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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
(Score: 2) by dry on Saturday March 14 2020, @05:26AM (2 children)
I find that natural fibres seem to breathe fine. In the hotter weather, I prefer linen.
While you're right about land use, and depending on the fibre, the chemicals, synthetics mostly require oil with all its drawbacks. As for labour, I often shop at thrift stores and it is not uncommon to buy clothes made in Canada as it wasn't that long ago we had a thriving textile industry, then free trade happened.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Saturday March 14 2020, @11:45AM (1 child)
Linen is not bad, but it wrinkles if you look at it wrong.
Better to wear oil, than burn oil, I say.
Maybe a silver lining to this pandemic is we can all wake up to the fact that relying on China is bad, and recover our textile- and other industries.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by dry on Saturday March 14 2020, @05:12PM
Had a friend catch fire wearing a polyester shirt, he was in the hospital for a couple of weeks. That's when I decided not to wear oil as it does have a tendency to burn.
As for the free trade, this started with out sourcing to America, then Mexico. Now for textiles, it is as much Bangladesh, Vietnam as China. One reason is yesterday I looked this up, https://www.stanfields.com/men/underwear/winter-shirts/heavy-weight-wool-henley.html [stanfields.com], C$90 for basically underwear that you wear over your shirt and there's a lot of people who can only afford the cheapest stuff.