by Jocelyn Fitzgerald, AILO of Florence
There is more clothing being sold than ever before, which, in turn, results in an ever-growing mountain of discarded clothing. After the oil and gas industries, the textile industry is widely believed to be the most polluting industry on the planet, responsible for 10% of total CO2 emissions. While buying fewer clothes is the best and most obvious action an individual can take, can anything else be done to decrease the mounting pile of discarded clothing? As it turns out, there is something: clothing recycling.
A long textile history
Prato
is a town about 25 km north of Florence that has had highs and lows in the textile industry since the Middle Ages. The city has a long tradition in the textile sector and has been recycling wool since the mid-nineteenth century. This process leads to the creation of new yarns from the regeneration of old clothes, rags or industrial waste. This was an industry which was born out of poverty and need; most people could not afford fine linens and fabrics to clothe themselves and resorted to the recycling of rags to produce new fabrics.
Since the 1850s, there have been various methods of shredding rags to separate the vegetable fibers from wool and to recuperate the material for use in making blankets and in the clothing industry. (The photo at left shows a old garnetting machine, which was used to “comb” the fabrics to separate the fibers.) The men who collected the rags – “ragmen” – were called Cenciailioli, and they became experts in evaluating the rags by just touching them, selecting them by quality and color.
Shortages after WW II
After the Second World War there was a lack of raw materials, and the necessity of recuperating old clothes, fabrics and rags became essential. Prato became famous for their expert recycling; the end product was highly prized, and they imported enormous bales of mixed fabrics and old clothes from all over the world to separate, shred and recycle into new fabrics for the ongoing production of blankets and clothes. This led to an economic boom in the textile industry in Prato. The narrow streets of Prato echoed with the loud clacking of the machines and looms, which seemed to hide behind most doors. Everyone was involved in the industry in one way or another.
Prato has since developed finer fabrics and has become a leader in the textile industry with around 7,000 textile businesses, each specializing in one part of the manufacturing process, whether it be spinning, warping, weaving, dyeing, finishing, printing or designing.
The competition from developing countries such as China and India has taken its toll on the Prato textile industry, but it still exists. Today, Prato has the opportunity to become the world’s leading recycling center for old clothes and discarded fabrics, given the long experience the town has in this field.
This short (4 minute) video by the BBC illustrates the town’s work today: Prato’s Textile Industry
Resources:
McKinsey.com: “Style that’s Sustainable”
UN News: “The Environmental Cost of Staying Fashionable”
Photos: Jocelyn Fitzgerald
