. ......................................CONTACT:........................................................

TEL. NO.! '.:...................,..................FAX NO.:.................. .oo

......................

FACTORY DETAILS

ESTABLISHED:.......Ig
....................................................................................................................
FJ.AR. I.4...
FACTORY NAME: .................................................................
.......
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(; ONTACT:....,..:..: --ý ý
......... ....... .......:..
TITLE:
"". """.. +. f 1ýiiNýii'ýTi"ý Tý"""ýýf . ".. "". ". I ..... ".. ".. ".. """".
6Nkß. 4vw0....
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TEL.NO.: .......
........ ..................
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FAX NO.:........1.. ýZS
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PRINCIPAL PROD TCT

I

YARNTYPES: $cc..
vös.ý..
ý:. Sl:!
..-...,_..
Wl{N, -U4
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SWEATERTYPES:............//%1JS....! 4...... Lf3öý2.....,..........................................

PRODUCTIONCAPACITY ....................
(.? t. ý. «6C S PER MONTH
-- -- ------- :. -
-------- ..................................
('ýT7zn,K; LzvXztiS hlgsHVJ6 -> ýRýssratl6 ýi5ý
, --> --ý>
COMh1ENTS
: ..........................................................................................
...............................................
ýiECS..............................,..............................
MIN QTY PERORDER: r.:.
......................... ...
1. HMT.. l!LP. T7 0WAl
PRODUCTIONLEAD TIME: sL6NAýN.,
:. ""r
Z
CURRENTLY USED BY THE BURTONGROUP? YES ............
.....................................................
NO ....................................................................
M5ý £ RZG lPklS /7 ýVý fý1..
IF YES BY \V 4TCHDIVISION:.. ,ý1. ., .......

................................................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................................................

I
N"
 4

MAIN MKT & PRINCIPAL CUSTOMER:

CUSTOMER., ....................................................
..............
() % CUSTOMER:.................................................................................................
a ??.!
fl...
( 1-5 )%... CUSTOMER
.................................................................................................
()
/.. Aq.
OTHERS:... z7.
.............................................................................
ý.1. ý..
ýý. q
ýs. ý G..ý..
R. ýý: ý 8..ýcýý cý ý
... ... ... r.... ... ý..
. . ... .................................................
pE, TSES

ARE PREMISES?: OWNED....... OR LEASED:......................................................

..................
DO THEY CONTAIN:
'
a. RAW MATERIAL STORAGE YES.. NO sq ft
......... .................................
b. KNITTING DEPARTMENT YES..' NO........
'
c. LINKINGDEPARTMENT YES.. NO........ q
V.
d. FINISHEDGOODSTORAGE YES. NO ft
sq
........ .................................
TOTALOPERATINGSPACE:
APPROXIMATE %ý. sqft
...... :ý/....

T. ý....
RCýý....
o.
-ý..
coMA4Er7s: ý..sc,
ý?Tý:...
ý'.
ý.
ý. ?ý? ý... ý. ý! Aýý)sc!...
.. .............
:.................................
....................................
SYSTEMS

ACCREDITATION: I. S.O. 9000 B. S. 5750...................

..............
WORK STUDY UNIT: YES NO
......................... .....................AaL

Q.C.INSPECTION
SYSTEM: ONLINE RANDOM 1.......... FINAL z:, %
.......... ... .. rs...,..
SPECIFYSYSTEMS LIGHTBOX/LIGHTTUBESETC.....
USED:COMPUTER!
YARN/ACCESSORIES
INSPECTION:
................................................................................................
.......................................................
».»»...... «......
»..................................
ý..
IN LINE INSPECTION............................. SAME.... l.ßý?.
QZýws..........................................
....

.................................................................................
....»............... »..........................................:...................
»........................

FINAL INSPECTION:..............................
I..................................................................................
.................................................................
" .t..............................................................................................

e
 6
EQUIP

NUMBER OF KNITTING/LINKtNG MACHINES BY TYPE:

1.HANDFLATKNITTNG'V'BEDMAC14INES
"/ IT TAUGE WIAVD NAMEE
1..... ý...
14 Q rr SIt.. QCY... S. !,ý... ý
fin ?. 1A
.. ............. ....... ...,.... .
l I- r ýlCj'cr-.
IN.. b::s', r ýýý. -........
RO ........... .... ýýG.. ..es"ý. ý..............................................................................................
Ifep Z: ý:Ccý.........................................
....................
........................... »...............
.................................
. ............. .. ....
636. ý. .:.......................
rý .....
t.
3 Qs.........................
_..........................................................
.
....................
! . «............
«.....«...............................
«.........
..........................................................
.......................
aoý
Z. AUTOMATiC'V'
Gcr.
BEDS MACHINES

LT1T rjAU,
_
RBAM LdAM!
N/R

.
.
........................
............ I......................................
......................
.........
......................
.......
.........................................
......................................... ........................................ "...........
f......
«...................................
«........ f........... «...

MACHINES
3. AUTOMATICCOLLAR/STOLLINO

lý.'1T1ý/ýJ{ GAUGE
rlA/ gBOZýNýR
"............ n. .... n.... n..... nnN.. N. n. nn. n... ....... n......... n........... «..... n.. N. n.... 1n... n... n.. NnNn.

.................................... . »...............
.......................................................
................................................. ».......
».............

...............
. ........... .... ....................................
........... ..................................

MACHINES
4, JACQVARDANTARSIA

IýIT GAU g Svb! A:

Mý
. .................
............. .....................................
...................... ...............
......... ....
..........
.......................................
»..........................................
...............................................................................................................................................
»....................................................
......................................................................................................................................

»....................... ...................
.........................................................................................................................................

5. DIAL LINKING MACHNES

ýiiZ G9%ýF RMM NAMF

ý. ý.,...g..ý...
º066 ' kARI.TUn16ý......
.. ...........:............................
........................
........................ .....
.............. . ...
.......
..........................................
.................... ................................. 1..... .
..........
. ............................... .... I..................

.................................................................
... I................
..... ... ....
'.. 's
.................................................................................
............................ .... ....
............................................................................ »................................................................................
»............................

". 9
 a

1
..:

OTHERS .........».....
».......................................................................................
............................................................................
:......................... ».........
........................
.............................................. ........,...........................,.............................
....................

. ..................................................................................
................................................................
......................... »....................
" ...........................................................................................
»........................................... »....».....».............
»....................... ».....

NUMBEROFSEWINGMACHNESBY TYPE:
4
1. SNGLE NEEDLE LOCKSTITCIJ
................... ........................................... »»
».........................................
2.3RD, 4TH. OR 5TH THREAD OVERLOCK
...............».. '0..................»........ ............
3. COVER STITCH
...................................................................................
».....»............»......
4. BLIND HM
......................................... »»»..................... ..........»
»...............»..............
lo
S. BUTTONHOLE .
........»».......... ..».»........................... ».........»»............»»..
»..».................
6.2UTTONSEW I. Q...................................................................
...................... ..».......»..
OTHERS
.............................................................................. .... .»... » ....».

