The Impact of Textile Materials on Living Things: Consumer Awareness and the Role of Fashion Brands

The production of textile materials, whose primary destination is the fashion industry, has continued to increase since the beginning of the century. This has increased from nearly 60 million tons per year in 2000 to nearly 110 in 2020, with forecasts estimating volumes at nearly 130 million tons per year in 2025, nearly 150 in 2030.

This exponential growth is deeply worrying because the production of textile materials has multiple impacts: on the climate with a proven contribution to global warming, on biodiversity due to deforestation practices, overexploitation of soils and air pollution, soil and water, and on the well-being and health of people working in industry, with risks relating to health and safety in the workplace, precarious employment and even cases proven non-respect of labor law, human rights and children’s rights.

To remedy these impacts linked to the production of textile materials, certain brands in the fashion industry seek to respect the principles of sustainable development. They use production methods that are less harmful to the environment, animals and people.

In concrete terms, these commitments lead brands to favor natural textile materials that pollute less (organic cotton) and require less water (linen, hemp), recycled textile materials (although their production has limits), materials that respect the – being animal – for example, labeled responsible wool standard (RWS) – or alternative materials to animal materials (for example Piñatex made from pineapple to avoid the use of leather).

Transversely, these commitments also lead brands to favor materials produced in Europe or abroad by following ethical charters. For example, the Loom brand mainly offers cotton clothing but also linen or wool. The cotton and linen are certified global organic textile standard (GOTS), the wool is certified “mulesing-free” (i.e. without the surgical practice of removing the skin located around the tail of the sheep and which relates to animal abuse). Linen is grown in France, cotton in India, these materials are woven in Italy and the clothes are made in Portugal.

Between lack of knowledge and guilt

On the consumer side, growing interest in these brands and products translates into purchasing intentions. For example, 64% of French people say they are ready to buy clothes containing natural, recycled or labeled fibres, and 65% stress that the brands’ commitment to sustainable development is an important criterion for their clothing purchases.

At the same time, however, it is clear that consumers lack knowledge about textiles and their impacts, or even are unaware of them, although a certain number still feel a negative feeling, even guilt. in connection with their clothing purchases, particularly for the fast fashion.

In a recent research, we wanted to understand how an awareness of the impacts of textile materials on living things can take place. Thanks to 21 interviews carried out in France at consumers’ homes, in two stages and 6 months apart, we identify two levels of awareness and explain how consumers can switch from one to the other.

At the first level, qualified as awareness of access, or phenomenal awareness, the consumer “knows” what cotton is: he knows the sensations associated with this material, he can talk about it, but this is not necessarily accompanied a conceptualization of the impacts on life of this material.

At the second level, of a higher order, qualified as reflexive consciousness, the consumer produces a judgement, often of a moral order, on his own actions. In the case of textile materials, this is reflected in particular by taking into account the ethical issues associated with the materials, via two dimensions:

• The durability of the garment, in other words to what extent the textile materials contribute to “making the garment last”. This is the example of a person who buys cotton because he finds that this material holds up well over time.

• Impacts on living organisms, in other words the consequences of the production of textile materials on the environment, animals and people. This is the example of a person who will buy organic cotton because they know that this material requires fewer pesticides than conventional cotton, or who prefers linen knowing that this material requires less irrigation than cotton .

To move from the first level to the second, and from the second level of the first dimension (durability of clothing) to the second (impact of textile materials on living things), certain events will play a key role.

The key role of events leading to disadaptation

These events can be a conversation with a loved one, listening to a podcast, reading an explanatory post on social networks, reading a clothing label, experiencing a garment that deforms in the wash , etc. They will create a mismatch, a shift from reality as it was experienced until then.

This mismatch, if it is then accompanied by a verbalization for others, allows conceptualization and then reflexivity. In other words, an event causing a mismatch can lead to a reflection on what this event has revealed, brought to light for the consumer. This results in learning which is the result of moving from one level to another.

When materials become objects of reflection following a mismatch, some consumers first realize that they had no knowledge of the impacts of textile materials on living things, or that they had erroneous knowledge.

Not all consumers are ready

As a result, some will seek to learn more: by looking at labels more often, by doing research on the Internet, by interviewing salespeople in stores, by talking with their relatives, etc. This could then translate into purchases of clothing containing materials deemed to be more respectful of the environment, people and animals, or the identification of brands offering products containing this type of material, which the people encountered would prefer to the future.

However, not all consumers are willing or ready to conceptualize the impacts of textile materials on living things. Of the people we met, this was due to a disinterest in the clothing category, a disinterest in the environment, human welfare or animal welfare, or a sense of helplessness about the impacts of the production of textile materials on the living.

A necessary verbalization

This research makes it possible to formulate recommendations for fashion brands who would like to support consumers towards greater awareness of the impacts of textile materials on living things. We update that information alone can create disadaptation, but is not enough for conceptualization and therefore for awareness to operate.

Verbalization is necessary. In this sense, salespeople have a key role to play in stores, in order to help consumers understand the information made available to them (labels allowing the type of textile materials to be identified, labels, POS elements highlighting the brand’s commitments to reduce the impact on life of its clothes due to the materials they are made of).

Finally, in order to promote awareness by allowing verbalization for others, organizations such as Ademe (Ecological Transition Agency) or Re_Fashion (eco-organization of the textile, clothing, household linen and footwear sector) could organize workshops with consumers to discuss the fashion industry and make them aware of “better consumption” of clothing, necessary in a context of lifestyle transition towards sobriety.