Contact Us

Click Here
OIA partnered with Patagonia, Burton, New Balance, REI, and W.L. Gore – five members of OIA’s Climate Action Corps – to commission a study regarding the feasibility of electrifying the textile and apparel industry. The purpose of the study was to help bring to light opportunities for decarbonizing the textile and apparel sector.    For the research, OIA, Patagonia, Burton, New Balance, REI, and W.L. Gore worked with energy and environmental consulting firm Global Efficiency Intelligence and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to gain critical insights into reducing emissions in the outdoor industry’s supply chain by shifting from carbon-intensive thermal heating processes currently powered by fossil fuels to low- or zero-carbon electricity for these thermal processes. The research focused on Tier 2 supplier facilities in China, Japan, and Taiwan, and is applicable to other geographies.    The study, Electrification of Heating in the Textile Industry: A Techno-Economic Analysis for China, Japan, and Taiwan, explored four electrification technology pathways:  
  1. Industrial heat pumps (for the textile wet-processing industry)  
  1. Electric steam boilers (for the entire textile industry)  
  1. Electric thermal oil boilers (for the entire textile industry)  
  1. Electric processing equipment for seven textile wet-processing processes  
 The collaborators have also hosted stakeholder engagement activities to inform stakeholders of the research findings and empower them to adopt clean heat processes that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the textile and apparel industry.