.......................... ............»........»..»..... ...................»............... »..»».»»........».»..».»....»...»».

»...............................................

NUMBEROF WASHINGMACHINESBY TYPE:

SIE,. g» Rýl......
1,WASHINGMACHINES T... rP1.....
........... , a...................
2. HYDROEXTRACTORS 4......
4............
3.TUMBLEDRIERS ...........
_.....
....
1 -ý. ý....
ý...........
ý. ýý.
_.
ý......
ý..
ýý.
ýýý......
.,. ...................... ............
........
.......
..................................... ,...
...........
OTHERS
.....................................................................................................................................
»...».».....................................

. "......... ".. ""....... "........ N........

p....
.. "... "... "..
f.. 1... »..
N...« .......
""......... N.

"..................................
".... N........,.......... MpN...... ............. M..

NUMBER OF PRESSING MACHINES BY TYPE:

ý?3....ý'.ý
1.STEAMIRONS
............. »..................................
VACCI: I\4 rnBi_ES
_. *1
........................ ............
.....................................
........ ........................
OTHERS
....................................................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................
..................................
... . ... ................
....... ................ ... ........ ..... ......................
.....
........................................................
.... ..............................
. ......... ..... ............................................ . ................................

4
INTARSIA

6
4

SPECIALISTMACHINERY/CAPABILITIES :........................................................................
»............
H....... H... ........ HHH...... HH. I.............. H.. H. H.... 1H... NH... H. H.. H. H H.... NH. H.. H. NN..
. HH.. I ........................ ".... H.... "............ H.....
................

.... HH.... H.. H... H................. HH. H.... HH....... H n... H. HHHH. H... H. H. H. H... H..... HH.. H. H.. H. H. NIHNH"
I .................... H.......... ..........
..... H.....

H........ H............. H... H. H.... HH. H..... H.... p..... .. H... H....... .... H......... H....... H; H.. H.
H... H.. HH..............................
........................................

CONDITION OF EQUIPMENT: E ...........a............ 5............ F........... P...............

RATING: E- EXCELLENT G= GOOD S- SATISFACTORY F= FAIR P. POOR

SAMPLE ROOM:

1.NUMBER OF KNITTING/LINKING MACHINES .....! . ......................................................................

BY TYPES:
................................................. ........................

......................................................................................

...............................................................................

...................................................
».......... .................

2. NUMBER OF WORKERSFOR HANDKNIT, Njq

....... ..................................................................
HAND CROCHET,HAND EMBROIDERY
...................
......... ..........
............................... ý...
...........
AND HEADINGS:

3. NUMBER OF WORKERSFOR SEWING N.(..

8
..............
EMBROIDERY AND APPLIQUE WORK:
....... ..............................................
»
....................................................................................

»..........»............
............................................................

4. NUMBER OF KNITTING TECHNICIANS AND

tj
%A
.............1..:.1..................................................................
PATTERN MAKERS:
..................
................................................................

OTHERS:

..................................................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................................................

..............................................................................................................................................................................
...

S f

"""..
Y,.
._..
 4

v'
Uý
PERSONNEL
1...................................................
a. NUMBER OF PLANT MANAGEMENT
........................

b. NUMBER OF LINE SUPERVISORS .............................................................................

OF PRODUCTION PERSONNEL ýw....................,
c. NUMBER ................. ..........................
."
d. NUMBER OF TECHNOLOGISTS ............................ .................................................
!:fý..................................................
e. NUMBER OF QUALITY ......................
.
ý1I
TOTAL
................ 3........................................

FACTORY WORKING DAYS PERWEEK r,,. n.vq WEEK........................

.................... .
ö.. HQV. $I ßy............................
WORKING HOURS PERDAY
...................
HOLIDAY PERIODS R.......ý.... E ý'3......
..... .

(' bATF.NTS: 0

».....»......................
................................................................................... »...............
«........... «.....».
»..................

..................................
.......... »....».»......«.«..»...................»»«.««..«
»..................
_...................................................................

.............................. »...............».....»»..».....»
» ...............................................................................................................
»........

«.......................................
............................................................................................... »«......
_...... »»...»»....»..».».«............
«......
.... «
...........
.....................
»...................... »..................................................
...................... ........................ .......
»...............

GENERAL f'ON ; STQN/RECOýiýýNDATTON:

..........................................................................................................................
. ................ .
. ..........

ý.T.....
To
8ý.......CHtý y lLý. T^!...
THt... ý!.rOýyo
. . : .... .......
ýýoeý... ýýwq'1'ýºý.... iei'aR. T..... 1g; N. .....
ýQNW .............................
.... . ......................
..........
..........................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................................................

.............................
.................................................................................................................. . .......
. .............
............................

I...............................................
............................................... . I ............................... . ................
. ................................ ..
OVERALLGRADE: E G 5............F............P
........... ...........
RATING: E= EXCELLENT 0= GOOD S- SATISFACTORY F- FAIR P- POOR ...............

oTQri r N. l
.0.
 APPErýrjjX ý

The Multi Fibre Arraugemetit

What is the MFA?
i
The Multi-Fibre Arrangement countries. So while it restricts the
regulates the bulk of international trade in quantities of Asian-made blouses, T-shirts,
textiles; and clothing between developed shirts etc that are available for us to buy in
and developing countries. It restricts Britain, it does not restrict the availability
imports of textiles and clothing made of of garments made in Germany, or Italy, or
cotton, wool, synthetic and other fibres USA.
coming into UK and other developed
countries from developing countries. Textile protectionism was not new
in 1974
- systematic restrictions were
MFA Quotas introduced in the 1930sas a reaction to the
Depression. Then Britain imposed what it
The MFA works through a series called 'imperial preferences' to keep out
of `quotas' for imports of each type of Japanese cotton goods, and the USA and
garment. Every year the developed Japan 'gentlemen's
negotiated a
importing countries and developing agreement' limiting Japaneseexports.
exporting countries in the Arrangement
haveto agreethe quantity of specifictypes After the war, a new agreement
of garmentswhich can be tradedbetween was set up to promote freer international
them (the `quota'). Then the exporting trade: GATT - The General Agreement on
country allocates licenses to firms to Trade and Tariffs. This outlawed
export a specific part of eachquota. No discrimination against particular groups of
exports beyond the quota are permitted. countries. But when the newly
industrialised developing countries. began
Operation of the MFA to compete successfully in the international
market for textiles and clothing, the rules
It was introduced in 1974, were bent to allow the MFA to
supposedlyas a short term measureto give discriminate against them. The MFA has
developedcountries a breathing-spaceto been renewed at intervals in the 1970s,
adjust to competition from low-cost 80s and 90s, and although there are plans
imports from developing countries. It to scrap it, many of its restrictions are
does Y regulate international trade in expected to linger on into the 21st century.
.
textiles and clothing betweenrich

v
ý

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ýý%ý *:
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ýý.
ýýý ýýý.. 1 `'ýý
'ýýý ` ýý . w..
.-"ýý wdam --
%4L. r ýf ýý
:ý \ýýý.. . ""ý
_ý. ýý `\ý-- -- . ýýýýýýý\ \ .%\ý.
ýýý ýý._,
_ýr __---ýý_ýýýýý - -""ýý
\..
_. ___
\\i- ý\\\ýý "ý
_ ýNýýý
--.. ý, -

