SUSTAINABILITY
Joan Farrer
Research Fellow, Royal College of Art, UK

Introduction
Textiles have been used primarily for protection against the elements, to create attention and for modesty, they have also been used in engineering for architecture, nomadic tents, ropes and sails. Textiles for trade have and continue to drive industrialisation yet are used culturally as richly decorated symbols of power for the body and interiors signifying status, tribe and position. The earliest fibres were wool, flax, cotton and recently man made with the first fabric remnant finds carbon dated to 7000 BC.
Traditionally textiles of the artisan, were finely and painstakingly worked containing messages and narratives which were treasured, handed down as air looms and were often re used in new items again and again. These textiles were designed with function and longevity in mind; they were symbolic. Many ancient textiles, woven, embroidered, knitted and printed still have meaning and give inspiration to the modern world. These textiles it could be argued were sustainably produced. There was a respect for the materials and maker within the community of consumers, their creators made a living wage from the production of labour intensive often high price textile pieces which were tailor made and often unique. This is in contrast to the current perception of cloth, where in industrial production the intrinsic value and even meaning of the material has been lost and where cloth is easily replaced infinitely disposable. Using history as a reference point is one example where the future of smart textiles could be contextualised.

Defining Sustainability
Sustainability can be explained in a variety of ways, but most visual is that of the three pillars which are people, profit and planet. In a move towards a more sustainable textile industry the pillars must try to maintain equal importance with the inevitable trade off scenario to achieve it. The profit or economic pillar has taken priority over all others; however the last decade has seen the planet or environment pillar gaining in importance due to in part the development of quantifiable checks and balances. Now is the turn of people or the social/ethical pillar to be in focus which is more difficult to address.
Traditionally there has been an ad hoc, reactive, damage limitation response to dealing with social and environmental issues as they emerged along the textile supply chain without a broad framework of pre prepared solutions in place to avoid problems before they surfaced or to deal with them effectively when they emerge. The goal posts constantly move in relation to funding, technical research, innovation, legislation, and ideology, factors also affected by conditions in developed and developing regions of the world involved in the creation of fibre fabrics and products from a global industry.
In addition increasing media exposes of mal-practices of major brands and corporations coupled with the spread of the internet and World Wide Web has made large amounts of authoritative information available to stakeholders and consumers who are ever more knowledgeable about the issues reflected in the popularity of the organic food movement. There is an acknowledgement by the textile industry (R&D, farmers, manufacturers, retailers and more recently disposal agencies) that a more integrated vision is needed and new tools developed to prepare for the mounting economic, social and environmental challenges connected to success which lie ahead.

Textile fibres
The annual global production of textile fibres is estimated at 58 and 60 million tonnes of which over 50% are manmade (synthetic, regenerated and inorganic based fibres). It is this group which is predicted to grow in the coming decades and which will offer the opportunity for innovation with regard to ‘smart’ sustainability tools such as brand fingerprinting and bio-disposal for example, track and trace tools in all fibre families will identify best producers and practices in a more transparent global supply and post consumer chain moving towards more sustainable, ‘no worry’ value added products and brands.