Microplastic fibers (MPF) have been increasingly found in water systems traced back to homes such as pumps from washing machines. Although textile companies do dispose of a significant portion of microplastic fibers into the environment, a recent study reveals that washing fabrics release the most pollution.
A team of researchers from the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology published their findings in the Journal of Cleaner Production. They discovered that clothing manufactured using scissors tend to shred the most MPF in waterways.
Compared to textiles cut with laser cutters, cloths that are scissor-cut shed up to 31 times more microfibers. The mini fibers are then released into water systems and passing through filter systems after being washed, flowing into seas, rivers, oceans, and eventually, into farm plant systems.
Microfibers also find their way into marine species like turtles, sharks, and jellyfish. Fish and shellfish that end up as food for humans have also been detected with traces of microfibers from the plankton that they consume.
Laser-Cut Textiles
The team suggested that textile production should opt for laser-based processes, which could significantly reduce microplastic pollution. Lasers cut cleaner while scissors cause fabric edges to easily shed microfibers in water.
'Our results confirm the presence of microplastic fibers in textiles throughout the manufacturing process,' said Yaping Cai. 'The results of this study may help to reduce the microplastic fiber release from textiles by modifications throughout the production and finishing process.'
Not much is known about microfiber pollution compared to plastics. Plastic pollution is more common from industrial waste and single-use plastics that also find their way in oceans and agriculture.
A previous study showed that microplastic (plastic and fiber) pollution is so abundant that it's not only in the water, it is also in the air. The wind can carry tiny pollution into even the most isolated and protected nature parks.
Cai and the team extracted microfibers from various textiles using sonication, which applies sound energy to a liquid with fibers, mimicking the movement of a washing machine. Analyzing samples with a scanning electron microscope (SEM) revealed how much MPF is shed by scissor-cut fabrics.
'From the SEM images, we know that the textile edges of laser-cut samples exhibited a seal of molten polymer and the scissor-cut samples consisted of a large number of open ends near the edge,' explained the team. Scissor-cut microfiber textiles released up to 45,400 microfibers per gram while laser-cut samples shed 11,300 microfibers per gram.
Read Also: Scientists Trace Microplastic Pollution Almost Everywhere, It's Become Airborne
Changing Production Processes
Also, processed textile surfaces such as fleece to make synthetic yarn would shed five times more microfibers than unprocessed surfaces. Surface treatment on fabric occurs during the final steps of processing where clothing is sprayed with chemicals to improve the material's appearance and feel.
Rotor spinning also largely contributes to loose microfibers during production. 'The results of this study may help to reduce the MPF release from textiles by modifications throughout the production and finishing process,' the authors wrote.
Read Also: Toxicants in Whales and Dolphins Traced Back to Fossil Fuels & Single-Use Plastics