..
Y ý
1
Arguments about the MFA

Governments of Third World social regulationof trade in textiles and

countries are against the MFA, claiming garments. This would require productsto
that it unfairly restricts their exports to the meet certain social criteria before being
developed countries, exports that are vital allowed to be put on sale. Textiles and
for development. Consumer groups, such clothing would only be allowed to be sold
as thad International Organisation of in the UK marketif they were producedin
Consumer Unions, are against it, arguing ways which respected the rights of
that it restricts choice and puts up costs workers producing them to healthy and
and hits poorer' consumers most. safeworking conditionsand to autonomous
Businessmenand trade unions in developed organisationfor better pay and conditions;
countries tend to be for the MFA, arguing and in ways that respectedthe rights of
that it protects profits and jobs. In consumers using them to safe products
practice, it has not prevented job loss, which do not destroy the environmentand
since many companies have 'gone global' - to a range of products to meet the needs
shifting their production or sourcing their and pocketsof different groups.
products from low cost countries.
This kind of social regulation
Free Trade vs Protection? would not discriminate against developing
countries - it would apply equally to goods
So, do we have to choosebetween made in developed countries. It would not
the protectionism of the MFA and the huge bureaucracy in
need a - the onus
`free-for-all' of free trade? In the view of ensuring the regulations were met could be
Women Working Worldwide, neither of put upon retailers and wholesalers.
theseoptionsis adequateto meetthe needs Groups campaigning for workers rights
of women,as producersand consumers,in and for ethnical consumption could be
both developedand developingcountries. funded to monitor and publicise
Both options fail to challenge the compliance or lack of compliance with the
regulation of international trade by thes regularions. Breaches of the regulations
drive to makemoney. Making more profit 'could be penalised using the machinery of
is all too frequently at the expense of organisations like Health and Safety
peoples' rights, and of the needto sustain Inspectorates and Industrial Tribunals.
resources,both humanand environmental.
Neither free trade nor the MFA
An alternative really meetsthe needsof women - social
regulationof trade in textilesand garments
There is anotheralternative: would be better than both.

..-

II
 APPENDJXLý
1: INTRODUCTION

Overview

This sectionof the Supplierhandbookis for suppliersto the trading

companiesof the BurtonGroup plc. It covers each of the Multiples
Divisions(that is, Burton Menswear,DorothyPerkins,Evans,Top
Shop and Top Man, and Principlesand PrinciplesMenswear).

It is important that you read, understand and consistently apply the

quality assurance procedures laid out In this Supplier handbook.
You should issue this section to the appropriate managers within
your company.
.4

If you need any further advice on specificIssuesrelatingto quality

assurance,please contact the relevantTechnicalServices
Department. A contact list is includedin the Referencesection
of the Supplier handbook.

Objective

The objective of this section is to explain the quality assurance

procedures which are needed to achieve a quick and effective flow
of quality-assured goods into our Distribution Centres (DCs) and
on to our stores.

It is important that you follow all the relevant procedures when

completing orders. This will allow the stock specified in our order
to be delivered to the correct specification and at the right time.
Accuracy Is vital at all stages In the supply chain.

Quality performance standards

You must follow our quality assuranceprocedures. We will provide

help whereverpossible,includingpre-deliveryqualityreviews.

Our DCs monitor whether these quality assurance procedures are

being followed. If you do not follow these procedures you may have
to pay charges to cover the cost of the disruption to our planned
work. Please seethe main Reference section in this Supplier
handbook for details of the charges.

ý
'... _.,
_- - "- ...
 2: THE BURTON GROUP SOURCING POLICY

We will only work with reputablesuppliersand manufacturerswho have acceptableworking

conditionsand practices.

We will not buy goodsfrom any supplieror manufacturerwho has unethicalworking

practicesor conditions.
We will regularly review our sourcing policy to make sure that it remains relevant.

I You must meet the conditions of our sourcing policy, as set out In this document.
If you do not make the goods you must make sure the manufacturer also keeps to
these conditions. (In this policy 'you' means the supplier, the manufacturer or any other
A
person involved in supplying goods to the Burton Group.)

",a Wages, hours of work and entitlements

You must keep to local laws on conditions such as minimum wages, 'overtime, hours
of work and sick pay. If no laws apply, the conditions you impose upon your workers
must not be less favourable than the normal terms in your area for workers doing the
same type of work.
b Child labour
You must not employ children in manufacturing goods. (For this purpose a child Is
any person who is younger than the normal local school-leaving age. ) Legitimate
apprenticeships or education-related work are acceptable as long as the children
are not being exploited and there is no risk to the children's health or safety.

c Health and safety

You must providea safe place of work and keepto all local laws relatingto health
and safetyin the workplace. This conditionalso appliesto any homesyou provide
for the workforce.

d Forced labour
You must not use forced labour in your workplace.

e Discipline
You and your representativesmust not use, or threatenyour workerswith, any
dominate or restrainworkers by force, authorityor threats.
physicalpunishment,or
f Discrimination
You must treat everyone fairly when choosing and dealing with your workers.
You must not treat any person less favourablybecauseof their race, religionor sex.

"ý

/
<I-Spugeutlc- httpJ/www.Ibe.co.uk/IectorywutchijnvtuCr...
6U14Ib0076386932231U
143U63U6äcdotoycU:,
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luws-
APPENDIX5. MEIr
7
--=
ioo1smar
The table below showsdetailsof any pollutantsreported by your chosenfactory in the year selected.
For more informationon healthhazards,click on the nameof the chemical.

Find out how you canTake Action!

Pollution release summary for

NORTH LONDON WASTE AUTHORITY
Thesefigures are basedon the best available data. For necessarybackground information, read AOI. For information
about the health hazardsand their definitions, read AO.

