Sustainability and Textile Testing

Sustainability is the ability to carry out required tasks and meet required needs without compromising the long-term availability of the required resources and the long-term condition of the environment. Sustainability recognizes the finite nature of available resources and requires that steps should be taken to ensure that products and processes do not adversely impact the environment, society and the economy. The textile industry is one industry that has been known to have an impact on the environment and as a result on society. This has been seen in different sectors of the industry, particularly the colouration and yarn manufacturing sectors. Chemicals, which are widely used for the colouration and finishing processes, can be harmful to the environment. The dwindling availability of raw materials warns against the indiscriminate use of textile materials. The substitution of synthetic materials in place of natural raw materials can cause problems about degradability. Testing plays a major role in ascertaining the suitability of materials and processes in terms of their sustainability and their impact on the environment. This chapter discusses various tests that can be carried out to ascertain the sustainability of textile materials and related processes. It also seeks to discuss the actual testing itself in terms of its own sustainability.