The textile industry has been as active
and prolific as always. Clothing is in a very comfortable sector of the market,
because it is always going to be necessary (unless in the future we start going
nude!). However, the process of production and the subsequent maintenance of
the product allows for a big consumption of natural capital.
So when we hear about the “self-cleaning
textiles”, a new advance on the textile industry that uses nanotechnology to easily
maintain and clean clothes, we should be glad that the big corporations are
actually investing in a “greener” alternative.
This new method of production is
important because it is starting a trend for a more Earth-friendly alternatives.
These new textiles significantly cut the use of important resources, such as
water, and it will lead to a decrease in the usage of detergents, and with
that, less contamination by their chemicals.
Figure 1: Chemical composition water nanosuspension of TiO2 doped with aminosilane (Busi et al 2016)
The way it works is that a nanocrystalline
TiO2 photocatalytic layer is carefully laid on top of the textile to
give it its new “self-cleaning” properties. The photocatalytic layer destroys
organic material with the help of the sun. In the article, it is mentioned that
a Life Cycle Assesment (LCA) was used to measure the environmental advantages
of the self-cleaning textile. Resulting data, taken from a variety of
scenarios, shows that it reduces the environmental impact at certain
maintenance levels, and it reduces the tap water consumption.
Reference:
Busi, Elena, Simone Maranghi, Leopoldo Corsi, and Riccardo
Basosi. “Environmental sustainability evaluation of innovative self-cleaning
textiles”. Journal of Cleaner Production 133 (2016) 439-450 pg. DOI:
10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.05.072
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