Man-made Fibers

Discussion in 'Science & Nature' started by Frank Sanoica, Oct 16, 2018.

  1. Frank Sanoica

    Frank Sanoica Supreme Member
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    Like Orlon. Widely used in clothing, linings for boots & shoes, perhaps "linens" also. I was surprised to read of significant pollution of shorelines by microfibers of man-made stuff like Orlon:

    "Acrylic fibers are synthetic fibers made from a polymer (polyacrylonitrile).......
    DuPont created the first acrylic fibers in 1941 and trademarked them under the name Orlon. It was first developed in the mid-1940s but was not produced in large quantities until the 1950s.
    Acrylic is lightweight, soft, and warm, with a wool-like feel.

    A team at Plymouth University in the UK spent 12 months analyzing what happened when a number of synthetic materials were washed at different temperatures in domestic washing machines, using different combinations of detergents, to quantify the microfibres shed. They found that acrylic was responsible for releasing nearly 730,000 tiny synthetic particles (microplastics) per wash, five times more than polyester-cotton blend fabric, and nearly 1.5 times as many as pure polyester.

    Ecologist Mark Browne discovered something scientifically important after months of tediously examining sediment along shorelines around the world. He noticed fiber waste that no one else had predicted. They were tiny, synthetic, and all over the coastline, with the greatest concentration near sewage outflows. Of the man-made material found on the shoreline, 85% were microfibers and matched the types of material (such as nylon and acrylic) used in clothing."

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrylic_fiber
     
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  2. Frank Sanoica

    Frank Sanoica Supreme Member
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    Today my nephew emailed, asking about a "hit-song" which has been troubling him: "South Street". Looked it up, done by the Orlons, made #3, 1963.

    Of course, my intangibilities soared upon considering the fabric, Orlon!
    Frank
     
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  3. Bill Boggs

    Bill Boggs Supreme Member
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    This may not be an appropriate post here but your post rfminded me I recently bought some ECCO socks made from bamboo fibers. Supposed to be softer than cotton. I bought three pairs to compare. So far, so good. Until Istumbled onto them on the internet i knew not they existed.
     
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  4. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    I have come across bed sheets made from bamboo fibers, although I didn't buy them. I'd think they wouldn't cause the ecological problems presented by man-made fibers.
     
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  5. Shirley Martin

    Shirley Martin Supreme Member
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    I like things made of cotton and polyester. They are mostly wrinkle free and let your skin breath. The others feel to me like being in a plastic bag.
     
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  6. Nancy Hart

    Nancy Hart Veteran Member
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    Plastic bottles being recycled into polyester fabric (5:29 mins)

     
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