Cleaner Production Makes Good Business Sense: Results ... - eWISA

CLEANER PRODUCTION MAKES GOOD BUSINESS SENSE:
RESULTS OF THE CLEANER TEXTILE PRODUCTION PROJECT
Susan Barclay 1 , Karen Lundbo 1 , Pat Foure 1 and Chris Buckley 2
1 Clothing and Textile Environmental Linkage Centre, PO Box 4464, Greenways, 7140. Tel: (021) 685 6126.
Fax: (021) 689 1726. E-mail: pfoure@mweb.co.za
2 Pollution Research Group, University of Natal, Durban, 4041.
ABSTRACT
The Cleaner Textile Production Project, a joint initiative between the Danish Government
(DANIDA), the South African Department of Environment Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) and the
Department of Trade and Industry (the dti), was started in June 2000 and ended in June 2003. This
3-year project was funded by Danida and aimed to promote the concepts of cleaner production to
the South African Textile Industry. This has been effectively achieved through programmes such as
study tours to Denmark, training courses, audits, feasibility studies and a number of demonstration
projects. In total, 36 textile companies and 18 other organisations participated and benefited from
this project. By implementing cleaner production practices, these companies have not only reduced
their use of natural resources and their impact on the environment, but have also made substantial
financial savings. Already savings in the region of R 54 million per year have been identified for 28
textile companies, and of this, 16 companies have already saved R 19 million / year. These
savings have come from reducing water use (and therefore effluent production), energy use,
chemical use, raw material use and other consumables.
This poster will highlight the cleaner production options that have been implemented in the textile
companies as a result of the Cleaner Textile Production Project, and report the savings achieved,
both financially and environmentally.
INTRODUCTION
A joint initiative by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) and the
Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) prompted the Danish government into formulating a
programme of assistance to South Africa in Cleaner Production in 1996. Five major industrial
sectors were targeted, one of which was the textile industry. The Cleaner Textile Production Project
(CTPP) was initiated in June 2000 and ended in June 2003.
A life cycle approach was adopted for this project to ensure the careful examination of all the
impacts of a particular textile end product, from raw materials extraction through to the end use
and final disposal. The CTPP therefore focused on the entire textile pipeline, but concentrated
mainly on cotton growing and textile manufacturing, as this is where the highest environmental
impacts occur. The main aim of the project was to reduce the negative environmental impact of the
textile industry, both at the cotton growing stage and the manufacturing stage, through a
preventative approach.
Cleaner Production can be defined as (1):
“a preventive integrative continuous strategy for modifying products, processes and
services to enhance efficiency, which improves environmental performance and reduces
costs, leading to a reduction of risks and a competitive advantage”
Cleaner Production also encompasses terms such as waste minimisation, pollution prevention,
waste avoidance, etc. and is recognized as an important approach to leading industry in the
direction of sustainable development.
Proceedings of the 2004 Water Institute of Southern Africa (WISA) Biennial Conference 2 –6 May 2004
ISBN: 1-920-01728-3 Cape Town, South Africa
Produced by: Document Transformation Technologies Organised by Event Dynamics

