Premier Digital Textiles supports and supplies sustainable textiles with a reduced carbon footprint, prepared using less water than conventional textiles and with reduced or no use of pesticides and growing agents. They now also offer an expanded selection of re-cycled polyester print bases. (Image courtesy Textintel.)

In a world where the textile industry is seen to be one of the largest polluters of the environment, progress towards achieving sustainability in textile manufacturing has proven to be a vital component in developing a winning market proposition for many textile companies. Whether it is the use of illegal pesticides in cotton growth or the irresponsible consumption of trees and oil reserves in fiber production, the textile Industry has much to answer for—but it is changing, and fast.

Taken alongside its voracious appetite for energy and water consumption, as well as its unrestrained pollution of local water tables, the textile industry has been forced to find answers for an increasingly environmentally aware customer base. In addition to the many improvements in bleaching and chemical treatment, as well as new recycling technologies, the widespread adoption of digital textile printing has proven to be a vital component in the industry’s battle to adopt effective sustainability strategies.