To really be certain of bringing actual environmentally-friendly products to market, investigate the product and research its manufacturer. (Image courtesy Anvil Knitwear Inc.)

I recently encountered a bumper sticker that read: “If you haven’t changed your mind lately, how can you be sure that you still have one?” After hastily reformulating my opinion of bumper stickers, I got to thinking about how we come to our beliefs, landing, for better or worse, on certain thought patterns without questioning our arrival. Environmentalism is one subject matter on which people’s opinions frequently get fixed, apathetic to activist, with no lack of intensity from either side. Whatever your stance, isn’t it at least worth a look and perhaps a reevaluation from time to time? Even if you wind up where you started, mindset maintained, at least you’ll know how and why you got there. It is in this spirit that Printwear asked some industry suppliers to sort out what’s significant and what’s sustainabull, challenging some concepts of sustainability during this earthliest of months. 

Cotton convo

From recycled to organic everything, it seems as though fiber source has become synonymous with sustainability in a product-centric marketplace. Important as it is, all sources emphasize that this is but one ingredient of a much broader discourse. Even so, it turns out there’s a lot more to the organic–conventional cotton continuum than meets the eye, with pros to both practices. Gildan’s Garry Bell sheds some light on the latter: “The debate surrounding the complete environmental and social impact of cotton is larger than just the chemicals applied or not applied to the plants. Water consumption, soil erosion, chemical run off, GHGs and agricultural land utilization have significant impacts on the environment and all need to be carefully scrutinized.”

Advances in agricultural practices have affected all cotton growers, he adds, mentioning that yield of cotton generated per acre improved dramatically with the adoption of GMO seeds in conventional cotton practices. “This frees up more land to grow food crops that all scientists agree the planet will need more of in the future.” Adoption of the bacillus thuringiensis (BT) seed also reduced the amount of insecticides needed because of insect-repellant properties built right in. “A variety of integrated pest-management programs, including area wide species-eradication systems have been put into effect in certain parts of the country that reduce the amount of pesticides needed as well,” Bell adds. 

Eliminated where they can be, conventional cotton growing still applies certain chemicals, but Bell adds, “Cotton is governed in the U.S.A. as a food crop, making it one of the most highly-regulated crops in the world. The same Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards that apply to apples and strawberries dictate what pesticides, herbicides or insecticides can be applied in a conventionally-grown cotton field. The same laws also govern worker re-entry times, anywhere from one to five days after spraying before workers are even allowed into the fields.” In that time, the chemicals have reportedly gone inert, preventing hazard to workers’ health upon their return. 

Conventional cotton farmers also use conservation agricultural practices like rotational and cover crops that, according to Bell, are beneficial in reducing soil erosion, increasing and retaining nitrogen levels and even retaining moisture. Also to U.S. conventional cotton’s credit, he mentions that today’s practices use targeted, soil-monitoring systems, conservation tillage and irrigation practices, only applying exactly the right amount of water and fertilizer to get the soil back to necessary levels. “The benefit of this to the environment is the reduced risk of incremental chemical run-off into local water eco-systems,” states Bell.

Starting out with natural seeds, organic processes use “no chemical pesticides, no chemical herbicides and no chemical fertilizers,” remarks Anthony Corsano, Anvil Knitwear Inc. “It’s about doing it naturally,” he explains. In Corsano’s count, it boils down to not putting onto the earth chemicals that one might consider harmful. He does acknowledge the genetically-modified seed’s ability to rid crops of certain pests, reduce water consumption and increase yield, and Corsano’s conversations with farmers reveal that said seed is something about which they wonder. 

As organic farming practices spread, Corsano hopes that major companies supporting the industry will conduct more research and development toward increasing yields and efficiency, just as they did for conventional farming. 

Similarly, Bell mentions discussions taking place in Europe—where the greatest sentiment against genetically-modified seeds has been expressed—that would allow organic cotton growers to use the BT seed. Until an agricultural fusion of sorts is invented to actualize the best of both worlds, the cotton conversation goes on. 

