Domestic Laundry and Microfiber
Shedding of Synthetic Textiles
R. Rathinamoorthy and S. Raja Balasaraswathi
Abstract Microplastic pollution is one of the recent issues that attracted many environmental researchers. Many in situ samplings reported that more than 80% of the
microplastics found in the ocean and sea bed are microfibers from textiles. Microfiber
shedding is the phenomenon of disengagement of loose or damaged fibers from the
surface of the textile materials. The textile materials can be subjected to stress and
abrasion during all the stages of the life cycle starting from manufacturing to disposal.
Among all phases, during the usage phase, the laundry process causes maximum
damage of up to 90% to the clothing and this is the reason why the durability of
the garments is measured based on the number of washes it can withstand (Carr
in Chemistry of textiles industry. Blackie Academic and Professional, London [1]).
Hence, the laundering of synthetic textile is identified as one of the major sources of
microfiber shedding. Another reason for domestic laundry to play an important role
in microfiber pollution is that they can directly pollute the water bodies as wastewater. This chapter details the importance of the issue along with the effect of laundry
on shedding. The chapter further elucidates the different influencing parameters
like washing machine type, washing temperature, washing duration, the addition of
detergents, usage of laundry additives on microfiber shedding. The potential control
measures of the shedding are also discussed to avoid microfiber pollution through
the laundry.
Keywords Microfiber shedding · Synthetic textile · Domestic laundry · Aging of
garment · Laundry machine type · Detergent · Softeners · Laundry temperature ·
Laundry time
R. Rathinamoorthy (B) · S. Raja Balasaraswathi
Department of Fashion Technology, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, India
e-mail: r.rathinamoorthy@gmail.com
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
S. S. Muthu (ed.), Microplastic Pollution, Sustainable Textiles: Production, Processing,
Manufacturing & Chemistry, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0297-9_5
127
Shedding of Synthetic Textiles
R. Rathinamoorthy and S. Raja Balasaraswathi
Abstract Microplastic pollution is one of the recent issues that attracted many environmental researchers. Many in situ samplings reported that more than 80% of the
microplastics found in the ocean and sea bed are microfibers from textiles. Microfiber
shedding is the phenomenon of disengagement of loose or damaged fibers from the
surface of the textile materials. The textile materials can be subjected to stress and
abrasion during all the stages of the life cycle starting from manufacturing to disposal.
Among all phases, during the usage phase, the laundry process causes maximum
damage of up to 90% to the clothing and this is the reason why the durability of
the garments is measured based on the number of washes it can withstand (Carr
in Chemistry of textiles industry. Blackie Academic and Professional, London [1]).
Hence, the laundering of synthetic textile is identified as one of the major sources of
microfiber shedding. Another reason for domestic laundry to play an important role
in microfiber pollution is that they can directly pollute the water bodies as wastewater. This chapter details the importance of the issue along with the effect of laundry
on shedding. The chapter further elucidates the different influencing parameters
like washing machine type, washing temperature, washing duration, the addition of
detergents, usage of laundry additives on microfiber shedding. The potential control
measures of the shedding are also discussed to avoid microfiber pollution through
the laundry.
Keywords Microfiber shedding · Synthetic textile · Domestic laundry · Aging of
garment · Laundry machine type · Detergent · Softeners · Laundry temperature ·
Laundry time
R. Rathinamoorthy (B) · S. Raja Balasaraswathi
Department of Fashion Technology, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, India
e-mail: r.rathinamoorthy@gmail.com
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
S. S. Muthu (ed.), Microplastic Pollution, Sustainable Textiles: Production, Processing,
Manufacturing & Chemistry, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0297-9_5
127