Throughout history, the textile industry has always been one of the top economically important sectors around the world. With a global value of USD$439.1 billion according to Euler Hermes in their Global Textile Report, textiles and clothing has seen increasing demand in this day and age. China and India are currently two of the top three largest producers and exporters of textiles and clothing in the world, accounting for 66.4% of world exports combined with the European Union according to World Trade Organization report in 2016.

However, despite the striving market, the textile industry has been faced with some serious questions on its social and environmental impact. Since the era of fast fashion began at the turn of the century, the production of textiles and clothing has doubled in 5 years across the span of 2000 and 2014 and there have been over 100 billion garments produced worldwide in 2014 as mentioned by a research conducted by Greenpeace. This increase in consumption has had detrimental environmental effects to the countries producing these goods. despite the economic gain.

This blog will touch on the negative impacts of the textile industry particularly in Indonesia, and the steps taken to improve the situation. It will also cover some ways in which we can help reduce and prevent pollution within the textile industry.