Postcode:N18 3AG i Local MP: Andy Love Ares: Edmonton

All emissions for 1996: ReleasedTo..
4 Substance _Kilograms
Air Water Land
ATRAZINE - --- ----- --- ý-_ 7-
0.05590
CADMIUM 3ý3_
CARBON MONOXIDE 76000
Tý`
DICýII. ORVOS 0.03110
DIELDRIN ý- 0.01380
FENITROTHION _
0.03320r_____
0.00814
HEXACHLOROBUTA-1 3-DIENE (HEXACHLOROBUTADIE NE) 0.00814
HEXACHLOROCYCLOHEXANESLINDANE)_ 0.00877r
HYDROGEN CHLORIDE 2070000_lr-
-'
HYDROGEN FLUORIDE 1487
_ 0.18500
... __.._60
METALS -GROUP 3 (AS+CR+CU+MN+Nt+PB+SN)
___57r7.
NITROGEN OXIDES (AS N02)__
_
ORGANIC TIN COMPOUNDS - TOTAL NOS ____ 0.03400r-
ý
PARTICULATES 1 263000
IPENTACHLOROPHENOLCOMPOUNDS TOTAL NOS - iosoo
o.
-
POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS -TOTAL 0.03080ý-
ISMAZINE ýý 0.05380ý
ý
SULPHUR DIE 1_250000
OA0550 ý- ý
O (TO)QC EQUIVALENT OF PCDD + PCDfl
1_
r-----r--- 10.03080
TRICHLOROBENZENE - ALL ISOMERS
p
TRIFI. URALIly
__ __.
0.00814..
ý-ý`
VOC - VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS (Aý1 1570
_
Tatil,eof Tösc,
c (?nti 35 iý s Fýo. Ed. +ýonlvYtýnCinreratb/ 1°!9'j
+..

I oft 12/02/99 1431: 1e

.. _ d,,.. . wr... +-.., +º.... v

 EarthSummit
APPI3NJJDC
s.
by Nigel Dudley
.i

the Earth summit: progress and setbacks

In June 1992 over a hundred of the world's heads of state met In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to take
part in the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The
meeting, popularly known as the Earth Summit, was unique in a number of ways. It was the
largest gathering of world leaders in history. It was by far the largest conference ever to be held
about the environment. And it succeeded in agreeing two globally Important treaties, with
countries signing up faster then ever before.
A
1*
a globally significant damp squib
Yet for an event that might almost be compared with the formation of the United Nations in
terms of global significance, the meeting gave the distinct Impression of being something of a
damp squib. Economic Interests watered down many of the finer Ideals on which the conference
had been set up. Although there were many fine words, there Is little money to back them up.
The rift between North and South was, if anything, widened rather than healed by the
discussions In Rio.

high ideals whittled away

The Earth Summit was a UN-sponsored meeting to discuss issues relating to environment and
development, and the links between the two. It began with very high ideals, some of which had
been whittled away in the two-year build-up process. This had Included a number of preparatory
conferences (precons) in different parts of the world. By the time the conference was actually
launched, much had already been argued about, and won or lost, during the precon process.

two important treaties signed

In the event, two significant treaties were signed at Rio, although not by everybody. A treaty on
climate change was agreed, calling on countries to commit themselves to stabilize emissions of
greenhouse gases by the year 2000, and on signatories to act before the convention becomes
effective. A second treaty, on biodiversity, was originally drafted to ensure that signatories took
steps to preserve plant and animal life, but eventually also included rights to exploit life In their
territories as well.

impact of treaties weakened by rich countries

Unfortunately, both of the treaties were significantly weakened by the time they reached Rio,
mainly because of opposition from the rich countries and especially the USA. The greenhouse
treaty was originally supposed to be binding, but was reduced-through softer wording, less
commitment, and a reduction in the support provided by the rich countries to the poor to help in
,. meeting the targets. The biodiversity treaty, which the USA refused to sign owing to fears of
. v.ý losing rights to exploit other country's biological resources in biotechnology, has some
high-sounding ideals but little money. Again, the rich nations opposed moves to Include
provision for much financial support for the poorer countries in conservation of biodiversity.

environmentalists score with Agenda 21

A gain for the environmental lobby was the agreement reached on Agenda 21, an ambitious
500-page plan to protect the environment, with 115 specific clean-up programmes. This caused
a furore in discussion because of the enormous costs it was calculated as requiring, some $825
billion a year, most of which was to have come from the South. In practice, and In line with
much of the rest of UNCED, far less money was available and the Agenda, although agreed, is
nonbinding.

failure on forests
The largest single failure of the conference was the failure to agree any binding treaty on
forests. Instead, a nonbinding statement of principles to conserve forests was agreed, which few

Content ©1996 Helicon Publishing Ltd and respective copyright holders.

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1
,W-.,.. "
people expect to make much difference to practical forest-management policies. Here, the main
opposition came from the South, and was spearheaded by Malaysia which already has a
massive logging programme and plans to continue the exploitation. Malaysia's threat to pull out
of UNCED unless the treaty was dropped had a large influence over its abandonment. Here,
Ironically, the USA was a prime supporter, but there was failure even to agree the need for a
convention in the future.
.,
so, was the Earth Summit a success or failure?
It was a failure in that it did not produce the major shift towards greater protection for the
environment that was originally hoped. Yet it did result In an unprecedented statement of
concern by most of the world's leaders, and it did result In two major treaties being signed. As
one environmejltal lobbyist said, If you read the small print on what was agreed there are a lot of
hooks to hang countries on if they don't meet up to the requirements. The UNCED meeting was
not the solution to the world's problems that some people were looking for, but it was a step in
" the right direction.

ft

Content ©1998 Helicon Publishing Ltd and respective copyright holders.

I 1.
11
 APPENDIX

DIAGRAM A

WOOL

'jr
ONE WAY STREET

1
PROCESSOR

DYER

SPINNER

GARMENT MANUFACTUER

RETAILER

CONS MER

LAN FILL

INCINN RATION

THIRD WO LD WASTE

I
 DIAGRAM B

WOOL

1
CLOSING THE LOOP

'jr
FARM

1
PROCESSOR

DYER

SPIN ER

ýý TEXTILE
GARMENT POST CONSUMER
MANUFACTURER SORTING

ýiýý
RETAILER

CONSUMER
DISPOSAL

II
 PROPOSAL DESCRIPTION FOR PROJECT "IDENTITEX"

Summary
In the European Union, consumersdiscard every year 5,8 million tons of textiles. At the moment
1,5 million tons (25%) of these post-consumer textiles are recycled by charity and
only about
industrial enterprises. About I million tons are exported directly to Third-World countries; about
0,5 million tons are converted to various products and sold inside the European Union. The
4,3 million tons (75%) of these post-consumer textiles are landfilled or burnt in
remaining
municipal waste incinerators, of
representing an enormous unused source raw materials. Of the
500.000 tons that is recycled, the main applications are wiping rags, fibre production and
application in the paper industry.

The aim of this project is to increasethe amountof postconsumertextile that is beingrecycled

by 10%. In other.words the recyclingpercentage aggrandisesfrom 25% to 35%, i.e. 500.000tons
yearly extra. Threetechnologies will be usedfor the identificationof fibrous raw materialand
dye/finish:
1. Near Infra Red (NIR);
2. Thermal Impulse Response(TIR);
3. Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy(LIBS).
Combined these three techniques should be able to identify the raw material of the textile with a
90% accuracy.

