2020 has been a difficult year by all accounts, hitting the textiles and apparel industry particularly hard. The global supply chain, once viewed as efficient, has shown significant cracks in its once inviolable face, and both brands and suppliers are looking for ways to correct its failings. While there will likely always be a global infrastructure supporting the industry, the efforts to take advantage of digital technologies for improved efficiencies and to reshore at least some of the life cycle activities in the industry have gained steam this year. We’ll review just a few of the interesting developments that hold out hope for a more sustainable industry as we move into 2021 and beyond.

One of the key sustainability issues in textiles and apparel is the amount of water used in the manufacturing process, and as a corollary, the amount of water pollution that results. Fresh water is a precious resource. A recent National Geographic article highlighted the clean water crisis the Earth is facing. There’s the same amount of fresh water here as there has always been, but the dramatic increase in the world’s population, among other factors, has led to a crisis, stating, “Water scarcity is an abstract concept to many and a stark reality for others. It is the result of myriad environmental, political, economic, and social forces.”

The article continues: “While nearly 70 percent of the world is covered by water, only 2.5 percent of it is fresh. The rest is saline and ocean-based. Even then, just 1 percent of our freshwater is easily accessible, with much of it trapped in glaciers and snowfields. In essence, only 0.007 percent of the planet's water is available to fuel and feed its 6.8 billion people.”