Scientists work on technology to naturally break down clothing fibres
US scientists are working on a technology that can change the process of making and discarding of clothing fibres. The researchers' efforts intensified after images from the Atacama Desert in Chile, where piles of used and unwanted clothing are growing higher and higher, stirred unease yet again.
A desert is usually associated with sand or ice covering the land. In Chile, however, the Atacama Desert is covered with… clothes. Piles of used pieces of clothing are so large, they are visible from space. In order for the desert to come back to its original form, American scientists are trying to develop a solution to decompose manmade fibres.
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Cotton is fine. Polyester? Not necessarily
Natural fibres such as silk, wool, linen and cotton decompose on their own. The real problem is artificial materials, such as nylon tights or polyester jumpers. It is estimated that non-biodegradable clothing will remain in landfills for decades or even hundreds of years. According to US company Lycra, the most important thing is to find a natural replacement for polyester, which is the biggest component of the products the company produces. Polyester, like nylon, is derived from petroleum.
Lycra has been looking for a substitute for polyester for some time. The search began in the US, where Qore worked with farmers to create a new fabric made out of sweetcorn, dubbed Qira, the BBC reports.
"The core product is really interesting," says Jean Hegedus, head of sustainable operations at Lycra, in an interview with the BBC. "It's made from what we call 'industrial dead corn'. So it's not like sweetcorn that's used for human consumption. It's specifically grown for things like materials, or to go into paper, or for animal feed."
Scientists fighting for clean deserts
In addition to creating new, more environmentally friendly replacements for polyester and nylon, there remains the issue of clothing already made from manmade fibres. To address this problem and clean up the Atacama Desert, US scientists are trying to create a solution to help decompose artificial fabrics.
The US-based scientific organisation Biomimicry Institute is working had to find a natural way to quickly break down polyester and nylon waste. "One of the approaches that we are looking at is how you break down these complicated materials, and in a way that actually gets rid of the toxic effects of dyes and coating," Beth Rattner, executive director of the Biomimetics Institute, tells the BBC. "Using biological materials, whether that be enzymes or bacteria, to create new materials."
The aim of the project is to "take the existing mountains of clothing waste and turn them into something that's biocompatible". Beth Rattner also notes that the processes the organisation is researching could not only help break down existing fabrics in a more planet-friendly way, but could also form the basis of innovative new materials in the future, the BBC reports.
Consumers throw away truckloads of clothes every day
According to the UK-based Ellen MacArthur Foundation, which promotes recycling, enough clothes are thrown away every second to fill a rubbish truck. This means that in a 24-hour period, consumers around the world produce 86,400 truckloads full of unwanted clothing. According to Jules Lennon, leader of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's fashion programme, this means that "today's fashion system is broken".
Source: BBC
