Cotton T-Shirt

GCSE Textiles Revision 2011

Step 1

• The first stage is the growth of the cotton plant. • When growing it you could consider minimising

the use of pesticides (not only for the o zone layer, but also for the well being of the people tending the cotton plants), reducing the amount of water consumption (preserving the earths resources) and perhaps reducing the amount of tended land used to grow the cotton on.

Step 2

• In terms of manufacturing the actual fabric, you could consider the wellbeing of the often exploited people that work in cotton mills, consider the coatings used to protect the fabric and their toxicity, and you could also consider perhaps making the fabric so it could be washed on a lower temperature wash when it is eventually bought and used (again to conserve resources)

Step 3

• In terms of the design of the T shirt and shipping - considering the wellbeing of those that work in sweatshops, consider how much unnecessary packaging is used, and the environmentally friendly methods of transporting the product around the globe, how the T shirt is sold in shops and also the use of it once the consumer buys it - how to stop that T shirt ending up on a landfill (i.e the idea of 'design longevity')