For the identification of textile raw material two parallel developments will take place. The first will
be the development of the LIBSITIR technology. A combination of these technologies will enable
the proper identification of the raw material and the hazardous components in either the dye or the
textile. Next to this the NIR technology will be further developed and adapted for identification of
textiles and textile finishes. Since NIR is a technique that has been successful applied in many areas
it is held that it can also be applied in the textile industry.

The concept of identifying fibrous raw material of textiles and sorting it into different fractions is
new. However this concept can be applied in other areasas well. Not only post consumer textiles
can be recycled, but other textile waste as well. Next to this, the specific identified streams of textile
can be used for the development in
of new end-products other industries. However the developed
identification methods can be used as quality control as well. Verifying the nature of the blends that
imported from Thereby reducing the probability of expensive lawsuits
are other countries.
afterwards, where mutual recriminations are settled by arLarbiter.
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THE BOYS' BRIGADE

r 16TH ENFIELD COMPANY

Textile Recycling Scheme.

Thank you for your support.

Pleasecontinue to saveold clothes,

curtains, towels and bed linen.

Our next collection will be on

Saturday 13th May.

APPENDIX
10
JoAIVr9-ý Pho
RCA
THESr
5 177LC -.... ý.
FRon.
t snefºw 1a 6rJt4
b/Z oo.

KEY COMPONANT'S
USED TO MAKE Z

YARNS FROM
ý..
100% POST
CONSUMER
WASTE

1. an example of virgin

sheep fleece

2. post consumer wool

3. wool shoddy
4. wool shoddy well
blended
5. cotton denim
6. P.E.T.
S 6
7. cotton and polyester
fibres
8. cotton and polyester

well blended
9. wool/cotton/polyester

sliver
10. wool/cotton/polyester
7
yarn 2/12's

"
ý. ......."ý

I
JoA-rv 6:,fRp-tR fort
TzC
'(R'E S 15 T7
FreovH i-T72RW m trQt A b/ 2 °p O

FABRICS MADE FROM YARNS COMPOSED OF 100% POST

CONSUMER WASTE

34% Wool

33% Cotton

33% Polyester

/I
 168

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November 1997, p. 18.
99. Kolata, G. Dolly: her true story in The Sunday Times News Review, October 19th1997,p.
1-2.
100.Korten, D. Your Mortal Enemy in The Guardian Environment, October 21" 1998, p. 4-5.

101.Kumar, S. Deadly trade in Delhi 's hospitals in New Scientist, 11 May 1996, p. 9.

102.Lawrence, B. Free the £3.50-an-hour wage slaves in The Observer Business, 30th June

1996,p. 4

103.Madelay, T. Postle,R. Fine Wool Crimp in Textile Horizons, Vol. 15, No.3, June 1995,p 43-
44.
104.Marshall, J. High street namesto face child Labour quiz in Drapers Record, 11 May 1996.
105.McKie, R. ScientistsCloneAdult Sheepin The Observer, February 1999,p. 1
106.McMurray. Stitching up a Fortune, (Companyshareperks enabledBurton Group Finance
director, Andrew Higginson to bag over £1,000,000in sharesat a knockdown price today) in
The Daily Mirror, July 1997,p.26.
107.Milne, S. Child WorkersNumber 250m in The Guardian, 12 November 1996, p. 22.

108.Morgan, R. Polartec fabrics: recycled Polyester in Textile Horizons, Vol. 15, No. 1,1995,

p. 32-33.
109.Morris, D. Interfibre Competition with 1990's in Textile Outlook International, November
1994,p. 115.
110.Myers, D. Organic Production - Picking the Pesticides out of the Cotton in Pesticides News,
No. 28,1995, p. 17-19.

111.New Zealand Wool promotional literature, 1998.

112.Newbery,B. In Training for the Fabrics Frontline in Drapers Record Textiles Supplement,
21 September1996,p. 37.
113.Nicholson, N. New Zealand in Wool Record, August 1997,p. 15.
114.Oldfield, C. Benetton brings new style to British VentureCapital in The Sunday Times, 1
June 1997, p. 10.
115-Parkinson,J. Does recycling justify over consumption?in Itch Magazine, October 1996.
 175

116.Parkison, J. J. P. Textiles (Evergreen), promotional Literature, July 1997.

117.Perera,J. A Sea Turns to Dust. New Scientist, 23 October 1993,p.22.
118.Prato Moda Operandi. Unione Industrials Pratese promotional literature, 1995.
119.Reed Bed Systemsfor the treatment oflndustrial wastewater'sand sludge's ECO
Technologies International, promotional literature, Wales, UK 1997.
120.Reuter, Woolfall threatensexports,Australia. South China Morning Post 6 October 1995,

p.6.
121.Revell, P. Famine tofeast in The Guardian, 25 February 1998,p. 6.
122.Rex Brady P. Wool Dyeing and Finishing in Textile Asia, February 1994,p 98.
123.Rinkevich, J. MEP, William, L. Restorative Product Design: textilesfor the next Industrial
Revolution in Mc Donough Braungart Design Chemistry LLC.
124.Robertson,L. Are your clothes clean? in ID magazine, issue 170, November 1997,p. 167.
125.Rosser,N. The inside story of an East London sweatshopin Evening Standard, 30 October
1996,p. 12-13.
126.Rushe,D. On the Rack at Marks in The Sunday Times, 8 November 1998,Business,p. 3.
127.Sellar, P. The Green Scenein Vogue, November 1997.
128.Sewekow,U. Ecotextiles: a healthier and more environmentallyfriendly alternative? in
International Textiles Bulletin, Dyeing/Printing/ Finishing, No. 3 1991,p. 54-.
129.Sewell, B. Better a Working Child than a Starving Child in Evening Standard, October 8th
1996, p. 11.
130.Shakespeare,J. Nike Work at 16p an Hour? Just do it in The Observer, December3`"
1995.
131.Shakespeare,J. £45 buys this pretty summerdressfrom Next. Thewomanwho made it
£1
earned an hour. In Hong Kong or Bangladesh? No in the East End of London. in The

Observer Review, 23 June 1996,p. 7

132.Shaw,T. Wool and the Environment in Wool Record, Vol. 155, No. 3622,1996, p. 38-43
133.Smith, D. J. Rape and Pillage in The Sunday Times Magazine, 25 October 1998, p. 44.
134.Stipe, M. Piecing together a future in knits in Knitting Times, November 1996, p. 16.
135.Tait, N. Australia to continue wool stockpile sales in Financial Times, 29 March 1996, p.
16.
136.Teasdale,S. Cityfirm is fined £400for using child labour in The Birmingham Post, 20
January 1995, p.4.
137.The Burton Group Sourcing Policy Quality Assurance- Issue 1:3.1996.
138.ThePartnership Report. Co-op Ethical Partnership promotional literature June 1999
139.The Reclamation Association promotional brochure 1995.
140.Thomas, R. Minimum Pay Push by Labour in The Guardian, June24 1996,p. 6.
141.TNO Institute of Industrial Technology the Netherlands,promotional literature 1998.
 176

