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Due to a large range of product categories, a long industrial processing chain and huge volumes in China's textile-apparel industry, there is a lot of room for improvement in substitution scale of non-renewable raw materials, resource utilisation level in production, recycling and reuse of textile waste, circular design and green consumption, said a report.
With increasing pressure on both resources and the environment, it is imperative to accelerate the circular economy transformation of the Chinese industry and expand the scope of practices, the report by Uk-based charity Ellen MacArthur Foundation said.
China's textile and apparel industry plays an important role in the global fashion industry, and its circular economy transition is crucial to the future of global circular fashion and will have a profound impact on its development, the foundation said in a press release.
With expanding new middleclass groups and increasing consumption awareness, the potential of China's textile and apparel market to be the industry driver of sustainable consumption will be further boosted, the report said. China has been promoting the circular economy since 2005.
The proportion of recycled fibre processing in China increased from 9.6 per cent in 2010 to 11.3 per cent in 2015, and its output exceeded 7 million tonnes in 2018. China’s untilisation propotion of textile waste recycled as materials reached an estimated 17 per cent in 2018.
At this stage of development, China's textile and apparel industry has put forward a vision for a new textile economy in China to keep pace with the nation's circular development strategy as well as the developments in international circular fashion, the report said.
The vision is to build a green, circular, and low-carbon textile and apparel industry system, so as to improve the resource efficiency of the industry and reduce the resource consumption and the negative impact on the environment. The new textile economy recommends five goals addressing raw materials, design, production, consumption and after use.
The goals include optimizing the raw material structure to reduce the consumption of non-renewable resources; turning to textile design based on the principles of a circular economy; further improving resource efficiency in production; innovating business models and expand green consumption; and upgrading the quality and efficiency of textile waste recycling.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
Due to a large range of product categories, a long industrial processing chain and huge volumes in China's textile-apparel industry, there is a lot of room for improvement in substitution scale of non-renewable raw materials, resource utilisation level in production, recycling and reuse of textile waste, circular design and green consumption, said a report.