Textile and Environmental Choices

Program Area

This activity is designed for Grade 10 Advanced and General Family Studies Clothing courses, specifically within Core Unit 3, Clothing as an Expression of Lifestyle. It addresses objective 3 on page 58 of the Family Studies Curriculum Guideline, 1987.

Learning Outcomes

Teaching, learning and evaluation will focus on the student’s ability to:

• Identify current ecological concerns regarding the production and care of textiles;
• Evaluate the environmental friendliness of the basic textile groups;
• Develop strategies for becoming responsible clothing consumers.

Classroom Development

1. Individually or in small groups students investigate environmental concerns about the production and care of the basic textile groups, using a variety of resources.
2. Record findings on the student work sheet under advantages and disadvantages for each textile group.
3. Share findings.
4. Complete the worksheet questions on key concepts.
5. Analyze findings to determine the textile groups most and least friendly to the environment and justify choices.
6. Predict personal garment choices in future clothing purchases considering all types of textile labels.

Possible extension activity/class project: Use a debate format to decide the best choice for an item such as a school jacket.

Background Information

This topic is covered well in Shopping for a Better Environment pages, 22-24. The environmental impact of textile production and care is well summarized in the article “Cut from a Different Cloth” by Laurie Townsend in the newspaper Green Living. Key concepts are chemical use and environmental pollution related to textile production and maintenance.

Timing: Allow one 70 min period for students to research, share and complete worksheets.

Resources

Shopping for a Better Environment, pages 22-24.
Townsend, Laurie. “Cut from a Different Cloth”. Green Living: The Urban Guide to the Environment. Volume 2, Number 2, April-May 1991. Pages 10-11.

Additional resources for this topic include:
The Canadian Green Consumer Guide. Page 58 (Dry cleaning-Page 57).
The Canadian Junior Green Guide. Pages 88-89.
The Daily Planet. Pages 101-102 and references.
The Young Person’s Guide to Saving the Planet. Page 25.

Cross-disciplinary Links

This activity cross-links the Self and Society program with the Science program through analyzing the ecological benefits and drawbacks of various textiles.

Environmental Impact of Textile Production and Care

Using references and your own personal knowledge complete the following chart.

1. Complete the following statements using references where necessary.
   
   a) Natural fibers such as____ and____ are considered to be renewable resources since they can be replaced by growing them again.
   b) Synthetic textiles are based on ____which is considered to be a____ resource.
   c) The least biodegradable textile group is the____ group which is most closely related to plastic—another human-made product that breaks down very, very slowly.
   d) Textiles that are sometimes reused for new products include____ and ____.
   e) The most environmentally unfriendly or damaging method of cleaning textiles is ____which may be necessary for garments such as wool, silk suits or jackets.
   f) Regenerated textiles such as ____can be made from cellulose waste such as wood sawdust or cotton lint.
   
   
2. Refer to the chart on the front of this page to answer these questions:
   a) The____ textile group was most environmentally friendly because____
   b) The____ textile group was most environmentally unfriendly because ____
   
   
3. What textile labels will you look for when making your next garment purchase? Explain.

The Environmental Impact of Textile Production and Care
Answer Sheet

1. a) wool, cotton, linen, silk
   b) petroleum; nonrenewable
   c) synthetic
   d) wool, cotton, linen
   e) dry-cleaning
   f) rayon, acetate, viscose
2. a) Student answers may vary. Encourage critical thinking.
   natural protein; renewable resource, biodegradable and production and care may avoid extensive use of chemicals
   b) synthetics; nonrenewable resource base-petroleum, non biodegradable and extensive use of chemicals required for production
3. Answers will vary depending on personal preferences, allergies, etc.
   Consider-fiber content; care, labels and manufacturer/trade labels