by Proto Maria, Malandrino Ornella, Supino Stefania Università degli Studi di Salerno - Facoltà di Economia -
Dipartimento di Studi e Ricerche Aziendali
Abstract
The relation between agricultural resources, industrial activities and the environment has complex aspects because of many dynamic interrelationships. Among the sectors that are showing a certain environmental sensibility there is the textile one and particularly the cotton sector.
The cotton is one of the most important non-food crops in the world. Its products are destined to different industries: textiles, food, chemicals and so on. In Italy cotton cultivation finds economics problems which make its development quite difficult.
In this paper the development opportunities in agricultural and manufacturing processes are analysed in view of new trends that are characterised by sustainable life cycle assessments.
Keywords: cotton - flow cycle - non food crops - life cycle assessments.
1.Introduction
Cotton - included in the genus "Gossypium"
(1) - is the most important vegetable fibre. In botanics, the cotton fibres are the protective covering of the seeds in a cotton plant.
The cotton fibre, in its pure form and also in blends, is the principal clothing fibre of the world, accounting for about 50% of the total world fibre production (Shariq K., 1995).
Its production depends on many factors, including soil productivity, climate (2), cost of production, market conditions, government programs, etc.
This paper analyzes the biomass balance related to cotton crop and it underlines the most important traditional and innovative uses of the fibre.
2.Cultivation and production report
The use of cotton dates back to a remote period. It has been used as a fibre in spinning and weaving for over 5.000 years. It was originally used in India, later spread to China and Central Asia, and then reached Italy (Sicily), Spain and Africa (Sarno R., 1987).
As trade flowed from the East into Europe, cotton products became a valuable commodity. In Great Britain, the textile industry began to develop quite rapidly after 1500, with most of the advances in spinning and weaving originating in that country. As regards Italy, the diffusion of cotton cultivation dates back to about 1850, and the Italian textile industries, like those other European countries had a crisis, for scarcity of the raw material.
During the following decades, the history of the culture of cotton in Italy suffered various situations. After periods of crises, improvements and downfalls, cotton production has almost completely disappeared today.
Actually, the world production of raw cotton is about 53 million t and the most important producers are China, United States, India, Pakistan and ex URSS which together contribute for almost 80% of total production (Kirk-Othmer, 1994).
A renewed interest for this crop is manifested by Italy and UE - today importers - because cotton crop can be seen as a useful flow cycle from which to obtain fibre and their derived products, cellulosic and hemycellulosic substances - employed in a large variety of traditional and innovative fields - also other substances such as oils, proteins, phospholipydes - obtained from seeds - useful in food and non food industries (Villet R. H., 1994).
3. Problems and perspectives on cotton crop
The relation between agricultural resources, industrial activities and the environment has complex aspects because of many dynamic interrelationships.
The cotton textile sector is demonstrating a certain environmental awareness in its production cycle.
To determine the environmental impact connected to a product, it is necessary to estimate inputs and outputs of its productive cycle. Today, the Life Cycle Analysis (L.C.A.), with a "cradle to grave" approach, is increasing, but it is still often incomplete and approximate (Protoa M., Malandrino O., Supino S., 1996).
The first step of this flow cycle includes agricultural activities, where many important challenges are turned towards the reduction of pesticides used to control insects, disease and weeds and defoliants to facilitate harvest.
In most areas, cotton production consumes the most pesticides than any other agricultural crop (Bacheler J. S., 1996).
Another step is the process in gin equipment to remove foreign matter, moisture and cottonseed from raw seed cotton, to obtain lint cotton that contains various impurities These must be removed, in the manufacturing process, and can be transformed to be latter employed as high added value products.
Once the cotton is grown, ginned and manufactured, the textile processing necessary to provide the colourful fabrics desired requires the use of numerous environmentally dangerous materials.
In fact, the dying and finishing processes consume huge amounts of energy and water, mixed with various chemical substances.
Scientists are engaged in the process of identifying and isolating useful genes from various sources and evaluating them in the possibility of improving cotton. Most current genetic engineering attempts are targeted at conferring agronomic traits such as insect herbicide and stress tolerance.
Transgenic varieties resistant to both insect and herbicides are expected to be available within the next few years (Maliyakala E. J., 1994).
An American researcher developed the first naturally coloured cotton considerably reducing the environmental impact. Today, the production of organic cotton is about 5000 t (Maliyakalb E. J., 1994).
However, in the light of the high environmental impact of the cotton cycle, it is necessary not only to improve photosyntethic efficiency of crop and to introduce new genetic engineering but also to raise all the by-products obtained from processed cotton.
In order to analyse the most important substances deriving from the cotton cycle that may be employed in a large variety of industrial sectors(3) , the global biomass balance of these resources are reported in Fig. 1.
Until more attention is placed on the relative problems concerning the environmental quality of products and processes, it is essential to identify suitable ways of creating correct eco-management policies and outlining appropriate instruments in order to solve the current difficulties.
These derive principally from the scarce harmonization of instruments suggested up to now (Life-cycle analysis, environmental balances, ecolabels, etc.). Their results are not very comparable and above all, not very "transparent", particularly for the final consumer.
In the textile sector, the diffusion of "ecological private labels", only disorientates and complicates the market, rather than facilitating commercial exchanges. On the contrary, a positive contribution may be obtained through the diffusion - on large quantities of cotton products - of the European Ecolabel, introduced in Regulation 880/92. Today, the European Commission has placed the environmental criteria on the elaboration of a life cycle analysis for bed-linen and T-shirt, only. It is obvious, therefore, that the cotton sector must face the certification of its environmental quality as one of its prime future aims.
Note: (1) The most important species included in the Gossypium are hirsutum, barbadense, arboreum and herbaceum. It is very easy to distinguish each type by using a microscope or chemical staining. The average cotton plant is a herbaceous shrub with a normal height of 4,5 to 6,0 m (Villavecchia Eigenmann. 1973). (2) The most favourable growing conditions for this plant is a warm climate (21 to 30°C, mean temperature). (3) Cotton cultivation has declined since the appearance of synthetic fibres; but new markets have developed: use of the oleoprotinaceous seeds in the food and pharmaceutical.
Figure 1 - Cotton crop: globalbalance of biomass (moist weight)*
(*) Fonte: (Proto M., Malandrino O., Supino S., 1996)
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