142.Tredre, R. Future Chic in The Observer Life, 10 October 1993p. 14

-
143.Tudge, C. Green,pleasant and needing technology in The Independent on Sunday,
November 2,1997, p. 50.
144.Uganda attacks the EU export legislation Materials recycling week, 3 October 1997
145.Wermer International SurveyLabour Cost Comparisonsin Textile Asia, February 1994,p
102.
146.Whilte, P. WasteNot in LD. May/June 1992.
147.Wise UP TO Wastein Waste Watch London, information pack. Undated.
148.Wool Re discoversits Youth. EXPOFIL 98/99 promotional Literature, Number 13, May
1997

CONFERENCE PAPERS

1. Byrne, C. David Rigby Assoc.Biotechnology in textiles basedon Textile's Institute's

Dyeing and Finishing Group Conference, Nottingham, November 1995.
2. Byrne,C. Developmentsin Biotechnology within the Textile Industry: Future Concernsfor
Manufacturers and Designers. Proceedingsfrom `Textile Communication Across Europe,
The ETN Conference & Textile Celebration', ManchesterMetropolitan University 25-31
March 1996.
3. Cooper,P. The consequencesof new environmental legislation on the UK textile industry.
Proceedingsfrom Eurocolour Conference, York, 11-12 June 1992.
4. Harrison, P.W. TheDesign of Textilesfor Industrial Application. Papergiven at the
Conference of Textile Institute, Manchester, 1977.

5. Notes from Alternative Materials, Textile Environmental Network (TEN), at Middlesex

University, March 1997.
6. Notes from Ecotextile 98 SustainableDevelopmentProceedingsof the 2nd International
Textile Environmental Conference, Bolton, UK, 7/8 April 1998
7. Notes from Howson,M. paper, Solving your Effluent Problems at Textile Roadshow, BMB
Initiative, Moat HouseHotel, Nottingham, March 1997.

8. Notes from Material World Ecological Conference,University of Central England Textile

Environmental Network (TEN), March 1993.
9. Notes from McKelvey, D. paper on TheImpact of Environmental Issueson Retail Sourcing
Textile Institute Lecture and joint meeting of the Society of Dyers and Colourists, March
1997.
10. Notes from Natural and Natural Polymer Fibres World Textile Congress, Huddcrsicld,
July 9-11 1997.
 177

11. Notes from Press,M. Prof. ResearchFor Eco-Designpaper: The Challengesfor Design
Education, Material World 11,Textile Environmental Network (TEN), University of
Central England, November 12 1996.
12. Notes from the Textile Roadshow, BMB Initiative, Moat HouseHotel, Nottingham, March
1997.
13. Notes from Whatfuture for textiles? One Day SymposiumThe London Institute, 21 January
2000.
14. Proceedingsfrom Are textilesfinishing the environment?Conference of the Textile
Institute Finishing Group, University of ManchesterMedical School,March 1990.
15. Proceedingsfrom Ecotextiles 95, Wealthfrom Wastein Textiles, British Textile Technology
Group (BTTG) Bolton Institute and Textile Institute, Bolton April 1995.
16. Proceedingsfrom Textiles,Design and the Environment, Environmental Network (TEN)
ManchesterMetropolitan University, March 1996.
17. Proceedingsfrom the R'97 Recovery, Recycling, Reintegration Conference Vol VII
Workshop Textiles WasteTNO Institute of Industrial Technology, GenevaSwitzerland,
February4-7 1997. ISBN 3-905555-14-X
18. Proceedingsfrom the Technologyand Diversity in Textiles Symposium,Loughborough
College of Art and Design, February 1998.
19. Proceedingsfrom World Trade is Women'sIssue. The Labour behind the Label Women
Working World wide Conference,Manchester,April 20-21 1996.
20. Rex Brady, P. Wool Dyeing and Finishing CSIRO in Textile Asia from 2"d Asian Textile
Conference, February 1994,p. 98-102.
21. Shaw,T. Environmental Issuesin the Wool Textile Industry. Proceedingsof the 8th
International Wool Textile Research Conference, Vol 4. International Wool Secretariat
DevelopmentCentre, Ilkley, 1990.
22. Textiles, Design and the Environment Conference: Towardsan IntegratedApproach to
Innovation and Industrial Production The ManchesterMetropolitan University: March 1996.
23. TheEnvironmental implications of Textile and Clothing Design, Textile Environmental
Network (TEN) ChelseaCollegeof Art andDesign,November1995.

INFORMATION SHEETS

1. BTTG The Öko-Tex Textile Ecolabelling Scheme.Promotional literature.

2. DTI Biotechnology Means BusinessInitiative Fact File no 20 Textiles London_1995.
3. DTI-Biotechnology AfeansBusinessInitiative Fact File no 3 Bioengineering, London_1995.
4. DTI Biotechnology AfeansBusinessInitiative Fact File no 4 EnzymesLondon_1995.
 178

5. DTI Biotechnology Means BusinessInitiative Fact File no 5 WasteManagementLondon

1995.
6. E-Co ChallengeNewsletters,Dept. Clothing, Design & Technology, Manchester
Metropolitan University, Old Hall Lane, Manchester,M14 6RH.
7. EDA InformationsheetNo. 5, McKenzie,J. GreenFashion1994.
8. Environmental Contacts -a guide for business,IssueNo. 7, October 1997.
9. ETBPP GG42 - Wastemanagementin the worstedsand knitwcar sectors.
10. ETBPP GG62 - Water and chemical use in the textile dyeing and finishing industry.
11. ETBPP GG79 - Reducing coststhrough wastemanagement:the woollen sector.
12. ETBPP GG84 - Reducing coststhrough wastemanagement:the cotton & man-madefiber

sector.
13. ETBPP GG86 - Reducing coststhrough wastemanagement:the garment & household
textiles sector.
14. I. W. S., Anon. History of the Australian Wool Industry Number 2. Melbourne, September

1994.

15. I. W. S., Anon. TheAustralian SheepFlock Number 7. Melbourne, January 1995..

16. I. W. S., Anon. The Guide to Wool TextilesNumber 3. Melbourne, June 1995.
17. I. W. S., Anon. TheProcessingof Raw Wool into YarnsNumber 10. Melbourne, June 1995
18. I. W. S., Anon. Wool, the Fibre Number 4. Melbourne, June 1995.
19. Woolmark CompanyAsia Newsletter, Anon. `Wool Ecocycle Club' stimulatesnew and old

wool usage 1999.

INTERVIEWS

1. Jacks,P. Senior scientific officer UK Eco Labelling Board. TelephoneInterview February

1998.
2. Liuken, A. TNO Institute of Industrial Technology. Interview Enschedethe Netherlands
October 14 1998. Appendix.

