If you are wondering if your jeans are made in China… probably they are not all made in China!
From the cotton harvest to the retail, passing through the manufacturing of the garment, because of the market globalization, many companies and people in several countries are involved.
More than 100 people in 10 different countries work on average on a pair of jeans!
Countries of the textile chain
Asia makes most of the production of your pair of jeans and it may include countries like India, Indonesia, China, Bangladesh, or Pakistan.
This is an example of what it can be the journey of your jeans, from raw materials, to waste:
- Raw material and cotton harvesting: India and United States.
- Accessories: Buttons may come from Indonesia, China leads the market of the zippers.
- Spinning: The process of producing yarns from the extracted fibers is called spinning and it is quite common in India.
- Woven and dyed: Some woven fabrics, like stretch denim, have spandex woven in to give them some stretch. Dyeing is the application of dyes or pigments on textile materials. You can find it in Pakistan.
- Garment manufacture: Cutting, assembling, and finishing. Bangladesh is a country famous for its cheap labor during this stage of the process.
- Washed and packed: Turkey.
- Utilization: Bought and worn for a week, the United States and Europe.
- Waste: Mixed materials, for example, cotton-spandex blends, are NOT recyclable. The waste, if it is not burned in waste-to-energy plants, is shipped to third-world countries. Asia, Africa, or South America.
Are my jeans made in China? The journey is long, and China may be just a quick stop.
Impact on environment
Every piece of garment that you use has an impact in the environment: air, water and earth pollution.
Can you imagine that to make a t-shirt of 9oz/250g requires 2000 liters of water?!
Be conscious while purchasing. Buy what you need.
