The textile industry is far big than we consider in our minds. Clothing, bedding are majors for this industry and further classified into subcategories. We must know the importance of ethical issues related to these major and big money-making industries at this point in life. We are going through significant environmental changes, and for this, we must know from where are our clothing or even bedding sourced?
What are ethically sourced products?
When you are lying comfortably in different layers of bed sheets, duvets, comforters, duvet covers, blankets, and other bedding essentials, even for once, have you ever visualized from where this bedding came from? Unless we had severe environmental issues, we never emphasized it, but now it is high time to know and consider buying. Bedding serves as the style statement around which an entire room is stylized.
Ethical Issues in The Textile
Let us take it from the beginning; when we are talking about ethically sourced products, we refer to how these products were made and came in the market for sale. The whole procedure of product making must be environmentally responsible and sustainable. This includes the start of seed implant through workers’ rights and the social impact of that product’s supply.
What are the ethical issues?
Every industry has its ethical issues, but some of the most overlooked ethical problems of the textile industry are low wages, child labor, animal cruelty, high usage of natural resources, environmental pollution, and increased consumption and wastage of products.
Low wages
Farmers and workers are paid significantly less, especially when looking after the natural resource fields like cotton, silk, and wool.
The business’s low return, high venture nature entraps farmers and laborers into a descending winding of debt, low pay, stress, poor health issues, anxiety, and depression.
Child labor
Child labor is one of the significant issues in the textile industry. Small children of low-income families are forced to work. Due to drastic changes in climatic conditions, many other problems such as drought, hunger, water shortage have occurred, and they migrate and force child labor to save their families.
Animal cruelty
This is very much related to the production of bedding. Like down and feather duvet and pillows. Birds are killed for their down and feathers, but still, there are some companies like Rayman Textiles that believe in a natural collection of down and feathers of birds. Companies relying on a raw display of feathers’ quantity of their products are less expensive than the companies that incline animal cruelty and produce bulk.
High usage of natural resources
Growing natural materials like cotton and wool incorporate more usage of natural resources. As they require more water quantity, and as we all know, water is getting scarce from the earth and requires pesticides and fertilizers for growth. So, we must use these resources wisely.
Environmental pollution
The increase in population has affected the textile industry’s production, which is one of the significant polluters with a considerable carbon footprint. In addition to these toxic chemicals, dyes, bleaches required for bedding production also pollute our environment. Materials like microfiber and rayon are like plastic and they do not decompose and sit in soil or water for years and years.
Increased consumption and wastage of products
With the increasing population around the global consumption of everything has also increased. So, the need for new bedding has also increased, and some people change them very often, which results in wastage of resources, and some bedding materials end up in landfills.
What changes ethical sourcing of products can create?
Products made from ethical sources have a lower profit margin but help in climatic and environmental change movements. We must assure before buying from where our products are coming from.
Ethically grown and manufactured products are acknowledged to reduce the carbon footprint, drastically damaging our surroundings. The other good reason for ethical products is to go organic. Organic products require less water, less energy, and less usage of fertilizers and pesticides, which are a reason to kill many insects and birds.
Small steps create significant impacts
For an ethically sourced product, you need to focus on small things to get more significant results. Therefore, we deal in premium quality down duvets, as we collect down and feathers from the natural shedding process of birds and wrap them in Egyptian cotton casing to give you the best.