3. Miller, C. Senior TechnologistThe Burton Group. Interview in London June 20 1996.

Appendix.
4. Stockwell, A. Al D. Oxfam Wastesaver. Interview Huddersfield, June & November 1998.
5. Terril, C. PhD. Oko-TexAnalytical ChemistBritish Textile Technology Group (BTTG).
TelephoneInterview, July 1997.
6. Barry, L. M. Chairman and Owner of L. M. Barry Textile Merchant. Interview London June
17 1996. Appendix.
7. Cleli, M. Mother and Aunt of workers at Floreal Knitwear Ltd. Interview in Mauritius May
20 1996. Appendix.
 179

8. Coward, R. Group SecretaryNational FarmersUnion. TelephoneInterview October 15 1996.

9. Galli, R. Chairman and Owner ofNanni Filati Srl. Interview Prato Italy October 28 1998.
Appendix.
10. Gardener,W. WasteReduction Officer The London Borough of Enfield. Interview in
London December5 1998. Appendix.

11. Gee,C. Director of Gaddum& Wood Holdings.Interviewin LondonJune1997.

12. Hubbersty,M. Senior Monitor Ministry of Agriculture. TelephoneInterview October21
1996

JOURNALS

1. Author Unknown, Energy consumption and conservation in the fibre producing and textile
industries in Textile Progress, Vol. 13, No. 3, Textile Institute 1983.

2. Author unknown. Wool and Woollen Special in The Indian Textile Journal, December
1996, p. 50-55.
3. Burdett, B. Environmental labelling in the textile industries in Chemistry and Industry, 18
November 1996,p.882-885.
4. Burdett, B. Go Green -a sound businessdecision -part 2 in Journal of the Society of
Dyers and Colourists JSDC, Vol. 112,May-June, 1996,p. 142-143.
5. Cegielka, I. TheKnitting Industry Present needs,Future Requirementsin Textile progress,
Vol 19, Nol. The Textile Institute 1988,p.30.
6. Cooper,P. Colour in Dyehouseeffluent in Journal of the Society of Dyers and Colourists
JSDC, 1995.
7. Establishing the eco-criteria for the award of the community eco-label to bed linen and t-

shirts energy consumptionand conservation in thefibre producing and textiles industries in

Official Journal of the European Communities, November 1992.

8. Factors affecting quality of wool products in The Indian Textile Journal, December 1995,

p.46.
9. Gill, A. Deconstruction Fashion: the making of unfinished, decomposingand re-assembled

clothes in Fashion Theory, Vol. 2, Issue 1 March 1998,p. 25.

10. Glover, B. Pierce, J. Are Natural Colorants Goodfor Your Health? in Journal of the
Society of Dyers and Colourists JSDC, Volume 109, London, 1993,p. 5-7.
11. Grund, N. Environmental considerationsfor textile printing products in Journal of the
Society of Dyers and Colourists JSDC Vol. 111 January/February1995,p.7-10.
12. Grupta, S. Printing and Dyeing of Wool in The Indian Textile Journal, April 1991.
13. Heeley, J. Press,M. Design and the environment in Journal of the Society of Dyers and
Colourists JSDC, Vol. 113, April 1997,p. 117-118.
 180

14. Horstmann, G. Dyeing as a new environmental challenge in Journal of the Society of Dyers

and Colourists JSDC, Vol. 111, p. 182-184,June 1995.

15. Lomas, M. Textile wet processing and the environment in Journal of the Society of Dyers

and Colourists JSDC, Vol. 109 January 1993, p. 10-12.

16. Paglaban,E. Philippines: workers in the Export Industry in Pacific Research 1 March/June,
1978 p. 3-4,2-31
17. PesticidesNews, The Journal of Pesticides Trust, IssueNo. 38, Quarterly, December1997.
18. PesticidesNews, The Journal of the Pesticides Trust, IssueNo. 41, Quarterly, September

1998.
19. Reid, R. Go Green -a sound businessdecision -part 1 in Journal of the Society of Dyers

and Colourists JSDC, Vol. 112, April 1996,p. 103-105.

20. Robinson, G.A. New Developmentsin Wool ProcessingCSIROAustralia in The Indian

Textile Journal, December 1995.
21. Ryder, L. M. The Production and Properties of Wool and OtherAnimal Fibres in Textile

Progress. Vo17 No3 1975, p. 8.

22. Scienceand Public Affairs No. 4,3 - 9, Royal Society, 1989.

23. Sewekow,U. How to meet the requirementsfor Eco-textiles in Textile Chemist and
Colourist, January 1996
24. Textile Institute. Energy consumptionand conservation in thefibre producing and textile
industries in Textile Progress, Vol. 13, No. 13,1983.
25. The Centre of SustainableDesign. The Journal of Sustainable Product Design, Issue3,
October 1997.

REPORTS

1. A Novel Usefor Recycled Textile Fibres. Casestudy 181, Energy Efficiency Best Practice
Programme EEBPP undated.
2. A WasteStrategyfor England and Males, HMSO Department of the Environment/ Welsh

Office 1995

3. Author Unknown Eco Labelling a barrier to free trade in ENDS Report No. 272,1997 p.
31-32.
4. Author Unknown Environmental Statementin The bottom line for Stakeholdersof the Body
Shop, The Body Shop International PLC, West Sussex1997.
5. Author Unknown Industry Warmsto TextilesEco-label in ENDS Report No. 278, March
1998,p. 22.
 181

6. Author Unknown pleasuring up Body Shop ValuesReport 1995. Body Shop PLC West
Sussex1995.
7. Author Unknown Your Guide to Environmental Issues.Co-op Environment Care, 1998.
8. Author Unknown, Compromiseson Eco-label criteria for textiles in ENDS Report No. 243,
1995.
9. Author Unknown, Eco-label criteria for T-shirts agreed in ENDS Report No. 254,1995,

p.27-28.
10. Author Unknown, TheEnvironmental Protection Act 1995 in HMSO Publications, 1995.
11. Balestri, A. Georgetti, G. PratoModa Operandi, Unione Industriale Pratcse 1994.
12. Bayer Report. Magazine for Stockholdersof Bayer AG, Edition 70,1997.
13. Benheim, T. Lessonsfrom Ecotaxesin Europe in Association of Cities for
Recycling/Waste Watch London, September24"' 1997.
14. Byrne, C. Impact of New Technologyin the Clothing Industry: Outlook to 2000 in Textile
Outlook International, March 1995,p. 111-140.(Clothing manufacturing driving
developmentin the 31aworld, analysisof the historical backgroundto overseas

manufacturing and protectionism in Europe).

