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posted by Fnord666 on Friday March 13 2020, @08:01AM   Printer-friendly
from the be-environmentally-conscious-go-naked dept.

Wearing clothes could release more microfibres to the environment than washing them:

In a first-of-its-kind study, scientists from the Institute for Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials of the National Research Council of Italy (IPCB-CNR) and the University of Plymouth compared four different items of polyester clothing and how many fibres were released when they were being worn and washed.

The results showed that up to 4,000 fibres per gram of fabric could be released during a conventional wash, while up to 400 fibres per gram of fabric could be shed by items of clothing during just 20 minutes of normal activity.

Scaled up, the results indicate that one person could release almost 300million polyester microfibres per year to the environment by washing their clothes, and more than 900million to the air by simply wearing the garments.

In addition, there were significant differences depending on how the garments were made, which the researchers concluding that clothing design and manufacturer has a major role to play in preventing microfibres from being emitted to the environment.

The research, published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, was conducted by scientists at the National Research Council of Italy and the University of Plymouth. It builds on their previous studies which showed substantial quantities of fibres are released during the laundry process.

More information: Francesca De Falco et al, Microfiber Release to Water, Via Laundering, and to Air, via Everyday Use: A Comparison between Polyester Clothing with Differing Textile Parameters, Environmental Science & Technology (2020). DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.9b06892

Journal information: Environmental Science and Technology


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 13 2020, @04:02PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 13 2020, @04:02PM (#970744)

    Cheap polyester clothing is a crime against humanity and the environment and the pocketbook.
    Rips instantly and irreparably and never decomposes once discarded. I thought we got past this shit after the 70s. I get the feeling we are actually reliving the 70s
    now in a social sense: people stirring up race problems, attacking capitalism, feminist extreme nutbaggery, a low in national pride, etc...
    and shitty polyester clothing.

  • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Friday March 13 2020, @06:37PM (1 child)

    by Phoenix666 (552) on Friday March 13 2020, @06:37PM (#970818) Journal

    Speak for yourself. I'm wearing a sports shirt made out of 100% polyester right now, and t-shirts and henley forms of that material constitute 90% of my shirts. It breathes in all weathers. Unless it's -70F I cannot wear cotton or any other fabric without sweating to death. And I'm the kind of guy that becomes ridiculously cranky when hot and sweaty.

    Polyester and synthetics are a godsend.

    --
    Washington DC delenda est.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 13 2020, @06:41PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 13 2020, @06:41PM (#970823)

      Cotton hot? You just need a thinner shirt. Sounds like your main solution has little to do with the material and more to do with how thin it is.