A proactive approach to reduce the release of textile microfibers

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]At a time when environmental protection is at the center of the interests of the fashion industry, a research article recently published in the scientific journal Environmental Science and Technology on the release of synthetic microfibers from textile articles, provides revealing data of the actual magnitude of the problem. The researchers analyzed several polyester garments, with different structures and compositions, and detected microfiber emissions to the wastewater by washing and to the air by daily use, of comparable magnitudes.

With these data, the question arises that, although improvement actions focused on the washing process are important to mitigate the problem of the release of textile microfibers, actions must also be carried out from the garment design stage. The goal would be to address the release of microfibers from clothing with a more general and preventive approach. In this sense, according to the results of the published study, “the production of fabrics with a more compact structure” could be an option.

More information: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.9b06892[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]