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==== 3.1 Recycled vs. Organic Cotton Fibers ====
==== 3.1 Recycled vs. Organic Cotton Fibers ====
The production of organic cotton can have detrimental environmental impacts due to its usage of water, land, chemicals, and emissions. Approximately 2.6% of global water use can be attributed to the production of cotton. Cotton cultivation is also responsible for about 11% of global pesticide consumption. During the spinning phase of virgin cotton production, large amounts of electricity are consumed which can lead to increased [[CO2 emissions]] and acidification potential. In order to give organic cotton an artificial color, the dyeing phase of cotton production consumes a vast amount of water, energy, and chemicals. The plants required to dye cotton can potentially lead to the contamination of oceans.
The production of organic cotton can have detrimental environmental impacts due to its usage of water, land, chemicals, and emissions.<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal |last=Esteve-Turrillas |first=Francesc |last2=Guardia |first2=Miguel |date=2017-01-31 |title=Environmental impact of Recover cotton in textile industry |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308907483_Environmental_impact_of_Recover_cotton_in_textile_industry |journal=Resources, Conservation and Recycling |volume=116 |doi=10.1016/j.resconrec.2016.09.034}}</ref> Approximately 2.6% of global water use can be attributed to the production of cotton.<ref name=":7" /> Cotton cultivation is also responsible for about 11% of global pesticide consumption.<ref name=":7" /> During the spinning phase of virgin cotton production, large amounts of electricity are consumed which can lead to increased [[CO2 emissions]] and acidification potential.<ref name=":7" /> In order to give organic cotton an artificial color, the dyeing phase of cotton production consumes a vast amount of water, energy, and chemicals.<ref name=":7" /> The plants required to dye cotton can potentially lead to the contamination of oceans.<ref name=":7" />


Compared to the production of organic cotton, the process of recycling cotton waste to produce cotton fibers uses less water, [[Fertilizer|fertilizers]], and [[Pesticide|pesticides]]. By doing so, cotton recycling can help mitigate some of the negative environmental impacts of cultivating organic cotton. Using 1000 kg of recycled cotton instead of organic cotton can save 0.5 ha of agricultural land, prevent 6600 kg CO2 eq of emissions from entering the atmosphere, and conserve 2783 m3 of irrigation water.
Compared to the production of organic cotton, the process of recycling cotton waste to produce cotton fibers uses less water, [[Fertilizer|fertilizers]], and [[Pesticide|pesticides]]. By doing so, cotton recycling can help mitigate some of the negative environmental impacts of cultivating organic cotton. Using 1000 kg of recycled cotton instead of organic cotton can save 0.5 ha of agricultural land, prevent 6600 kg CO2 eq of emissions from entering the atmosphere, and conserve 2783 m3 of irrigation water.


==== 3.2 Assessment Standard ====
==== 3.2 Assessment Standard ====
The environmental impact of cotton recycling can be examined using the [[Life-cycle assessment|Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA)]]. The LCIA is a method that evaluates the potential environmental impacts of cotton recycling. It has three mandatory steps: selection, classification, and characterization. The LCIA can use a variety of impact categories, such as climate change potential, terrestrial acidification potential, freshwater [[eutrophication]], [[ozone depletion]], [[water depletion]], human toxicity, and land occupation.
The environmental impact of cotton recycling can be examined using the [[Life-cycle assessment|Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA)]].<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal |last=Moazzem |first=Shadia |last2=Wang |first2=Lijing |last3=Daver |first3=Fugen |last4=Crossin |first4=Enda |date=2021-03-01 |title=Environmental impact of discarded apparel landfilling and recycling |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344920306534 |journal=Resources, Conservation and Recycling |language=en |volume=166 |pages=105338 |doi=10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.105338 |issn=0921-3449}}</ref> The LCIA is a method that evaluates the potential environmental impacts of cotton recycling. It has three mandatory steps: selection, classification, and characterization.<ref name=":8" /> The LCIA can use a variety of impact categories, such as climate change potential, terrestrial acidification potential, freshwater [[eutrophication]], [[ozone depletion]], [[water depletion]], human toxicity, and land occupation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Life Cycle Impact Assessment - an overview {{!}} ScienceDirect Topics |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/life-cycle-impact-assessment |access-date=2022-04-09 |website=www.sciencedirect.com}}</ref>


== Limitations ==
== Limitations ==

Revision as of 02:55, 9 April 2022

Cotton bolls on the cotton plant ready for harvesting and processing into cotton yarn and fabric.
The cotton recycling symbol.

