Material Cycles and Waste Management Research
Online ISSN : 2187-4808
Print ISSN : 1883-5864
ISSN-L : 1883-5864
Volume 21, Issue 3
Displaying 1-13 of 13 articles from this issue
Preface
Special Issues : Garment and Waste — Fashion and Environment
  • —Is recycling the answer?—
    Kayo Iwaji
    2010 Volume 21 Issue 3 Pages 132-139
    Published: 2010
    Released on J-STAGE: October 07, 2014
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    There are vast quantities of low-priced clothing being supplied to Japan today. Clothing that is no longer being used is discarded from households at a rate estimated to be 1644000 tons per year. Of this amount, only 22% is recycled while the remaining 78% is disposed. Within Japanese households, there is also the issue of dead storage clothing. This paper first describes an analysis that was conducted from the viewpoint of waste management with a specific focus on the domestic circulation flow of clothing. Secondly, the paper introduces information collected on overseas trends as well as the foremost line for domestic recycling modes with regard to clothing and textiles. Furthermore, a policy for tackling the issue of how the 3R concept can be applied to the domestic clothing industry and its consumers is also taken into consideration.
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  • Teruo Kimura
    2010 Volume 21 Issue 3 Pages 140-147
    Published: 2010
    Released on J-STAGE: October 07, 2014
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    While there are many recycling laws now being enforced as a means of supporting the importance of developing a recycling-oriented society, no law regarding the recycling of textiles yet exists. Most clothing waste gets recycled as second-hand clothing, shoddy, or scrap, still the recycling rate for clothing waste remains at a low 20% of the total amount being disposed of. One of the main reasons behind this low rate is that identifying a recycling system that can deal with the different types of waste textiles is difficult. This report presents a view of the current conditions and problems facing those in the clothes industry in particular, with regard to recycling, as this is an area of the textile sector which is closest to daily living. The paper also introduces experiments being done on recycling of clothing waste as a wood substitute material and natural fiber composite material.
    It is important to mention that an LCA analysis is crucial to the promotion of recycling for reducing the environmental load of the clothes industry in the field of textiles. However, along with technological developments that promote recycling, a heightened awareness regarding the need for textile recycling among consumers must also be developed. The reaction received from a comic book that was published to educate the public on recycling is also discussed here.
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  • Asako Takada, Kiyotaka Tahara
    2010 Volume 21 Issue 3 Pages 148-156
    Published: 2010
    Released on J-STAGE: October 07, 2014
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Textiles play an essential role in our everyday lives. According to statistics about the amount of used textiles, Japan disposes of approximately two million tons of textile products per year, with a recycling rate of only 10%. On the other hand, the government has started a system known as the Carbon Footprint of Products (CFP), which has been useful in achieving the targets set by the Kyoto Protocol.
    This paper focuses on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), a method for quantitatively assessing environmental loads. The paper reviews previous studies conducted on LCA for textile products and discusses the current status and other related issues regarding this topic. In order to improve the LCA for textile products, a high quality inventory data must first be developed. In order to do this, new inventory data collected from Carbon Footprint of Products. Finally, the study also reveals the need for application of the environmental efficiency concept as a means of utilizing the environmental load computed through LCA through surveys on consumer choices in purchasing.
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  • Masayoshi Tokoro
    2010 Volume 21 Issue 3 Pages 157-168
    Published: 2010
    Released on J-STAGE: October 07, 2014
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    People in Japan buy about 1.44million tons of clothing per year, and they throw away 1.36million tons. Out of the clothes that are thrown away, only 0.3million tons get recycled or re-used. The remaining 1.06million tons is burned or dumped in landfills.
    The rate of recycling and reusing clothing is about 13%, an amount that islower than Western Europe and other developed countries. Due to the worsening of the global warming trend, this situation needs to be corrected. We must urgently work to create a society that holds the goals of conserving resources and energy as its highest priority. For many years, the Japanese textile industry has been trying to find new ways to recycle and save resources. This paper explains research that was conducted on how Japanese society has been focusing on making progress on the 3R principle.
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  • Megumi Tanaka
    2010 Volume 21 Issue 3 Pages 169-176
    Published: 2010
    Released on J-STAGE: October 07, 2014
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    This article provides a brief history of sustainable fashion in the United States, citing various trends and case studies. The paper introduces the hippie fashions popular in the 1960-70′s and goes on to discuss a growing awareness of environmental and social issues by the apparel and retail industry in the 90′s, the emergence of stylish garments that are also environmentally friendly from the middle of 2000, and how the concept of sustainability spread throughout the fashion world, both in the high-end and more inexpensive sectors, in more recent years. The challenges facing the fashion industry are also discussed here, along with ways for creating a more sustainable world.
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  • —Loose Segragation and Export—
    Naoki Asai
    2010 Volume 21 Issue 3 Pages 177-178
    Published: 2010
    Released on J-STAGE: October 07, 2014
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Download PDF (243K)
  • Kinuyo Shindo
    2010 Volume 21 Issue 3 Pages 179-182
    Published: 2010
    Released on J-STAGE: October 07, 2014
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Download PDF (432K)
  • Sang-Yul Kim
    2010 Volume 21 Issue 3 Pages 183-185
    Published: 2010
    Released on J-STAGE: October 07, 2014
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Download PDF (308K)
  • —An Interview with Mr. Unsetsu, of UNSETSU INTERNATIONAL—
    Akiko Minami
    2010 Volume 21 Issue 3 Pages 186-190
    Published: 2010
    Released on J-STAGE: October 07, 2014
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Download PDF (554K)
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