Textiles

Yearly, approximately 100 Million tons textile fibers are produced. After plastics (over 360 MTon yearly) it is the second largest stream of carbon-based materials. Presently, the textile industry faces many challenges. 60% of all textiles are fossil-based (mainly polyester). The remaining 40% is mainly cotton. However, also cotton has a large ecological footprint. New resources or rediscovered resources are presently under development.

The textiles industry is responsible for about 20% of global industrial water pollution. This pollution is mostly related to dyeing and other textile treatments. On top of that, the consumer trend of fast fashion has led to retailers selling clothes that are expected to be disposed of after being worn only a few times. Clothing production has doubled between 2000 and 2015.

To phase out fossil-based fibers in the textile industry, different pathways need to be explored. The cases studied in the textile domain aim to shed light on these different pathways.

Soon the selected cases will be added to this page. If you have questions about the textile domain, please contact the textile domain managers, Paulien Harmsen and Dieuwerje de Wagenaar.