The textile industry is one of the largest industries in the world. The textile sector employs a large proportion of working adults worldwide. The textile and clothing industry uses a variety of natural (cotton, linen, wool, etc.) and synthetic (polyester, polyamide, etc.) materials, recycles them into yarns and fabrics, and manufactures a variety of products (bedding, clothing, etc.). In today’s world, the textile industry is putting more and more effort to produce products from eco-friendly materials, reduce pollution in the world, and create sustainable, eco-friendly products.

According to director Jūratė Kabalinienė, the COVID-19 pandemic brought UAB “Mittet”, the only company in the Baltic States that produces knitted “long-haired” material, or the so-called “artificial fur”, which can also stitch materials not only from yarn, but also with ultrasound, quite a few pros.

While many people have heard about fast fashion, not everyone understands the opposite term of it which is called slow fashion. Slow fashion is a movement that focuses on sustainability and involves buying better quality textile products that will last longer. The term stands for human rights, animals and our Earth. People, who support slow fashion, are ethical and respect green values. They shop at the vintage stores or buy sustainable clothes from second – hands. But why does slow fashion is so beneficial and why should we support it?

Sustainable and ethical fashion starts with fabric. Fabric choice in fashion industry directly affects the raw material sourcing (farming and petroleum drilling impact), material processing (chemicals needed to turn it into fiber), and end-of-life prospects (ways a garment can be disposed) like can it be recycled or composted? This is why we should ask ourselves ‘what are my clothes made of”?

Have you ever wonder if your clothes are sustainable? Who and how made clothes you are wearing right now? Over the past decades the world has continued to globalize, because of it major fashion brands expanded their manufacturing to other countries to pursuit cheaper materials and cheaper labor. The truth is that only from 1% to 3% of garment value goes to original producer.

In today’s world, we constantly hear about the negative impact of the fast fashion industry. Second to oil, fashion and textile is the most polluting industry in the world. It can take more than 20,000 liters of water to produce 1kg of cotton, equivalent to a single t-shirt and pair of jeans. Whether we like it or not, our society is part of this industry and we have to act responsibly.

The fashion and textile industry is one of the most wasteful industries in the world. Global production of all apparel and textile fibers amounts to more than 110 million tons annually, leading to a high amount of textile wastes. These textile wastes take decades to degrade while they are emitting greenhouse gases, pollutes water, and leaves a negative impact on the Earth.

Ergonomics – is a field of study that contributed to the understanding of work-related stress, anatomy, and physiology, biomechanics, psychology, anthropometrics, industrial design, and engineering. This field is aiming to make sure that tasks, equipment, information, and the environment will suit each worker and make their work productive.

The COVID – 19 pandemic has created unparalleled challenges for the textile industry, including the shift of consumer needs and disrupted supply chains. This situation is forcing the industry to pay attention to changing needs of the consumer and look for greener and sustainable supply chains.

Years of human ignorance have diminished our natural resources and left a negative impact on our planet. People nowadays are trying to make an effort to treat our planet better. The textile industry is also becoming more and more environmentally conscious about the impact of materials used for their products. By going eco – friendly textile industry can reduce textile waste and make their products more sustainable.

The pandemic caused by Coronavirus (COVID-19) has affected every aspect of life globally, including the business sector. This has brought along several changes in market conditions.

Many of us often shop in the clothing stores of shopping centres, and large discounts on clothing not only entice but also delight us. Rarely we, when measuring a garment, think about how that garment was made and that we support a large fast fashion industry with our purchase. Meanwhile, fast fashion has become one of the 21st century sustainability and ecological issue.

We face with the textile every day. Probably because of this, there is a growing desire to rethink, what it is like today. What it will be like tomorrow? Not just in a global sense, but also for everyone personally. One thing that is really obvious, is that textile has come a very long way: from craft to the way of thinking, to form of culture. Today, it not only highlights or raises problems, but can also contribute to their solution.

Functional textiles are textiles with integrated functions of controlling or adjusting according to its application area. Functions such as temperature control, humidity control etc. are such functions which are in build upon manufacturing. The basic and mostly used fibers in the functional textiles are viscose (rayon) and polyester fibers. Besides this, the demand for such functional textiles is majorly for the active and performance type of wear.

Products of Lithuanian producers are valued abroad, as they are on great demand and abundantly exported. Lithuanian textile products and the long-standing traditions of the sector have repeatedly attracted the attention of foreign magazines and portals with a huge audience, such as Vogue, Daily Mail, and the Financial Times. The awareness of brands and the growth of companies' sales are mostly increased by Lithuanian products purchased by famous people of the world or influential journalists, - say the representatives of companies that have gained instant popularity.