Insights by a G&CP Partner
In the age of technology with rapid artificial intelligence improvements, “traditional” sectors still play an important role in global economies. As an example of these sectors, the textile industry, with its long history and significant export potential for a substantial number of countries, always captures attention. Embedded production culture in the industry can sometimes make it resistant to adopting new practices, e.g., using harmful and hazardous chemicals, but with the strong information exchange and awareness raised through the efforts of different stakeholders in the industry, a noticeable improvement was observed in the production countries in the last decade.
As all partners in the industry are aware, chemical usage and handling are crucial global sustainability concerns. As I mentioned, there is a substantial improvement in awareness, but identifying where exactly we are in this improvement journey requires additional elements of sustainability dimensions to be included in these discussions, meaning that more convergence in terms of understanding the social and environmental aspects could help to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the topic. Setting standards, safer and more sustainable chemicals produced by chemical manufacturers, and collaboration among the industry organisations and universities are existing good practices. But if we look at the picture from the facilities’ side, we may need a more comprehensive way of understanding to see the distinct and common elements in the social and environmental discussions in textile production. This is where gender and chemicals intersect and become one of the most important parts of sustainability efforts at the facility level.