Cotton recycling prevents unneeded wastage and can be a more sustainable alternative to disposal. Recycled cotton can come from secondhand clothing or from textile waste or leftovers which are then spun into new yarns and fabrics. There are some notable limitations of recycled cotton, including separation of materials that are cotton/polyester mix.[1] There may also be limits to durability in using recycled cotton.

Process

Composition of Starting Material

Pre-Consumer Cotton

Pre-consumer cotton is excess textile waste that is collected during the production of yarn, fabrics, and textile products such as selvage from weaving and fabric remnants from factory cutting rooms.[2] The majority of recycled cotton is made from pre-consumer cotton, such as fabric scraps, because it is more likely that the scraps have not undergone the mixing of materials and color dyes and do not have to be heavily sorted before recycling.[2]

Post-Consumer Cotton

Post-consumer cotton is textile waste that is collected after consumers have discarded the finished products, such as used apparel and household items.[2] Post-consumer cotton which is made with many color shades and fabric blends is labor intensive to recycle because the different materials have to be separated before recycling.[2] Post-consumer cotton can be recycled, but the recycled cotton made from post-consumer cotton is likely of much lower quality than virgin cotton.[3]

Collection of Materials

Sorting of Materials

After pre-consumer and post-consumer textile products are collected, the textile products are manually sorted into reusable and disposal groups.[4] The sorting process is labor intensive because there can be up to 350 subcategories that reusable textiles can be manually sorted into [2]. [Need munually insert citation]

One approach to combat the low efficiency of manual sorting is Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) which automates the recognition and sorting process of textiles.[5] NIRS analyser identifies the corresponding group for textile by sensing the coating and finishing of the textile.[6] There are also limitations to using NIRS, where if the textile is very thin or experiences chemical changes through aging, NIRS could miscategorize the textile.[6]

Quality Assessment

In order for cotton waste to be recycled into high-quality products, the quality of the cotton waste should not jeopardize the quality of the resulting product.[7] While there is no specific index for the quality assessment of recycled cotton, a variety of quality indexes have been applied to determine how suitable cotton waste fibers are for recycling.[8]

Common indexes to measure the quality of cotton fiber are Fiber Quality Index (FQI) and Spinning Consistency Index (SCI).[9] Each index uses a mathematical model to yield a quantitative value for measure. A value with a higher quality indicates that the cotton waste has higher quality.[9] FQI relates the tenacity, mean length, and fineness of cotton fibers.[10] SCI considers properties such as the upper half mean length, uniformity, and fiber color to determine the spinnability of cotton.[9] Properties of these quality indices are often modified and merged to create one overall quality index that can be used to calculate whether cotton waste is suited to be recycled for a particular product.[10] A standardized instrument to obtain data regarding the various properties of cotton waste is the Uster HVI machine.[11]

Mechanical recycling

Mechanical recycling is the process of shredding textile fabric into fibers to be spun back into yarn without the use of chemicals.[3] A Garnett machine is used for this process, which is a machine equipped with rollers and cylinders covered with metal pins that rotate to break down the textile into individual fibers.[3] The textile fabric must be sorted before putting it through the machine because an unsorted mixture of different materials and colors in fabrics results in low-quality yarn after the fiber is spun back into yarn.[3] The fibers shorten in length with each time of processing because of the mechanical strain from the machine. Using short fibers results in a lower quality of yarn, so polyester is commonly added to the recycled cotton to increase the strength and quality of the fiber.[12]

Chemical recycling

Chemical recycling is the process of solubilizing textile wastes in chemicals to cause chemical reactions that produce recycled fibers.[13] Chemical reactions dissolve the polymers that make up fibers, thus do not reduce fiber length but instead fully regenerate the fiber.[4] This process overcomes the issue of fibers being shortened by mechanical recycling, but its scale of use is limited to research experiments and studies such as Eco Circle (Teijin), Worn Again, Evrnu, Re:newcell, and Ioncell.[4]

Outdated Method

An outdated method mixes cellulose fiber (cotton) with carbon disulfide, dissolves the product in caustic soda, and spins it with sulfuric acid and mineral salt to produce a fiber different from cotton called viscose rayon.[4] This method is proven to be environmentally hazardous and is prohibited.[4]

