**2.3 Environmental pollution**

About a quarter of chemicals produced globally are used in the textile industry [34]. Numerous chemicals are used for textile production, mainly in the wet processing. Of these nearly 2000 different chemicals, many have adverse impacts on health. Some chemicals evaporate, while others are dissolved in treatment water which ultimately goes back to the environment—and some chemicals remain in the product [31]. Cotton clothing, which, after all, is regarded as particularly natural and healthy, calls for cotton farming, which currently needs 0.2 million tons of pesticides and 8 million tons of fertilizer globally. Although cotton cultivation accounts for only 2.5% of worldwide agricultural land, it is responsible for 16% of global pesticide utilization. Furthermore, the physical health of cotton farmers gets negatively affected from the chemicals used for cultivating cotton, and cases of acute poisoning from pesticides among cotton farmers are commonplace. About 4% of all nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers used around the world go to cotton production, and these chemicals are a main source of clean water pollution. If merged into the rivers, these chemicals can lead to algal blooms, which starve the river of oxygen. Producing cellulose-based fibers also necessitates large amounts of chemicals and some of the chemicals used are sources of concern. However, the agricultural part of textile production is not solely responsible for the chemical use of the industry. Producing the fibers requires using chemicals too, for example for dyes or finishing treatments. This part of the production is estimated to use approximately 43 million tons of chemicals globally [1].

The microplastics contaminating the oceans are attracting more and more attention from concerned scientists, even though we still do not fully understand its long-term impacts. Microfibers discharged from textiles during washing processes add to the increasing plastic pollution in the oceans [1]. George Leonard, Chief Scientist for The Ocean Conservancy, estimates that the amount of microfibers on seafloor could have reached to the sheer figure of 1.4 million trillion [35].

The waste generated by producing and consuming textiles is another major concern. Textile consumption around the world is calculated to be over 100 million tons [23]. However, the rate of recycling is rather low: Barely 13% of the total material input is in some way recycled after usage. Of this recycled 13%, a minuscule part is used to produce new clothing—less than 1%. The rest is recycled into other, lowervalue items such as insulation material, wiping cloths or mattress stuffing [1].

Additionally, odor problems and noise pollution are also negative effects of the textile industry on the environment. Odor pollution is an indicator of environmental change that affects health and human well-being. Odor impacts people by strong, unpleasant or offensive smells that can interfere with one's enjoyment of life especially if they are frequent and/or persistent [36]. When it comes to noise pollution, there are different processes in the textile chain that can produce noise level above 90 dB(A), the allowed limit, and can cause problems especially for the workers. The dry processes produce more noise than the wet processes, due to the fast-moving parts in the processing machines, which is another danger for the workers along with the hearing problems [37].