15. Code of Practiceon Dyeing and Finishing Marks & Spencer September1996.
16. Cost-EffectiveEnvironmental Improvementsin the Textile Industry Through Design:
Environmental Technology Best Practice Programme ETBPP. London: DTI, 1997.
17. EUpublishes legislation to ban or control exports ofsecondary materials to certain non
OECD countries - the impact of the Basel Convention. Bureau of International Recycling,
BIR, the world federation of recycling industries updateJuly 1999.
18. Far East Hong Kong Market Report Presentation Burton Men's Wear, October 1995.
19. Fowdor, N. Foreign Investmentin the Mauritian Textiles and Clothing Industry in Textile
Outlook International, November 1992,p.80-108.
20. Labour Cost Comparisonsin Textile Asia, February 1994,p. 102 (Hourly costs in the

primary textile industry Wermer International Survey).

21. Making WasteWork HMSO Department of the Environment ISBN 0-10-130402-1 1997.
22. Mantese, G. Aim for Total Ecology in Raumers Ideal World News, issue3 1994/5.

23. OrganophosphorusSheepDips. Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food pressrelease,

March 1997.
24. Paakkunainen,lZ Textiles and the environment in European Design Centre, 1995.
25. Perera,J. Scab Mars TheImpacts of Organophosphatesheepdips on Farmers, livestock and

the Environment. Friends of the Earth. London April 1993 ISBN 1 85750 204 3.
26. Proposal Description for Project Identitex. TNO Institute of Environmental Sciences
Energy Research and Process Innovation, Netherlands, 1998.
 182

27. Radiological SafetyDivision Food Scienceand SafetyGroup. Chernobyl: TheAccident and

its Past and Current Effects on the UK. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food:
January 1996.
28. Recycling Now! Waste watch, May 1997
29. Report on the environment,Novotex promotional literature 1994.
30. Report on the presentation to The London Recycling Officers Group LROG. Westminster,
London February 2 1999.
31. SecondInterim Report 1997, Establishmentof Eco-criteria for textile products. Department

of Trade and Industry DTI.

32. Supplier Analysis Chiao Kuang Group Ltd., Maccau; Arslani Ltd., Istanbul, Turkey; Florcal
Knitwear Ltd. Mauritius & Madagascar;Dora Ltd., Dominican Republic & Hong Kong;
South Ocean/NovelGroup, Mauritius & Hong Kong, China; Australia Knitting Ltd., Hong
Kong, China; The Burton Group, 1996.
33. Textiles, Energy and Environment Newsletter in British Apparel and Textile
Confederation, Issue No. 3,1997.

34. The textile industry and the environment in United Nations Publications Industry and the
Environment UNEP, Technical Report No. 16,1993.
35. Watson, J. Textiles and the environment in Economist Intelligence Unit, Special Report
No. 2150,1991.
36. What a lot of rubbish' Independence, Cambridge,volume 14 ISBN 1-86168-022-81997.
37. World Marketsfor Wool Forecast to 2000, Special Report No 2642 in Textiles Intelligence,
Spring 1996.

TELEVISION PROGRAMMES

1. Gregory, M. Producer.St. Michael Has the Halo Slipped? in World in Action ITV, January
1996.
2. Sartarti, K. Producer.Child Slave Rescuein Video Diaries BBC2, October 1996.

WEBSITES

1.1 British Pound=40.6398Mauritius Rupee. Currency Converter

http://ww%v.
oanda.coin/converter/classicApril 17 2000.
2. About Oxfam Shops-http://www oxfam or uk/shops/about/aboutl.htm September19 1999.
.
3. Author Unknown. Textile and Clothing. The Internet: http://autenna.nhIfairtrade/. 27`h
March 1997. (Exploitation. Shift to low wage economiesand world textile trade. Multi fibre
AgreementMFA).
 183

4. Community Eco-designNetwork - http://www. cedn.ore/

5. CSIRO Australian Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial ResearchOrganisation
htt ://www. csiro.au
6. CSIRO Home Page.Spinning a Fine Yarn.
htip: //ivww. csiro.au/promos/billiondind/conicnts/spinning.htm 11/02/99
7. Eco Design Foundation- httg://www. edf.edu.au
8. Environmental Design ResearchAssociation- hitp: //www.tclcpath.com/cdra/home/hinil
9. EU publishes legislation to ban or control exports of secondarymaterials to certain non-
OECD countries - the impact of the Basel Convention.Bureau of International Recycling,
BIR, the world federation of recycling industries update July 1999.-
http://www.bir. or iruk/kevissues.htm
10. Friends of the Earth Local Polluters `North London Waste Authority Emissions for 1996.-
http//www. foe.co-uk/factonywatch/java/cr
11. Glantz,M. Climate, Environment, and Disaster: The Caseof El Nino, Harvard University
Asia Ccntcr.,-htip: //www. fas.barvard.cdtL/-asiactr/fs glantz2htm
12. http: //www.o2.ore/.
13. http: //www.woolcrc.unc.edu.au/
14. Mail on Sundayattacksgarment retailers. 27thMarch 1997. Source:Clean Clothes
Campaign - ccca,xs4all.nl. (Levi Straussin Bangladeshand C&A in India).
15. Moynihan,T. Recalling cattle feed was not possible,BSE probe told. -http://www. c,yber-
dyne.com/ tom/nov99 mid news.html
16.02 - http://www.o2.ora
17. Recordjump in charities' income. BBC NEWS
http://news2.thdo.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid%5f104000/104002.stm

18. SustainableCotton Project, California 1999-http://www. sustainablecotton.

org
19. Total Midyear Population for the World.- 1950-2050-
htlp: //www. census.gov/iRg/www/worldpgn.html November25 1999.
20. Traid, Textile Recycling for Aid and International Development.-http:// www.traid. org.uk
21. UNEP Textile Website- hitp: l/www. cmcentre.com/text

LIST OF ACRONIMS

1. BMB Bio-technology Means Business

2. BSI British StandardsInstitute
3. DC Developing Country
4. DTI Department of Trade and Industry
5. EDA Ecological Design Association
 184

6. EMAS andAudit Scheme

Ecomanagement
7. END EnvironmentalDataServices
8. ETBPP Environmental Technology Best Practice Programme
9. ETBPP Environmental Textile Best Practice Programme
10. FTZ FreeTradeZone
11. GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
12. HMSO Her Majesties StationeryOffice
13. ILO International Labour Organisation
14. IRM Integrated ResourceManagement
15. IWS International Wool Secretariat(The Woolmark Company)
16. JSDC Journal of the Societyof Dyers and Colourists

17. LCA Life cycleanalysis

18. LROG The London Recycling Officers Group
19. MAFF Ministry of Agriculture Fisheriesand Food
20. MEP Member of the EuropeanParliament
21. MFA Multi Fibre Agreement
22. NCBE The National Centre for Businessand Ecology
23. NDC Newly Developing Country
24. NIC Newly Industrialised Country
25. TEN Textiles Environmental Network
26. TNO Institute of Industrial Technology, Netherlands
27. WEN Women's Environmental Network
28. WTO World TradeOrganisation