Lyocell Process

The lyocell process is the method of dissolving cellulose (cotton) in N-methylmorpholine N-oxide (NMMO) to form a solution that has hydrogen bonds (NMMO•H2O).[4] The solution is then spun in a water bath, resulting in pure, reusable cellulosic fibers.[4] The lyocell process could recover 99% of its solvent and produces minimal and non-toxic waste, therefore it is recognized by the United Nations and the industry as environmentally improved textile products (EITP).[4]

Dissolving in Ionic Liquids

Another method dissolves cellulose in ionic liquids such as 1,3,-dibutylimidazolium chloride ([C4mim]Cl) to produce regenerated fibers.[4] While this method, like the lyocell process, could recover almost all of its solvent, its hazardous impacts to the aqueous ecology is still being researched.[4]

Applications

Since mechanical recycling, the primary process being used commercially, recovers  cottons of less durability and lengthes, recycled cottons are used in products that require lower-quality cotton including casual clothing, filters, agricultural storage bins, flooring materials, home insulation materials, home furnishing materials, and building materials such as concrete. [4]

Potential Impacts

Environmental Impacts

3.1 Recycled vs. Organic Cotton Fibers

The production of organic cotton can have detrimental environmental impacts due to its usage of water, land, chemicals, and emissions.[14] Approximately 2.6% of global water use can be attributed to the production of cotton.[14] Cotton cultivation is also responsible for about 11% of global pesticide consumption.[14] During the spinning phase of virgin cotton production, large amounts of electricity are consumed which can lead to increased CO2 emissions and acidification potential.[14] In order to give organic cotton an artificial color, the dyeing phase of cotton production consumes a vast amount of water, energy, and chemicals.[14] The plants required to dye cotton can potentially lead to the contamination of oceans.[14]

Compared to the production of organic cotton, the process of recycling cotton waste to produce cotton fibers uses less water, fertilizers, and pesticides. By doing so, cotton recycling can help mitigate some of the negative environmental impacts of cultivating organic cotton. Using 1000 kg of recycled cotton instead of organic cotton can save 0.5 ha of agricultural land, prevent 6600 kg CO2 eq of emissions from entering the atmosphere, and conserve 2783 m3 of irrigation water.

3.2 Assessment Standard

The environmental impact of cotton recycling can be examined using the Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA).[15] The LCIA is a method that evaluates the potential environmental impacts of cotton recycling. It has three mandatory steps: selection, classification, and characterization.[15] The LCIA can use a variety of impact categories, such as climate change potential, terrestrial acidification potential, freshwater eutrophication, ozone depletion, water depletion, human toxicity, and land occupation.[16]

Limitations

Technical Difficulties

Cotton textiles are made of materials other than cotton such as  plastic, dye, and other fabrics.[4] The current sorting, mechanical, and chemical processes are not capable of splitting dye from the raw cotton which highly limits the color and appearance of a new product made with recycled cotton.[4]

Meterial Collection Process

Currently, the most common collection methods are organized based on online platforms, brands, and government.[4] Though these methods are available, many consumers still choose to throw away their clothes.[17]

Online Platform

Online platforms are a way for consumers to make recycling requests through websites and those in charge of collection will reach out to the consumers to retrieve those items.[18] A study on Consumers’ clothing disposal behaviors in Nanjing, China in 2020 showed that fewer than 10% of the population consider online clothing recycling platforms as their first choice.[19]

Some researchers have worked to increase the popularity of online platforms by integrating artificial intelligence into the site to spread information about cotton recycling.[20] The Technology Acceptance Model and the Theory of Planned Behavior which are used to predict consumer’s acceptance and use of new technologies like online platforms for cotton recycling expect users are increasingly likely to use these platforms in the future.[18]

Brand-led Recycling

Fashion brands offer programs to recycle clothes after consumption or oversee the recycling process.[18] Consumers can drop off their old clothing at the store and the store will send these clothes to be recycled.[18] The company offers incentives through promotions or discounts to persuade consumers to recycle through the firm’s website, social media, and in-store advertising.[18] A US clothing brand called American Eagle promoted their recycling program on their blog on April 1st, 2019, by stating “Bring in your old pair of jeans to recycle and get $10 off, a new pair”.[21][22]

Based on the case studies of clothing brands, the recycling advertisement could be paradoxical since promoting customers to recycle actually encourages them to consume more, thus not helping to reduce pollution.[23] Research on the clothing product and global warming relationship shows that adopting sustainable recycle habits does not make the production of new cloth to be eco-friendly because producing new fabric generates more than half of the total carbon dioxide emission related to garments.[24]To resolve the dilemma, brand-led recycling is trying to find a balance between consumer incentives and educational purposes of sustainability.[25]

