Pollution created by making and dyeing clothes has pitted the fashion industry and environmentalists against each other. Now, the advent of “fast fashion”-trendy clothing affordable enough to be disposable- has strained that relationship even more. But what if we could recycle clothes like we recycle paper, or even upcycle them? Scientists report today new progress toward that goal.
The team is to present the work at the 253rd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world’s largest scientific society.
“People don’t want to spend much money on textiles anymore, but poor-quality garments don’t last,” Simone Haslinger explained. “A small amount might be recycled as cleaning rags, but the rest ends up in landfills, where it degrades and releases carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas. Also, there isn’t much arable land anymore for cotton fields, as we also have to produce food for a growing population.”
Pollution created by making and dyeing clothes has pitted the fashion industry and environmentalists against each other. Now, the advent of “fast fashion”-trendy clothing affordable enough to be disposable- has strained that relationship even more. But what if we could recycle clothes like we recycle paper, or even upcycle them? Scientists report today new progress toward that goal.
The team is to present the work at the 253rd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world’s largest scientific society.
“People don’t want to spend much money on textiles anymore, but poor-quality garments don’t last,” Simone Haslinger explained. “A small amount might be recycled as cleaning rags, but the rest ends up in landfills, where it degrades and releases carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas. Also, there isn’t much arable land anymore for cotton fields, as we also have to produce food for a growing population.”
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