Microfiber release to water, via laundering, and to air, via everyday use: a comparison between polyester clothing with differing textile parameters
De Falco F, Cocca M, Avella M, Thompson RC (2020). Environmental Science & Technology.
What they found
Polyester garments released microfibres straight into the air during wear, and scaled up per person per year this was of a similar order to what laundering sends to wastewater. Tightly woven fabrics with highly twisted continuous-filament yarns shed least to both air and water; looser knits with short staple fibres shed most.
- Sample
- Polyester garments with different fabric structures and yarns
- What it can't tell you
- Wear was simulated in the lab; scaling to a person-year relies on assumptions. Polyester only. Measures release, not inhalation or harm.
- Funding
- Not checked (full text inaccessible).
- Topics
- Clothing, Air and dust
- Checked against
- Abstract (Europe PMC, PMID 32101431)