Industrial Management

The cotton recycling chain involves the group collecting, modifying, and reproducing the material. Because the industry lacks a commonly shared standard in material collections and classification, the collaboration between each party has experienced difficulties and deficient the industry’s development.[18][26]

Future Policies and Laws

Government-led recycling programs mostly involve policymaking.[18] Multiple countries have set up policies to promote cotton recycling.[18] In 2023, the European Union plans to publish a revision of the Waste Framework Directive.[25] The commission will provide clear guidance to improve the current fabric recycling system.[25] Also, non-EU countries including Britain, Japan, the United States, China, and Korea have also released laws and policies about wasted cotton material and the corresponding recycling guidance.[27][28][29]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Looking good can be extremely bad for the planet". The Economist. 8 April 2017. Retrieved 2017-04-16.
  2. ^ a b c d "Recycled Cotton". CottonWorks™. Retrieved 2022-04-09.
  3. ^ a b c d Piribauer, Benjamin; Bartl, Andreas (2019). "Textile recycling processes, state of the art and current developments: A mini review". Waste Management & Research: The Journal for a Sustainable Circular Economy. 37 (2): 112–119. doi:10.1177/0734242X18819277. ISSN 0734-242X.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Gordon, S.; Hsieh, Y. L. (2006-12-22). Cotton: Science and Technology. Woodhead Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84569-248-3.
  5. ^ Du, Wenqian; Zheng, Jiahui; Li, Wenxia; Liu, Zhengdong; Wang, Huaping; Han, Xi (2022-05-01). "Efficient Recognition and Automatic Sorting Technology of Waste Textiles Based on Online Near infrared Spectroscopy and Convolutional Neural Network". Resources, Conservation and Recycling. 180: 106157. doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2022.106157. ISSN 0921-3449.
  6. ^ a b Cura, Kirsti; Rintala, Niko; Kamppuri, Taina; Saarimäki, Eetta; Heikkilä, Pirjo (2021). "Textile Recognition and Sorting for Recycling at an Automated Line Using Near Infrared Spectroscopy". Recycling. 6 (1): 11. doi:10.3390/recycling6010011. ISSN 2313-4321.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  7. ^ Béchir, Wanassi; Mohamed, Ben Hassen; Béchir, Azouz (2018). "INDUSTRIAL COTTON WASTE: RECYCLING, RECLAIMED FIBER BEHAVIOR AND QUALITY PREDICTION OF ITS BLEND". Tekstil ve Konfeksiyon.
  8. ^ Mahamude, A; Harun, W.S.W; Kadirgama, Kumaran; Devarajan, Ramasamy; Farhana, Kaniz (2021-02-01). "Cotton waste research follows the effect of pre-treatment and the observation of physical appearance". IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering. 1078: 012014. doi:10.1088/1757-899X/1078/1/012014.
  9. ^ a b c Majumdar, A.; Majumdar, P.; Sarkar, B. (2005). "DETERMINATION OF THE TECHNOLOGICAL VALUE OF COTTON FIBRE: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE TRADITIONAL AND MULTIPLE-CRITERIA DECISION-MAKING APPROACHES". undefined.
  10. ^ a b Wanassi, Béchir (2018-04-01). "Industrial cotton waste: Recycling, Reclaimed fiber behavior and quality prediction of its blend". Tekstil ve Konfeksiyon. 28.
  11. ^ Mahamude, A; Harun, W.S.W; Kadirgama, Kumaran; Devarajan, Ramasamy; Farhana, Kaniz (2021-02-01). "Cotton waste research follows the effect of pre-treatment and the observation of physical appearance". IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering. 1078: 012014. doi:10.1088/1757-899X/1078/1/012014.
  12. ^ Yuksekkaya, Mehmet Emin; Celep, Gizem; Dogan, Gamze; Tercan, Mevlut; Urhan, Basak (2016). "A Comparative Study of Physical Properties of Yarns and Fabrics Produced from Virgin and Recycled Fibers". Journal of Engineered Fibers and Fabrics. 11 (2): 155892501601100. doi:10.1177/155892501601100209. ISSN 1558-9250.
  13. ^ Asaadi, Shirin; Hummel, Michael; Hellsten, Sanna; Härkäsalmi, Tiina; Ma, Yibo; Michud, Anne; Sixta, Herbert (2016-11-23). "Renewable High-Performance Fibers from the Chemical Recycling of Cotton Waste Utilizing an Ionic Liquid". ChemSusChem. 9 (22): 3250–3258. doi:10.1002/cssc.201600680.
