YORK – In our latest podcast, brought to you in partnership with Cotton Incorporated, our host Philip Berman is joined by two leading experts for a wide-ranging discussion on the issue of plastic leakage from the textile industry.
Jesse Daystar, Cotton Incorporated’s vice president and chief sustainability officer, co-authored a groundbreaking study on the issue, while Patricia Holden, from the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of California in Santa Barbara, is an expert in environmental microbiology and engineering.
Daystar’s study, which was published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications last year, revealed that the apparel industry was responsible for 14% of total plastic leakage globally.
We knew it was going to likely be a pretty large percentage, but frankly I was surprised
“We knew that it was going to likely be a pretty large percentage, but frankly I was surprised,” Daystar tells Berman. “Zooming in just a little bit though, it’s about 12.4% that actually comes from synthetic apparel. So it’s largely dominated, no surprise, by clothing that’s made out of plastic.”
The remainder of the industry’s contribution is mostly from packaging. The study did not include non-plastic microfibres from natural fibres, such as cotton, which Daystar argues biodegrade in most environments.
Holden said she was grateful to Daystar’s team for quantifying the textile industry’s contribution to plastics pollution: “I hate to say ‘happy’, because we don’t want to see big numbers like this, but I was really grateful it helped us, as scientists, in how we prioritise our work.”
The podcast went on to discuss issues including the difference between macro- and microplastics, and the sources of plastic leakage throughout the value chain, from the production of raw materials to washing, dyeing, finishing, consumer use, end-of-life disposal and packaging.
The “improper disposal of synthetic garments” was said to be the largest driver of plastic leakage by weight, with a significant portion of leakage occurring at the end-of-life stage of garments, especially in countries with inadequate waste infrastructure.
And while Daystar insists that cotton does not contribute significantly, with its plastic leakage being mostly down to packaging, he said further research was needed into the biodegradability of blended fabrics.
This podcast follows last week’s Ecotextile Talks, which also involved input from Cotton Incorporated, examining cotton’s role in tackling climate change and exploring the fascinating world of biogenic carbon storage.
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