Han-Ah Yoo (May 1, 2021)
Synthetic microfibers are considered a type of microplastic, which is typically defined by the longest dimension being less than 5mm. Microfibers constitute a significant fraction of microplastics that risk to organisms in waterbodies and terrestrial biodiversity (Gavigan et al., 2020). Humans are also impacted by the consumption of common foods which include microfibers and the inhalation of airborne microfibers (Mishra et al., 2019). A recent study shows that microplastics were found even in all placental portions: maternal, fetal, and amniochorial membranes. It proves that microfibers could cause long-term effects on both moms’ and unborn babies’ health as endocrine disruptors (Ragusa et al., 2021).
Figure 1. The correlation of Textile Industry with the Emission Rate of Microfiber
This chart based on a study, Cumulative microfiber emissions from 1950 to 2016. The right columns describe compartmental, compositional, and regional characteristics of the cumulative mass of microfiber emitted by 2016 (Gavigan et al., 2020).
1.1: Development of Synthetic Material: Plastic and Synthetic Fiber
Plastic: The mass production of plastic items started during the 1940s and 1950s which is the beginning of the emission of microfiber (Yarsley and Couzens 1945, p. 152). Between 1950 and 2017 an estimated 9,200 million metric tonnes (Mt) of virgin plastics were produced. Synthetic fibers which can generate microfibers through washing and fragmentation makeup 14% of global plastics production (Gavigan et al., 2020).
Synthetic Fiber: The emission rate of microfibers has been growing with the development of synthetic textile (Fig. 1). After the invention of artificial silk and the first commercial rayon in the mid-1920s, the synthetic fabrics including spandex, nylon, and polyester were designed slightly more recently (Kauffman 1993). In 1941, polyester was invented. In 1959, spandex was added to the synthetic fabric landscape. Synthetics were wildly popular in the 1960's and 70's, decades in which polyester was ubiquitous in fashion (Mclntre ed., 2005).
1.2 Accelerating of Emission of Microfiber by Globalization of Fashion: Labor, Technology, Online Platform, Social Media, Pandemic.
Labor: Most of microfibers come from where textile factories are placed. The textile industry has continuously moved to lower-cost manufacturing countries to cope with the mass consumption of synthetic textile products (Linden 2016). The yarn and fabric manufacturing industry moved to Japan in the 50's and 60's. The production then moved to Hong Kong, Taiwan, & Korea in the 70's and the 80's. The next geographical shift was to China, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, The Philippines and Thailand in the 80's and the 90's (Klein 1999). Recent textile products are made from South and South East Asia, where has released more than the half of the global microfibers. China is the first ranked country that has released microfibers (Gavigan et al., 2020).
New Technology: Development of 3D and laser technology in the fashion industry started in the 1980s when the emission rate of microfiber rose sharply. 3D printing enabled textile factories to produce goods at lower prices, which led to a demand for ready-made garments (Wang and Chen 2014). Laser technology is being applied in diverse areas for garment production due to its advantages such as a high degree of automation and fast and precise treatment (Yuan et al., 2018).
Pandemic&Online Platform: Like the Black Death, the pandemic has brought new changes (Editorial Department, 2020). As COVD-19 cases increased, the search volume for face masks, shoes, and home clothes (Choi and Lee 2020) and non-contact consumption through online shopping platforms and mobile applications for fashion products have been rapidly grown (E. Y. Kim, 2020).
[Part 2: Examine the Correlation Between the Remanufacturing System of Synthetic Textile Product and Microfiber]
Remanufacturing started to cope with textile waste (about 91 million tons in 2015) caused by global fashion consumption which has nearly doubled since 2000 due to fast fashion (Pal et al., 2020). However, microfibers are also created during the remanufacturing process. Collected textile products have to go through the washing and drying process to be regenerated (Dissanayake and Sinha 2015). Also, to recycle a diverse mixture of many fabric materials need more complex recycling and fragmentation processes (Payne, 2016). For example, polyester must be separated from cotton and wool to be able to be melted and reformed into polyester yarn (Jeihanipour et al., 2010).
[Part 3: Methods for Prevention Emission of Microfiber]
Washing condition: By washing complete but not overfilled loads in colder and quicker cycles, release microfiber could be significantly reduced (Lant et. al., 2020). Moreover, increased detergent use promoted the release of microfibers from synthetic fabrics (Yang et al., 2019). The detergent composition (liquid or powder) did not significantly influence microplastic release (Hernandez et al., 2017)
Textile Characteristics: The influence of the laundry system is found to be majorly discussed section, yet very few research data is found on the effect of yarn and fabric properties on the release microfibers (Rathinamoorthy, R. and Balasaraswathi, S.R., 2020.) A study demonstrated that lots of microfibers are shed from three types of synthetic fabrics: polyester, polyamide, and acetate fabric during washing. Polyester released the lowest number of microfibers but the shortest (Yang et al., 2019). In 2020, Özkan and Gündoğdu found out that recycled R-PET knitted fabrics release almost 2.3 times more microfibers than the virgin polyester PES fabrics. The study of Özkan and Gündoğdu shows that the knitted fabrics produced from R-PET release more fiber having a shorter length as compared to virgin PES.
Filter: One study compared two devices: the Cora Ball and Lint LUV-R filter. Both significantly reduced the numbers of microfibers from fleece blankets in washing effluent. The Lint LUV-R captured an average of 87% of microfibers in the wash by count. While the Cora Ball captured 26% by count. (McIlwraith et al., 2019.) The other research by Napper, Barrett, and Thompson examined 6 different devices that have been designed to capture microfibers released from clothing during the washing cycle. When compared to the number of microfibers entering the wastewater without any device (control), the XFiltra filter was the most successful device that reducing microfiber release around 78% and Guppyfriend bag was the second most successful device, reducing microfibre release around 54% (2020).
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