Speakers for promoting sustainable, eco-friendly textile practices

FAISALABAD: Speakers at a seminar called for promoting sustainable and eco-friendly textile practices by encouraging natural sustainable fiber as the sector is the second largest polluter whereas synthetic fibres including polyester takes 100 years to dissolve. The global fashion industry emits a hefty amount of greenhouses.

They addressed a seminar on sustainability and fashion arranged by Institute of Home Science University of Agriculture Faisalabad at New Senate Hall.

UAF Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan said we have to promote environmental friendly textile and agriculture practices. He was of view that heavy usage of chemicals sans measures had polluted water and smoke chunking from factories had destroyed our air quality, provoking the climate changes.

He added that we are destroying our environment from our own hands. We have to preserve it for the future generation. He said that academia-industry linkages were the prerequisite to make the development and address the different issues facing the globe.

Dean Faculty of Food Nutrition and Home Sciences Dr Masood Sadiq Butt said that the university was making all-out efforts to cement the ties between the academia and industry. He added that sustainability textile was an umbrella term for clothes that are created and consumed in a way that can be sustained, recycled while protecting both the environment and those producing garment with ecological integrity.

National Textile University Dean Dr Zafar Javed said that there are 7.8 billion population of the world whereas 150 billion garments are being produced.

He said that in some countries, they were producing recycled clothes to preserve the nature and to combat the exploiting the resources. He said that the practice of taking textile waster to landfill sites ended by regulations endorsed in Finland in 2016.

He added that fashion is changing with a fast pace that was also creating disturbance.

Deputy General Manager Stitching Gohar Textile and renowned textile expert Sheraz Shan said that it is misconception that leather comes from form by product of the meat industry as the fashion industry kills 430 million animals per year.

He said the majority of the clothes are petroleum based and made from fusel fuels including polyester, acrylic, and nylon etc which are among the major pollution contributors.

He said that as many as 8000 type of chemicals from farm to final produce are used which causes pollution and health hazards.

Director Home Sciences Dr Ayesha Riaz called for collaborated efforts to address the issue and preserve the earth form the climate disaster. She added that global eco-friendly fashion industry utilizes biodegradable material from natural and recycled fabric. These materials required little to chemical treatment, less energy, and less water.

Chairman University of Engineering and Technology Lahore Faisalabad Campus Dr Mohsin Malik stressed upon the need to promote natural sustainable fibre including banana, okra, flex and bamboos and certified bio based fabric.

He said that traditional dyeing processes use 5.8 trillion litres water per annum. One fifth of the world industrial waster is related to water.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022