Elizabeth Davis
Chuck Stewart, owner and founder of the dye company Tumbling Colors, speaks to students in the Witherspoon Cinema Wednesday, April 9 during Textiles Talk. The sustainability and environmental impact of the textile industry was discussed with a panel of members from the industry.
When trying to find ways to live more sustainably, looking to one’s closet isn’t the most obvious choice. However, according to a panel discussion held at Witherspoon Student Center Wednesday night, it should be.
The panel consisted of professors, entrepreneurs and area business owners who work in the textile industry, in an event titled “ If clothes could talk.”
Chuck Stewart, a panel member and the owner of Tumbling Colors, addressed the potential of labels being misleading to consumers.
Lead, mercury and copper are all natural substances, but not all are safe to be included in clothing fabrics, Stewart said.
“Just because the label said all natural, doesn’t mean it’s necessarily all safe,” Stewart said.
Tom Sineath, CEO of TS Designs located in Burlington, N.C., concentrated on having a business that is accessible and transparent. Labels don’t give much information about the process, yet consumers are still looking to them for information.
“We’re all making choices,” Sineath said. “What do we really know?”
Becoming an informed consumer is an important part of understanding the global impact of textiles.
“Do you know where everything you are wearing came from?” Sineath said.
The panel discussed the important role education plays in the sustainable textile industry.
David Hinks, a professor in College of Textiles, emphasized the need to educate students about sustainable practices and their responsibility to the community.
“Who are we educating?” Hinks said, “Beyond scientists and engineers, we need to educate the general public to make decisions.”
However, Hinks questioned if it’s even possible to have a sustainable textile industry in the first place.
“This is too ambitious,” Hinks said. “Instead, we should focus on an industry that is more sustainable.”
The panel emphasized the fact there is more to the textile industry than just the final product of clothes people wear.
Textiles often move to wherever they can to pay the lowest labor costs, promoting the malpractices of retailers and massive overproduction, according to the panel.
“It doesn’t matter where we do it, we need to do it the right way,” Stewart said. “ Textiles can be done in a safe and sustainable way.”
Stewart said 98 percent of clothes worn by Americans today are imported.
“People, planet, and profit—profit at the expense of the two is a mistake,” Sineath said.
Social justice and environmental stewardship are two factors that companies need to consider beyond just the profit, according to Sineath.
“In general, businesses don’t want you to know everything,” Sineath said. “It’s ugly.”
We pay more for products produced in the U.S. because of the stricter enforcement of labor and environmental laws as well as higher wages, Sineath said.
The panel also addressed the value of sustainability labels on garments and its influence on the customer
“If it’s correct and properly managed, it has potential,” said Andre West, a professor in the College of Textiles and a technologist in fashion design.
However, West argued that the marketing strategy to “buy U.S.A.” has been around for a while, yet doesn’t seem to have much impact.
“It’s up to each individual person…it starts with you being aware,” West said.