Researchers from the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom have shown that altering yarn spinning processes and the makeup of fibers can lessen the amount of microfibres released from textiles and their detrimental effects on the environment.
A study group headed by Alice Hazlehurst, a PhD candidate in the university’s faculty of arts, humanities and Cultures’ school of design, examined different yarn densities in knitted and unknitted hanks and compared how much microfibre each one released after being washed using a washing simulator (gyrowash).
More microfibre was released from unknitted polyester than from unknitted cotton, while knitted polyester also released a comparable amount. A news release from the university stated that this indicates polyester was not as damaged throughout the knitting process as cotton was.
Though producers should consider fiber fly—the noticeable “fluff” that comes off fabrics when knitted in factories—which is higher when clothes are tightly knit, the researchers suggest that microfibre release in tightly-knitted materials during laundering was reduced.
In comparison to ring-spun yarn, which is twisted using a metal ring, vortext-sun yarns, which twist fibers using air jets in a vortex, they had a lower microfibre release. It has been demonstrated that ring-spun yarns release more microfibres after washing because they are often “hairier” than vortex-spun yarns.
