Textiles for Humankind
Textile World - USA
In the recently published "2010 Revision of World Population Prospects," the Population Division of the United Nations (UN) Department of Economic and Social Affairs estimates that the global population will reach 9.3 billion in 2050 and 10.1 billion in 2100. In a previous report published in 2008, the UN estimated the global population would reach up to 9.15 billion people in 2050. (...) These somewhat theoretical figures seem to point to big opportunities for new textile business outside the fashion sector. However, as noted by investment banker Martin O. Hutchinson, a contributing editor to the Money Map Report and Money Morning: "[T]his explosive population growth figures to be a disaster from a global-resources standpoint - and for two very good reasons. "First, if we want all 10.1 billion people [in 2100] to enjoy a standard of living that's essentially on par with us here in the West (meaning they all have automobiles, washing machines, refrigerator/freezers, and all the rest of the latest electronic gadgets), the consumer demand will put an impossible strain on global resources - and if the global-warming theory proves accurate, will heat our planet up like a meatball in a wok. "Second, the vast majority of these new people will be in very poor countries, many of which are already stretched in terms of water, food and other resources."
In this scenario, recycling becomes a simple matter of surviving; and recycled fiber material is an excellent raw material for all kinds of industrial textiles products such as geotextiles and many more. ,…(14 June 2011)