Hanesbrands has installed a state-of-the-art biomass steam boiler at its Dos Rios textile manufacturing plant in the Dominican Republic that uses widely-available agricultural waste products as a clean energy source.  According to the company, using the biomass system eliminates the need to burn 8,000 gallons of oil per day and significantly reduces carbon emissions. (Image courtesy Hanesbrands Inc.)

Check the source

To Tom Sineath of responsible screen-printing operation, T.S. Designs, distance from source is even more salient to sustainability. “We support sustainable fibers,” he reports. “Organic has its benefits, but a locally-sourced fiber, even if not organic, has a lower transportation footprint and must be considered, too.” 

Also worth addressing is the scope beyond goods and onto policies, practices and procedures, which, as Corsano puts it, makes for better corporate citizens. “Sustainability is about the intention—one’s intention of reducing their footprint; doing things in an environmentally-friendly manner. Is it strictly a sales and marketing ploy or is it really the intention of the organization to do things in a more appropriate manner?” Corsano asks. Deciphering between who’s trying to make a sale and who’s trying to make a change is a big challenge facing the industry, and world, he adds. 

Along those lines, Bell brings up the vital aspect of labor practices—something he thinks has fallen off of the radar screen with the focus on environmental issues. Bell indicates that a common misconception is that certain countries of origin equal bad labor practices when the unfortunate reality is that bad factory owners mean bad labor practices. Accordingly, third-party accreditation and certification is a crucial component here, allowing average consumers to validate a company’s claims and make better-informed decisions. 

Transparency, agrees Sineath, is key for customers to get it. “I believe people will make good choices if they know the real facts. Moving towards a more just and sustainable world will be a multi-prong approach dealing with environmental and social issues.” From his standpoint, the customer cares and wants to know where their products come from, the people involved and how the resource is managed, and companies need to step up to meet this demand. “I think in light of the Wall Street melt down and the poor economy, we all are looking closer at the actions or inactions that got us in this predicament,” Sineath states.

To really be certain of bringing actual environmentally-friendly products to market, Corsano stresses the importance of not only investigating the product, but also researching its manufacturer. 

“I think people need to look beyond some of the hype that’s out there, and there’s plenty of that,” remarks Hanesbrands Inc.’s Matt Waterman, who also advises a look at how suppliers are doing their part to help the environment as well as glancing inward at your own practices. “This is something we talk to our partners about—these are some of the things we’re doing, what can you do? And just continue it,” he adds. The main sustainability platform for Hanes involves energy and natural resource conservation, with an Energy Star and EPA-approved corporate energy-management program and about 20 percent of the energy in its manufacturing processes coming from renewable resources, such as biomass, sugarcane, rice husks, coconut shells, geothermal and hydropower. “If everyone’s conserving and reducing and reusing just a little bit more, it makes a huge impact.”

Within your sustain-abilities

Part of that impact, or reduction thereof, falls into the hands of all T-shirt owners, as the majority of planetary detriment takes place in the consumer-use phase, according to our sources’ research. “Washing in hot water with chlorine bleach, using a dryer—in the lifespan of a T-shirt that you might wash 200 times before you throw it out, that has a bigger environmental impact than anything that Gildan does in our manufacturing processes,” Bell reports. He says the biggest way to reduce the impact of apparel is to use safer detergents, stop washing clothes in hot water and hang them to dry.

Laundering, Corsano explains, requires a tremendous amount of energy to heat the water, run the machine and heat the dryer, and he encourages people to ask: Does it have to be washed in hot water? Does it have to be washed in a longer cycle? Does it have to be washed just yet? Little changes, such as wearing a T one extra time, never washing less than a full load and avoiding over-drying, make significant savings. “I think when we can say to somebody that sixty percent of the negative impact environmentally from the manufacturing and use and disposal of this T-shirt occurs in how you wash and dry it is a very strong statement,” comments Corsano. 

Outside the laundry room, putting forth miniscule efforts to flip the light switch, leave the house a little warmer or cooler, spend five fewer minutes showering, unplug the cell phone charger (and anything else you can stand to plug back in) add up. “There’s a million things that you can do that won’t actually impact your life in any way, shape or form, but collectively, would make a huge change,” Corsano states. 

Now, if your mind hasn’t changed, not to worry. An open mind should be proof enough that it’s still in there. Don’t forget to use it.