More importantly, cleaner production places an emphasis on attitude change, where organisations
need to question their operating practices and ask themselves how they can operate more
effectively. The manufacturing component of the CTPP aimed to assist the textile companies within
South Africa in achieving this change in attitude through a number of activities such as study tours,
demonstration projects and training. As a result, many of the participating textile companies have
successfully managed to make this shift, resulting in substantial benefits, both financially to
themselves, and to the environment.
This paper will highlight some of the cleaner production options implemented by textile companies
during the course of the CTPP, and the resultant benefits.
QUESTIONING NORMAL OPERATING PRACTICES
A number of textile companies reduced water, energy and chemical use through questioning the
normal operating practices. These companies invested time in investigating what changes could be
made to the current process operations such that they became more efficient and reduced both
utility and raw material use.
By questioning the manner in which hot water was used in their wet processing department, a
medium-sized textile company has managed to reduce their water use from 27 000 litres/hour to
just 6 500 litres/hour – a reduction of 76%! Since most of this water is heated, this also resulted in
savings in steam. This process was initiated by first investigating what the difference to the process
and product quality would be if the flow rate was reduced by a small amount. When no adverse
effects were noticed, the flow rate was reduced further, and then further still, until the optimum was
achieved. Water reuse options between processes were also investigated such that fresh water
intake was reduced even further.
Many other cleaner production initiatives have been undertaken at this factory, and in total, over R
5 million has been saved in the 2 years this company has participated in the CTPP, with a return on
investment of approximately 1 month. The motto of this company is “challenge dinosaur standards
– if you don’t, you might become one of them – extinct!”
THINKING CREATIVELY
A number of cleaner production changes that have been made have been as a result of companies
thinking of creative methods of becoming more efficient. In most cases, these suggestions have
come from in-house initiatives, where factory staff is encouraged to submit suggestions for
projects.
In one example, a spinning mill investigated the manner in which their yarn was packaged and
found that the separator pads between the layers of cones were over engineered. After extensive
investigation, a new separator was designed, resulting in savings in the region of R 700 000 per
year in packaging costs.
In another textile manufacturing company in Cape Town, the staff initiated a project to use the
fabric off-cuts produced in the cutting department to make children’s T-shirts, which are then sold
in the factory shop. This resulted in minimum fabric wastage as pattern cutting was optmised, and
also a further profit to the company through the sales.
Another example of creative thinking is the use of dyeing dummies. Within particular dyeing
machines, the same volume of water is used regardless of the amount of fabric or yarn that is
being dyeing. This means that water, energy and chemicals are effectively wasted at these times.
In addition, cleaning of these machines uses large amounts of water as they need to filled and
drained. It is possible to use a dyeing dummy at these times, where the excess space is taken up
by the dummy, thus reducing the volume of water that is required to full the machine. This
procedure has been effectively used in Denmark, and is being investigated locally by 2 textile
companies.

IMPROVING HOUSEKEEPING
On analyzing the number of cleaner production options implemented by the textile companies
participating in the CTPP, it was evident that over 80% of these options could be attributed to
improved housekeeping measures, or low hanging fruits – i.e. those changes that can be made
with little or no capital investment, but which can provide a substantial saving.
Opportunities that can be described as housekeeping include:
• Measuring and monitoring utility use
• Regular maintenance (fixing leaks etc.)
• Awareness raising and training
• Optimising recipes
One of the most important aspects of these is the need the awareness raising. An effective cleaner
production programme is not possible without the commitment from all levels of staff within an
organisation. Many of the participating companies have implemented awareness raising
programmes on-site and these have resulted in positive improvements in all cases.
A wet processing company in Cape Town has installed information boards next to the processing
machinery. Every shift, the shift operator is responsible for recording the water that has been used
and the amount of product that has been processed. Key performance indicators are calculated
and targets set. This information allows any person in the factory to see at a glance how efficient
the process is and if there are deviations (i.e. more water used per metre of fabric than is
necessary) corrective action can be taken. This has resulted in greater staff awareness and
improved process control, and a reduction in water use by 8%.
A second factory in Cape Town undertook a maintenance programme on their compressed air
system. Compressed air is an expensive utility that is often ignored and misused within factories.
As a result, there are often numerous leaks, which go undetected for long periods of time, and
operators make use of it for cleaning floors etc. As a result of this programme, the company has
managed to eliminate the use of one compressor, resulting in savings in the region of R 60 000 per
year.
By closely observing their production process, a textile manufacturer in Gauteng was able to
eliminate some process steps without affecting product quality, resulting in savings in water, energy
and chemicals, and a reduction of 7.5% in dyeing cycle times. This meant that production output
could be increased without purchasing further equipment.
INVESTING IN TECHNOLOGY
In some cases, the only way in which to improve process efficiency is to make some capital
investment into new technology. This could involve the installation of monitoring equipment, or the
purchase of new, more modern, machinery.
In one example, a textile manufacturing company replaced all their out-dated dyeing machines that
required large volumes of water for processing, with a fewer number of new low-liquor dyeing
machines. Not only did this result in less water being used, and as a result, less effluent being
produced, but also resulted in less time being required for processing, thus improving production
efficiency.
A commission dyehouse based in Pinetown also turned to technology to improve their process
operations. Prior to being dispatched, all fabric is cured at high temperature on a heavy fuel oil
(HFO) -fired stenter. The company installed monitoring equipment such that the moisture content
could be determined, thus ensuring optimum drying, preventing over drying and reducing HFO use.
This also resulted in reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

