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Shedding off-the-grid: The role of garment manufacturing and textile care in global microfibre pollution

Stanton, Thomas; Stanes, Elyse; Gwinnett, Claire; Lei, Xiaoyu; Cauilan-Cureg, Myrna; Ramos, Myrna; Sallach, J. Brett; Harrison, Eleanor; Osborne, Amy; Sanders, Catherine H.; Baynes, Edwin; Law, Antonia; Johnson, Matthew; Ryves, David B.; Sheridan, Kelly J.; Blackburn, Richard S.; McKay, Deirdre

Authors

Thomas Stanton

Elyse Stanes

Claire Gwinnett

Xiaoyu Lei

Myrna Cauilan-Cureg

Myrna Ramos

J. Brett Sallach

Amy Osborne

Catherine H. Sanders

Edwin Baynes

Antonia Law

Matthew Johnson

David B. Ryves

Kelly J. Sheridan

Richard S. Blackburn



Abstract

Textile fibres are abundant anthropogenic pollutants. These fibres enter aquatic, terrestrial, and atmospheric environments, and biota. Textile fibres pose biological and chemical threats to the environments they pollute. Laundry is a primary source of synthetic and natural textile fibres. Fibre shed from laundry performed in electric washing machines is well characterised. However, over 50% of the global population does not have regular access to an electric washing machine. Without regular access to an electric washing machine, people launder ‘off-the-grid’ with locally specific methods. Their variable laundry methods present a significant challenge to quantifying microfibre shed. This study makes an original contribution to studies of fibre shedding. First, it details laundry protocols in a Global South community. Second, it assesses how textile structure influences fibre shedding independent of laundry practices. To do this, we deploy a hand laundry protocol learned during ethnographic fieldwork. We show that hand-washed garments shed fibres in numbers comparable to machine-washed garments. We show how garment construction (knit and weave) influences fibre shedding. We find fibre type (cotton or polyester) does not. People who hand wash clothing cannot change practices contributing to textile fibre pollution. Thus, industry must act to minimise fibreshed from laundry at the global scale. This entails transforming the design, manufacture, and sale of textiles.

Citation

Stanton, T., Stanes, E., Gwinnett, C., Lei, X., Cauilan-Cureg, M., Ramos, M., …McKay, D. (2023). Shedding off-the-grid: The role of garment manufacturing and textile care in global microfibre pollution. Journal of Cleaner Production, 428, Article 139391. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.139391

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Oct 16, 2023
Online Publication Date Oct 17, 2023
Publication Date Nov 20, 2023
Deposit Date Oct 23, 2023
Journal Journal of Cleaner Production
Print ISSN 0959-6526
Electronic ISSN 1879-1786
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 428
Article Number 139391
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.139391
Keywords Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering; Strategy and Management; General Environmental Science; Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment; Building and Construction
Additional Information This article is maintained by: Elsevier; Article Title: Shedding off-the-grid: The role of garment manufacturing and textile care in global microfibre pollution; Journal Title: Journal of Cleaner Production; CrossRef DOI link to publisher maintained version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.139391; Content Type: article; Copyright: © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.