Textile producing countries unite to reduce chemical waste
Release Date:
2022-10-25
The governments of Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and Vietnam have joined forces to tackle chemical pollution, launching a US $43 million joint programme to manage and reduce hazardous chemicals in their textile industries.
The governments of Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and Vietnam have joined forces to tackle chemical pollution, launching a US $43 million joint programme to manage and reduce hazardous chemicals in their textile industries.
The textile industry in the four countries employs more than 10 million people and accounts for nearly 15 percent of global garment exports. However, the economic benefits for the industry come at a cost, as the sector is one of the world's major users of persistent organic pollutants and perfluorinated and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which are some 12,000 synthetic chemicals that do not break down and accumulate in the environment, threatening the health of humans and ecosystems.
A wet processing plant that processes materials into fabric by bleaching, printing, dyeing, finishing and washing, usually using 0.58 kg of chemicals for every 1kg of fabric produced. These compounds leak into the environment at all stages of the textile life cycle, from production to use, handling and recycling.
Under the leadership of the United Nations environment programme (unep), the global environment facility (full ring fund), under the financial support of the Basel convention and the Stockholm convention south-east Asia region core and the natural resources defense council, under the support of the textile industry to use less and emissions related chemical solution for small and medium-sized enterprises and manufacturers to provide technical support and tools, To enhance their awareness and management of hazardous chemicals, guide them in managing risks to workers and ultimately eliminate hazardous chemicals from the manufacturing process.
"The textile industry is a major user of toxic 'permanent chemicals' that contaminate local and global ecosystems," said Eloise Touni, UNEP's Chemicals and waste programme officer.
"While governments have agreed to a global ban on hazardous chemicals through the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, thousands of hazardous chemicals such as PFAS are still used in value chains. Unep is proud to work with Governments and companies to scale up practices and phase out chemicals of concern across the sector ".
The five-year programme will create an enabling environment for the phase-out of perfluorooctane sulfonate and other chemicals of concern by bringing public policies in the textile sector in the four countries in line with international practices, including supply chain transparency, chemicals management and investments in ecological innovation, and occupational health and reliability.
Fauz Ul Azeem, general manager of corporate sustainability and chemicals management at Interloop Limited, a knitwear manufacturer in Pakistan, said processing plants often lacked the awareness and technical expertise needed to manage chemicals according to practice.
"Phasing out any chemical from existing stocks is a painful task for any production facility," said Mr Ul Azeem. "They need to recalibrate all their operational processes after careful analysis of quality, regulatory and cost implications."
"This project will help stakeholders understand the upcoming global mandatory requirements and how a proactive approach can help them avoid business impacts. This will help them understand the long-term benefits of considering environmental impacts in their decision-making."
Syed Mujtaba Hussain, joint secretary of Pakistan's Climate Change Ministry, said the country was well aware of the need to reform the textile industry to reduce its environmental impact and meet Pakistan's international obligations.
"The wet processing phase of textiles is an environmental 'hot spot' in terms of water pollution, ecosystems, human health and climate impacts due to the heavy use of chemicals and fossil fuel-derived energy sources," Mr Hussain said.
"We welcome this project, which will help this important industry reduce pollution while entering new markets and achieving continued growth."
keyword:
textile
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