[ad_1]
RIon is the softest and smoothest fabric of all fabrics. Sometimes called viscose, modal, lyocell, tencel, acetate or bamboo. It tends to feel denser and more fluid than cotton or linen, but even this depends on how it was spun and spun.
The best way to understand rayon is to think of it as an umbrella for textiles made from cellulose, the building block of most plants. It can be made from straw, cotton waste and other natural materials, but in the case of rayon, it usually comes from pine, eucalyptus or beech wood.
It is often marketed as an eco-friendly fiber because it is made from natural, renewable materials (trees). But, like many durable materials, there are a few dark clouds on the evidence.
According to the nonprofit Canopy, 200 million trees are cut down each year to produce textiles. Half of the 6.5 million metric tons of radiation produced annually comes from ancient and endangered forests.
Forests are critical to combating global warming because carbon is stored in the woody biomass of tree trunks and branches and in the roots, shrubs and soil that cover the forest floor. Given the immense beauty of forests and the plants, animals and birds they provide a home for, the link between radiation and deforestation is a particularly sad truth and one of fashion’s best-kept secrets.
Amanda Carr, senior leader of the CanopyStyle campaign, says there is an opportunity in this forest-based textile supply chain to direct investments towards solutions and away from problems. It’s like we’re standing on the edge of a cliff and we have the opportunity to build a fence with the hospital above.
Hazardous waste has turned the river water dark red.
Fiber production has roughly doubled over the past three decades and its percentage of the global fiber market continues to grow (6.4% in 2019). Carr said Canopy is working to prevent this development from further deforestation. Their work is at least partly responsible for many fashion brands declaring that their rayon, viscose or modal products are FSC or PEFC certified – meaning they come from a sustainably managed forest or plantation.
The carbon footprint of the wood-to-textile process is even more complex. Unlike cotton, wool, or silk, which are naturally soft, elastic, and ready-to-wear, turning wood into fabric can be highly toxic to both workers and the environment.
Rayon has ties to some of the world’s darkest history. During World War II, the Nazis forced prisoners to work in radiation factories. The chemicals (sulfuric acid) burned holes in their uniforms and caused damage to areas that touched the skin, and the emissions caused neurological side effects such as blindness and psychosis.
These issues continued into the 21st century. A 2017 Changing Markets Foundation report found significant levels of visible and odorous pollution at production sites in India at the Aditya Beer Group – the world’s largest viscose producer.
Hazardous waste turned the river water red; An independent laboratory test found that the air was 125 times higher than the WHO recommended level of carbon disulfide. The surrounding villages do not have access to clean drinking water and, shockingly, 60 villagers are seriously ill and unable to walk. Aditya Beer Group has denied that these problems are related to its operations.
However, similar problems have emerged in China and other parts of India and Indonesia – and the issues are not limited to one company.
The Changing Market Foundation’s report makes several recommendations on how to make viscose rayon production sustainable, with particular focus on air pollution, water pollution, solid waste disposal, energy sources, energy consumption, and worker health and safety. The foundation has proposed the idea of recovering waste from the chemicals and reusing them wherever possible, and implementing closed-loop manufacturing to recover and recycle carbon disulfide emissions.
In the year By 2020, the Aditya Birla Group has announced that it has set a target to have all its manufacturing sites compliant with EU BAT standards and certified by the end of 2022.
“Manufacturers responsible for 50% of global viscose production are committed to producing responsibly,” said Kathleen Rademan, director of the Innovation Forum at Fashion for Good. She points to Spinova and Infinite Fiber Co. as examples of companies implementing good chemical management practices. Lenzing, one of the world’s largest viscose manufacturers, has trademarked Tencel, which is manufactured using closed-loop processes.
The report concluded that the product has the potential to become a sustainable fiber if improved viscose. By attaching raw materials to the responsibility.
Voluntary proofs are not enough
So, what do responsibly sourced raw materials look like? Certifications are regarded as good, if imperfect, tools for establishing standards for responsible forest management in various countries. Most significantly, they guarantee traceability to ensure that a radiation source is not an ancient or endangered forest.
Noting that trees and forests are important contributors to a warming planet, Carr said Canopy’s priority is to prevent viscose rayon from forming in ancient and endangered forests.
But she noted that certifications are limited in quantity. Each is applied from a local perspective, and often ecological issues or planetary needs require a more global or regional perspective. “This is not the type of plan that voluntary certifications are implemented by individual corporations,” she said.
The next step is to find water solutions to completely replace fiber from forests.
Changing old fabrics into new ones
Any plant material can be used as a source of cellulose and can be dissolved to make fibers, so in theory all natural fabrics and agricultural waste can be regenerated into viscose rayon.
According to Textile Exchange, the market share of ‘recycled’ cellulose fibers is very small, but much ongoing research and development means that it is expected to increase significantly in the coming years. Recent technological advances have made it possible to convert some textile waste into new materials.
Due to the cellulose content of some fibers such as cotton, the process can be more effective than converting trees. According to Canopy, it takes an average of 2.5-3 tons of trees to create 1 ton of viscose pulp, but it only takes about 1 ton of recycled cotton or rayon to make 1 ton of viscose pulp. From this point of view, Rademan says, “it makes more sense to try to recycle the resources we have through textiles” rather than relying on virgin resources like trees.
Considering the amount of textile waste sent to landfills every second, the thought of turning old textiles into new textiles and synthetics with superior performance characteristics is exciting. Viscose is better than synthetic materials on the body; It breathes on the skin and does not have a complex relationship with oil or sweat, which makes it comfortable to wear. And every time you wash it, it does not throw plastic microfibers into the water lines.
While we are in the early days of these solutions, while there is a large-scale infrastructure for collection, sorting and recycling, there are innovators working in this space. Lenzing’s Refibra line is made from approximately 30% recycled cotton.
In April of this year, Seattle-based Evernu launched NuCycle, a textile waste recycling business. And in May, fast-fashion giant Inditex invested €100 million in a Finnish startup called Infinite Fiber, which also creates fabrics from textile waste.
Although viscose rayon’s dark and complex history, in many ways, extends into the present, it has a promising future.
If we remove trees and forests at the source, replace them with textile waste, and create a closed-loop, non-toxic product, viscose rayon can regain its ecological reputation.
[ad_2]
Source link
