The concept of decarbonization in the Textile Industry

19 September 2022, Mumbai:

The intricate network of supply chains that the fashion industry requires results in millions of employment, economic activity, and severe climatic implications. According to a recent McKinsey report, the fashion industry is estimated to be responsible for roughly 4% of all global carbon emissions; for reference, the transportation sector was in charge of 24% of emissions worldwide in 2019.

Moreover, according to McKinsey, to comply with the Paris Agreement's commitment to keeping global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the fashion sector would need to decrease emissions in half by 2030; otherwise, emissions are predicted to rise by 23%. Because emissions are ingrained throughout the fashion supply chain, producers and merchants must think about how to minimize them.

Decarbonization gets a leg up

Everyone is relying on decarbonization as the magic cure, from governments establishing "decarbonization routes" to Wall Street titans investing "billions of dollars in decarbonization solutions" to the general public calling for a quick shift to a low-carbon economy. From Bill Gates, who promised to chill the world using solar engineering technology, to Elon Musk, who is fascinated with electric automobiles (just a heads up: Tesla generated USD 1.4 billion in 2020 selling carbon credits), billionaires and philanthropists are driving the decarbonization movement.

Global climate change concerns

UN Human Rights reports have answered FAQs (frequently asked questions) time & again on climate change. The primary strategy for addressing climate change is decarbonization, and the main objective is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions globally as quickly as feasible. This process necessitates radical transformation and gradual increments, moving from one business or area to another.

The attention should also be on other industries, such as cement, steel, agriculture, and many others, even if the energy sector is the one that receives the most scrutiny due to the lower cost of renewable energies.

Decoding Decarbonization

Decarbonization is eliminating or lowering all human-caused carbon emissions to accomplish net-zero emissions. Decarbonization, as defined by the Oxford Dictionary, is substituting fossil fuels with cleaner energy sources. In this sense, decarbonization is achieved through low-carbon energy and technology. A "low-carbon" or "decarbonized" economy, on the other hand, has switched to employing low-carbon energy sources, which lowers the quantity of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) emitted into the environment. The term "decarbonization" refers to reducing carbon emissions from a country's economy by focusing on its most carbon-intensive businesses and developing creative ways to do it.

Pulse check

It is no more a well-kept secret that to aptly address decarbonization, the starting point will be to get nuanced as to where and how emissions are generated. From the cotton fields to the garbage, the fashion sector produces emissions and influences the environment. Materials must be produced or gathered to make the garments that cover the earth. Most synthetic fibers used in apparel/clothing—like polyester—are petrochemical byproducts.

Furthermore, traditionally farmed natural fibers like cotton require enormous amounts of fertilizers and pesticides to maintain significant production levels for fast fashion.

Expression of oneness

According to a Quantis analysis from 2018, the preparation of yarn (28%) and dyeing and finishing of clothing (36%) account for almost two-thirds of the emissions generated during the manufacture of a new apparel/garment.

To meet the lofty objective, countries must drastically reduce GHG emissions to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050. And here is where decarbonization comes into play, Watson, my darling.

As we discussed earlier in this article discovering that power emission reduction as a tectonic shift is absolutely critical for attaining low-carbon textile products. Furthermore, the unified approach will only help to realize of vision of decarbonization in the so-called orthodox textile industry and what can be learned from other industries.

The road ahead is a challenging route that will take billions of dollars in expenditures, realizing how big the market opportunity expectedly could succeed with the active participation of multinational corporations as fundamental to progression.

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