Today, the world's population exceeds 8 billion, and the demand for textiles has increased. Synthetic fibers such as polyester are fast and cheap to produce, but their negative impact on the environment is a concern. Although cotton is a naturally biodegradable raw material, it requires a large amount of land and water resources, and also imposes a large burden on the environment.
The future land will be very important for the cultivation and development of food crops. In order to meet the population's food and clothing needs, reducing the land area of non-food crops like cotton will be the general trend of future development.
Textile manufacturers are under tremendous pressure to produce more and more textile fibers without placing an additional burden on the environment. Fiber recycling plays a part and can be part of the solution, recycling is still in an emerging stage for most countries and regions as recycling requires more infrastructure, support from brands and a high level of organization and cooperation.
Therefore, the use of waste materials such as agricultural residues, waste paper and cardboard, and old cotton textile waste as raw materials for recycled textile manufacturing has become an area of experiment for some major international brands.
The Sustainable and Alternative Fibers Initiative (SAFI) is a global sustainable fiber development initiative that focuses on the research, development and utilization of alternative fibers to create a variety of sustainable products. The researchers say that while raw materials will differ in their chemical and physical properties, if we understand these differences, we can use these differences to adjust the properties of the final textile fiber, or prefer one raw material over another.
For example, in North America, soy, wheat, rice, sorghum, and sugar cane residues are widely available and are the most suitable feedstocks for textile conversion. However, traditional pulping and conversion processes also need to be modified and adjusted accordingly to replace traditional fibers.