RETHINKING THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION IN A CHANGING WORLD: A CASE STUDY OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF TEXTILE INDUSTRY ON CONTEMPORARY ENGLAND

Abstract

The industrial revolution had marked the beginning of the age of machine.
It shaped the world we are living in. The industrial activity brought
tremendous changes in almost every sphere of life. The textile industry
which was one of the earliest and most prominent industries led to the
emergence of the booming fashion industry. It is that fashion industry
which is now creating tons of industrial waste and counted as one of the
biggest polluters in the United Kingdom. The adverse industrial impacts on
environment prompted the environmental activists, fashion entrepreneurs,
students, and other citizens to shift to sustainable practices. There is a
strong inclination to adopt sustainability in the industrial process. The
mounting call for sustainability raises two important questions. Was the
Industrial Revolution indeed a ‘revolution’? And if that was the case, did it
make the world, more specifically, the environment unsustainable? Should
the Industrial Revolution be blamed for the environmental crisis in the
United Kingdom?