AWARENESS THROUGH TRAINING
Under the CTPP, four very successful waste minimisation auditor-training courses were run for
management at various textile companies. These training courses were designed to raise
awareness as to the concept and methodology of cleaner production, and to assist companies in
implementing cleaner production programmes on-site. The course was run on a modular basis,
with tasks being set at the end of each module for the participants to complete. Worked examples
were used to demonstrate each stage of the process, and participants were required to provide
feedback at each meeting. This often resulted in extensive discussion and exchange of information
and advice between the participants.
Those companies that participated in these courses, attribute the start of their cleaner production
programmes to their attendance at this course, as it raised their awareness and encouraged them
to start thinking differently and question current operating practices.
TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
A number of technology transfer initiatives were undertaken during the course of the CTPP, one of
the most successful being the study tours to Denmark. In total, 4 study tours were conducted,
involving representatives from industry, government, tertiary educational institutions, and research
organisations. These study tours involved presentations from companies implementing cleaner
production and ISO 14000, and also visits to textile companies, design schools and government
organizations. All who participated benefited greatly from both the exposure to cleaner production
initiatives in Denmark, as well as from the interaction with one another on the tour. On returning to
South Africa, many companies implemented improvements within their factories based on what
had been observed in Denmark.
In one example, a company in Cape Town managed to save an estimated R 150 000 per year by
using recyclable cardboard boxes for transporting fabric between processes. Prior to this, the fabric
had been stored in disposable plastic bags. This was a direct result of being a member of one of
the study tours to Denmark.
OVERALL RESULTS
There are numerous successful case studies that can be reported as a result of the Danida CTPP.
Cleaner production involves continuous improvement, and although the CTPP has officially ended,
companies continue to investigate improvements, make process changes, and achieve financial
and environmental savings.
Table 1 lists the overall savings that were reported by participating companies as of June 2003.
The number in brackets next to the figures reflects the number of companies contributing to this
saving. This table only includes the known reported savings – it must be made clear that the
companies may have achieved further savings than reported here and this must be followed up on.
In some cases this data is over a year old, and in others the company has not ever submitted a full
report on the savings they have achieved.
Table 1. Summary of reported savings (June 2003).
Item Annual financial saving Annual unit saving**
Water and effluent 4 970 000 (12) 790 000 kl (8)
Steam 2 560 000 (6) 31 000 tons (2)
Energy 565 000 (3)
Heavy fuel oil 1 570 000 (3) 480 kl (2)
Chemicals 4 600 000 (6) 7 tons (1)
Waste 1 080 000 (4)
Other* 3 660 000 (5)
Total 19 005 000 (16)
* Other includes aspects such as raw material and consumables

The CTPP has also achieved many other results that cannot be quantified. These are listed in
Table 2 together with some of the initiatives undertaken to achieve these outcomes.
Table 2. Other outcomes of the CTPP.
Outcome Action taken
Increased awareness at industry level • Training
• Study tours
• Workshops
• Articles in Journals
Increased awareness a local government level • Training
• Study tour participation
• Preparation of a cleaner production
handbook
• Workshops
Company to company interaction • Participation in training course
• Study tours
Awareness at tertiary education institutions • Workshops and seminars
• Participation in study tours
CONCLUSIONS
Based on the success stories highlighted within this paper, it is clear that the Danida CTPP was
successfully implemented within South Africa. Not only did the textile industry benefit from the
project, but also local government and other organisations such as tertiary education institutions
and research organisations. One of the main outcomes of the CTPP was the establishment of the
Clothing and Textile Environmental Linkage Centre (CTELC), jointly funded by the dti and Danida
for 3 years, which will continue to provide assistance to the textile sector within South Africa. In
addition, those companies that have realised the benefits of cleaner production will continue to
lead by example. Thus, whilst the CTPP has officially ended, it is hoped that the lessons learnt
through this Project will result in cleaner production within the textile sector continuing for many
years to come. It is clear that cleaner production makes good business sense.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This project is sponsored by the Department of Trade and Industry and the Danish Government.
REFERENCE
1. United Nations Environment Programme, Government Strategies and Policies for Cleaner
Production (2001).