Garment longevity and microfiber release through the laundry process

Abstract

The influence of fast fashion trends on consumers and their lifestyles determines the longevity of garments. The PhD programme subject is the current focus on the longevity of garments, the environmental impact of clothing, and microfibre release from the washing process. All the studies are modelled for real consumer soil garments and domestic washing machines.

The laundry process is one of the significant factors that influence the longevity of garments, and it is decided based on the colour, dimension and softness using different parameters. The number of washing cycles is one of the most significant factors reducing a garment's longevity. The longevity of garments increases by 40% when using a Cold/quick washing programme (22 ºC for 30 min) compared to the 40 ºC standard cotton short washing programme (for 85 min). In all cases, polyester fabrics indicated the best longevity compared to cotton, nylon and cotton blend fabrics. In addition, detergents, and the temperature of the washing programme, influenced the whiteness loss of the white garments in mixed-colour wash loads. The results indicated that the type of detergents used in the washing process influences the colour loss and the incrustation on the fabric surface. Incrustation was influenced by the pH and the carbonate composition of the detergents. Thus, Ariel pods with a lower pH and non-carbonate groups indicate the best colour care and softness retention in the garments irrespective of the fabric type, while the highest colour loss and incrustation are with Ariel colour powder detergent. The addition of fabric softener causes an increase in incrustation on the fabrics irrespective of fabric type. The dimensional stability of garments is only influenced by the fabric type and the washing temperature.

The microfibre release from the washing process was analysed using real, consumer soiled wash loads. Gravimetric analysis indicated that a cold quick washing programme minimises microfibre release (by 30 ± 0.12 %) compared to the 40 ᴏC cotton short programme. This study has developed a new tape-lifting methodology for the analysis of microfibres. The current consumer perception of garments and microplastic was different from the results in the study. The natural microfibre release in the washing processes was 20% higher than synthetic microfibres when using a combined 50%:50% natural: synthetic T-shirts. The “real life” consumer garments also indicated 40% higher natural microfibre release from the garments than synthetic microfibres. The developed and applied microfibre identification using microscopy was simple, economical, fast, and environmentally friendly compared to solubility, SEM-EDX, and FT-IR methods.

Date of Award	28 Mar 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Northumbria University
Supervisor	John Dean (Supervisor) & Kelly Sheridan (Supervisor)