Textile researchers from Scotland’s Heriot-Watt University, led by Dr. Lisa Macintyre, have developed a visual fibre fragmentation scale [1]—the world’s first textile grading system of its kind aimed at fighting microplastic pollution in the fashion industry.
The new grading system is the result of four years of research. The five-point scale assesses the volume of fibre fragments shed from different clothing materials, with observers visually grading each material from one to five. Grade one indicates the highest volume of shed fibers, while grade five indicates the least.
The fashion industry is among the largest producers of microplastics. Microplastics are tiny plastic particles less than 5mm in size. Thousands of tiny fibers are shed from polyester and nylon clothing through daily wear and tear, as well as the laundry process. Over 14 million tonnes of microplastics are estimated to be lying on the ocean floor. These fibers eventually make their way into waterways, oceans, and even the food chain, posing a threat to marine life and human health.
“There are fiber fragments absolutely everywhere, from icebergs to the deepest ocean, to human lungs and our food—they’re in everything,” said Dr. Macintyre.
According to the researchers, the new method is quicker and more cost-effective for processing large volumes of materials than alternative techniques, such as those used by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), which are more expensive and time-consuming. This advantage allows manufacturers to quickly identify low-shedding materials and select them for further testing, ultimately leading to more sustainable garment production.
Dr. Macintyre emphasized the importance of this innovation, stating, “The microplastics problem is massive. Fashion and textiles are one of the biggest sources of secondary microplastics in the environment. Our visual grading system aims to help manufacturers make better choices in production and communicate the environmental impact of garments to consumers in a straightforward way.”
Addressing the existing scale’s limitations, Dr. Macintyre added, “Visual scales are already used in the fashion industry to measure how much bobbling a material may suffer on its surface, for example. Perhaps the most well-known is the greyscale, which measures color fading or staining, but there was no such tool for fibre shedding.”
The researchers stated that their scale is more accurate at assessing very low levels of fragmentation than the equivalent method of weighing fibers. This will allow manufacturers to choose materials with the least environmental impact and help consumers make informed decisions when buying clothing.
Dr. Macintyre concluded, “The next stage for us is to try and get some kind of industry agreement. Currently, we don’t have an ‘acceptable fragmentation’ rate for clothing, but that’s not unusual. The environment is an important issue, and we want key industry leaders and policymakers to sit down and start agreeing on standards, perhaps even legislating against high-shedding materials.”
The researchers have published their findings in the journal Cambridge Prisms: Plastics, under the title, Low-cost, high-throughput quantification of microplastics released from textile wash tests: Introducing the fibre fragmentation scale.
Sources:
[1]World’s first visual grading system developed to combat microplastic fashion pollution https://www.hw.ac.uk/news/2024/worlds-first-visual-grading-system-developed-to-combat-microplastic-fashion-pollution
