In recent years, in order to solve a series of environmental pollution problems caused by textile fabrics, people have begun to look for more sustainable alternatives to traditional synthetic fabrics-biodegradable fabrics. Biodegradation refers to the chemical decomposition of certain substances into natural elements by microorganisms. Biodegradable substances, generally plants, animals or synthetic organic substances similar to them.
Biodegradable fabrics usually refer to fabrics that can be easily decomposed by microorganisms, including natural fibers, regenerated fibers and new synthetic fibers. Natural fibers include degradable natural macromolecules from plants and animals, such as cotton and linen, mulberry silk, wool, etc., which are more easily degraded than traditional synthetic fibers. It is important to note, however, that not all natural fibers are degradable, as they lose their ability to degrade once chemicals are added during the dyeing process.
Regenerated fibers use natural cellulose (cotton, hemp, bamboo, trees and shrubs, etc.) as raw materials, and change their physical structure without changing the chemical structure, so as to produce fibers with better performance, which can also be naturally Biodegradable. Such as common tencel (tencel, also known as lyocell), modal (Modal) and bamboo fiber.
There is also a new biodegradable synthetic fiber that has a promising future in the commercial market. Common new synthetic fiber products on the market include polylactic acid (PLA), polycaprolactone (PCL) and biopolyester (PHA). These new synthetic fibers have a certain degree of degradability, and no pesticides and chemicals are used in the production process, which can effectively reduce the generation of synthetic fiber waste and ecological pollution.
At present, some biodegradable fabrics have been successfully used in business, and they are getting closer to the daily life of mass consumers, which means that it will be possible to effectively alleviate the environmental pollution caused by the fashion industry. Last year, Swiss functional fabric brand Schoeller teamed up with Taiwanese textile raw material supplier Formosa to launch the ProEarth collection of biodegradable fabrics, which includes Bluesign-verified biodegradable polyester fibers. Schoeller said the newly developed ProEarth line of products will help eliminate more than 16 million tons of textile waste annually in the United States.
As one of the common accessories in garment production, traditional sequins are made of synthetic polyester, an unsustainable and difficult-to-degrade toxic material that brings serious harm to the ecosystem. Rachel Clowes is an embroidery and print designer from the United Kingdom. She invented a new sequin material "bio sequins", which is composed of starch, natural dyes, water and fruit glycerides. It has similar hardness and flexibility to traditional plastics, and can finally be Dissolves and biodegrades in boiling water.
frank@junbang-tex.com
