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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 Saturday March 14 2020, @07:21AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 14 2020, @07:21AM (#971081)

    Best sweater I ever had was from happy alpaca wool. I met the alpacas, too, no joke. Warm when I was cold, breathed like a gentle cool breeze when i was hot and/or sweaty, washed easily (but I often didn't bother, it didn't feel like it got gross even when I wore it on skin and bike-sweated in it), was so soft that people would ask to touch it a second time if they accidentally brushed it, and I couldn't believe how durable it was.

    It literally lasted years, in rotation year-long outside of the hottest part of summer*, until I outgrew it, at which point I gave it away to a friend who'd repeatedly hinted that he liked it.

    *but in hot-but-not-hottest I found the shade and wicking/breathing were better than anything but bare skin.

    So I can heartily, heartily recommend lightweight alpaca sweaters.