Lesson 3 — The Textile Supply Chain Overview

Introduction

Before a garment reaches a consumer, it travels through a long, global, and often invisible supply chain.
Fibers grown in one country may be spun in another, woven in a third, sewn in a fourth, and sold worldwide.

To understand sustainability, we first need to understand this journey — because every stage carries specific risks, responsibilities, and opportunities for improvement.

Think of this lesson as a world tour of your clothing:
from fields and factories to shipping routes, store shelves, and finally, what happens after the product’s first life ends.

1. Fiber Production

This is where our journey begins — with raw material creation.

Types of fibers:

• Natural: cotton, wool, linen, hemp

• Synthetic: polyester, nylon, acrylic

• Regenerated: viscose, modal, lyocell

Environmental impacts:

• Cotton farming = high water + pesticide use

• Synthetic fibers = fossil fuels + greenhouse gas emissions

• Wool = land use + methane from sheep

Example:
BCI cotton farms in India have reduced water use by up to 20% through improved irrigation.

Social impacts:

• Farmer livelihoods

• Labor rights in harvesting and processing

2. Yarn Production

Raw fibers travel to spinning mills — sometimes thousands of kilometers away.

Impact hotspots:

• High energy consumption

• Worker safety risks in older mills

• Use of chemicals (e.g., mothproofing for wool)

Example:
A mill in Italy operating on 100% renewable energy cuts its carbon footprint by 40% compared to traditional spinning.

3. Fabric Production

Here, yarn becomes fabric through weaving or knitting.

Environmental considerations:

• Weaving machines consume significant energy

• Dyeing and finishing use water and chemicals

• Chemical discharge can contaminate local water systems

Example:
Some denim factories in Bangladesh now use laser and ozone finishing, saving millions of liters of water annually.

4. Garment Manufacturing

This is where clothing takes shape.

Key issues:

• Worker safety and fair wages

• Overtime pressure

• Waste from offcuts and defects

Example:
The 2013 Rana Plaza collapse exposed unsafe working conditions and triggered global audit reforms.

5. Distribution & Retail

Finished garments begin their global journey to stores or customers.

Impact hotspots:

• Transport emissions from ships, trucks, and planes

• Packaging waste (polybags, boxes, tags)

Example:
Some brands now ship multiple garments in a single recyclable bag to reduce packaging waste.

6. Use Phase

This stage is controlled by consumers — and it has a bigger impact than most people think.

Environmental impacts:

• Washing, drying, and ironing require energy

• Synthetics release microfibers into waterways

Example:
Washing clothes in cold water and air-drying can reduce a garment’s carbon footprint by up to 30%.

7. End-of-Life / Next Life

What happens after a garment’s first life?

Possible pathways:

• Donation or resale

• Recycling into new fiber

• Downcycling (e.g., insulation)

• Landfill or incineration

Example:
Ghana’s Kantamanto Market receives massive volumes of second-hand clothing weekly — much of it unsellable waste.

Circular alternatives:
repair, rental, resale, closed-loop recycling.

8. Key Stakeholders Along the Journey

Across the supply chain, sustainability is shaped by:

• Farmers and raw material suppliers

• Spinning mills

• Weaving/knitting factories

• Garment manufacturers

• Brands and retailers

• Logistics and warehousing

• Consumers

• Recyclers and waste handlers

Understanding roles helps identify where interventions matter most.

9. Practical Exercise

Choose one garment you own or plan to produce.

1. Map its journey across the seven supply chain stages.

2. Identify three stages where you see the highest sustainability risks.

3. Write one improvement or intervention for each stage.

You’ll use this mapping later in the course.

Closing

Every stage of the supply chain carries unique sustainability challenges — but also unique opportunities to innovate and reduce impact.

In the next lesson, we’ll explore how to measure sustainability using real textile metrics, from CO₂ emissions to water use, chemical safety, and waste.