  14. ^ a b c d e f Esteve-Turrillas, Francesc; Guardia, Miguel (2017-01-31). "Environmental impact of Recover cotton in textile industry". Resources, Conservation and Recycling. 116. doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2016.09.034.
  15. ^ a b Moazzem, Shadia; Wang, Lijing; Daver, Fugen; Crossin, Enda (2021-03-01). "Environmental impact of discarded apparel landfilling and recycling". Resources, Conservation and Recycling. 166: 105338. doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.105338. ISSN 0921-3449.
  16. ^ "Life Cycle Impact Assessment - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics". www.sciencedirect.com. Retrieved 2022-04-09.
  17. ^ Grębosz-Krawczyk, Magdalena; Siuda, Dagna (2019-12-01). "Attitudes of Young European Consumers Toward Recycling Campaigns of Textile Companies". Autex Research Journal. 19 (4): 394–399. doi:10.1515/aut-2018-0057.
  18. ^ a b c d e f g h Xie, Xiufen; Hong, Yan; Zeng, Xianyi; Dai, Xiaoqun; Wagner, Melissa (2021). "A Systematic Literature Review for the Recycling and Reuse of Wasted Clothing". Sustainability. 13 (24): 13732. doi:10.3390/su132413732. ISSN 2071-1050.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  19. ^ Ling Zhang; Tong Wu; Siru Liu; Songyan Jiang; Huijun Wu; Jiameng Yang (2020). "Consumers' clothing disposal behaviors in Nanjing, China". Journal of cleaner production. 276: 123184–. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123184. ISSN 0959-6526.
  20. ^ Zhou, Jieyu; Jiang, Peng; Yang, Jin; Liu, Xiao (2021-03-15). "Designing a smart incentive-based recycling system for household recyclable waste". Waste Management. 123: 142–153. doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2021.01.030. ISSN 0956-053X.
  21. ^ Lascity, Myles Ethan; Cairns, Maryann R. (2020-07-31). "Complicated Green Advertising: Understanding the Promotion of Clothing Recycling Efforts". Westminster Papers in Communication and Culture. 15 (2). doi:10.16997/wpcc.384. ISSN 1744-6716.
  22. ^ "Recycle Your Old Jeans & Get $10 Off a New Pair!". #AEJeans. 2022-04-06. Retrieved 2022-04-09.
  23. ^ Hepburn, Sharon J. (2013-11-01). "In Patagonia (Clothing): A Complicated Greenness". Fashion Theory. 17 (5): 623–645. doi:10.2752/175174113X13718320331035. ISSN 1362-704X.
  24. ^ "ShieldSquare Captcha". doi:10.1088/1748-9326/abfac3#erlabfac3s3. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  25. ^ a b c "Waste Framework Directive". ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 2022-04-09.
  26. ^ Payne, Alice (2015), Muthu, S. (ed.), "Open and closed-loop recycling of textile and apparel products", Handbook of life cycle assessment (LCA) of textiles and clothing [1st Edition], United Kingdom: Woodhead Publishing, pp. 103–123, ISBN 978-0-08-100169-1, retrieved 2022-04-09
  27. ^ Salemdeeb, Ramy; Al-Tabbaa, Abir; Reynolds, Christian (2016). "The UK waste input–output table: Linking waste generation to the UK economy". Waste Management & Research: The Journal for a Sustainable Circular Economy. 34 (10): 1089–1094. doi:10.1177/0734242X16658545. ISSN 0734-242X.
  28. ^ Reinhart, Debra R. (1993). "A Review of Recent Studies On the Sources of Hazardous Compounds Emitted From Solid Waste Landfills: a U.S. Experience". Waste Management & Research: The Journal for a Sustainable Circular Economy. 11 (3): 257–268. doi:10.1177/0734242X9301100307. ISSN 0734-242X.
  29. ^ Qu, Shen; Guo, Yuhua; Ma, Zijie; Chen, Wei-Qiang; Liu, Jianguo; Liu, Gang; Wang, Yutao; Xu, Ming (2019-05-01). "Implications of China's foreign waste ban on the global circular economy". Resources, Conservation and Recycling. 144: 252–255. doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.01.004. ISSN 0921-3449.

Further reading

  • Sowerbutts, Eli (1883) The Cotton Waste Dealers' Directory; being a complete list of waste dealers, and of all other trades connected therewith. Manchester: Heywood and Son
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