Environment impacts natural fibres

Another impact on the environment is the possible production of micro fragments during the biodegradation process. To assess this micro fragment production, experiments conducted in laboratory conditions and real conditions have been set up (Charrier, 2003). Three films were tested (i) polyester aUph/ arom -l- starch, (ii) polyester aUph/arom -i- natural fibres and (iii) polyethylene + pro oxidant. The results are shown in Table 19.4. In test A, samples of films were ineorporated into pots containing a natural soil. These pots were put in an oven at 30 C for six months, and were regularly watered to ensure a constant soil humidity. A similar experiment, test B, was performed in compost... 

As mentioned earlier in this chapter, sustainabUity represents the type of developments that meet the needs of present generations without comprising the ability of future generations to fulfil their needs. The use of natural resources and the generated outputs and environmental effects are two important aspects of sustainability. Products or processes that use higher nonrenewable resources as well as produce detrimental effects on the environment are considered to be less sustainable. As discussed in the previous sections, LCA has been used to identify, quantify and evaluate the environmental impacts (inputs and outputs) of products made from cotton textiles and this information can be utilized to determine the sustainability of cotton textiles and to compare that with other textile fibres (Rana et al., 2014a,b). 

Similar to the bast fibres, fibres derived from plant leaves can also be formed into biodegradable nonwovens. One example of this is the Pinatex nonwoven, currendy used as a backing for imitation leather and produced from pineapple leaves, which are a waste material that are otherwise sent for disposal (Ananas-Anam, 2014). However, natural materials comprise only 3% of the fibre-based nonwovens market, and so, their combined impact on the environment is less of a concern than man-made materials (Wiertz, 2014). 

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