It’s now common for factories to reuse 90% of their water. While both cotton and polyester are normally colored with synthetic dyes, dyeing cotton is a more water- and heat-intensive process. The surface of cotton fibers is negatively charged and doesn’t readily react with negatively charged dye compounds.
During the coloration process, a large percentage of the dye does not bind to the fabric and is lost to the wastewater stream. Approximately 10-15% dyes are released into the environment during dyeing process making the effluent highly colored and aesthetically unpleasant. Public perception of water quality is greatly influenced by the colour. So, the removal of colour from wastewater is often viewed as more important than the removal of the soluble colourless organic substances.
During the dyeing process an average t-shirt will use 16-20 litres of water, which means that on average, the global textile industry discharges 40,000 – 50,000 tons of dye into the water system. A great environmental concern with dyes is the absorption and reflection of sunlight entering the water. Light absorption diminishes photosynthetic activity of algae and seriously influence on the food chain as the algae are the base of the food chain, thus affecting every organism above it. The lack of algae is one of the main reasons that the aquatic life suffers in areas that dyes are discharged, but another is because of the toxicity of the dyes themselves.
Dying for fashion
Clothing comes into prolonged contact with one’s skin, the largest organ, and so toxic chemicals are often absorbed into the skin, especially when one’s body is warm and skin pores have opened to allow perspiration. This absorption has been shown to cause significant health effects, such as an increase in tumours. They have been shown to have carcinogens, as they are made with many chemicals. Textile dyes can also cause allergies such as contact dermatitis and respiratory diseases, allergic reaction in eyes, skin irritation, and irritation to mucous membrane and the upper respiratory tract.These diseases are most prevalent in the workers who are dyeing the clothes as they are around the chemicals all day. These workers are literally dying for fashion.
