Reducing microfibres one knitted jumper at a time?

The 21st century centres on two buzzwords: microfibre pollution (MFP) and craftivism (do-it-yourself handcrafting projects, such as knitting and crocheting). The former has been predominantly associated with synthetic fibres that are shed during the wear and care (e.g., laundering) phase of the product, whereby tiny fibre particles are ending up in our oceans. Although there are already some solutions available to counteract this problem, such as the Guppy Bag or the Cora Ball. Various crafting platforms are now offering these third party products, by nudging their customers to consider MFP at the creation stage of their synthetic garments. What is unclear however, is whether and in how far these microfibre catching devices reduce the shedding of knitted textile structures, and in how far the messages provided are understood and translated into action by the consumer.
This interdisciplinary project combines the craftivism movement, which, especially since COVID-19, has seen a rise, with research on MFP, by exploring the following aspects:

1. Domestic Laundry Simulation/Replication and Output Characterisation
Creation of textiles (e.g., tightly/loosely woven from synthetic material) that can be utilised within the current test phases: Phase 1: Analyse the water microplastic content in water before and after the domestic laundry simulation /replication process (utilising a centrifuge to split water and micro plastics to determine the mass of microplastic shedding; Characterising microplastics through SEM (scanning electronic microscopy) and DLS (dynamic light scattering) analysis). Phase 2: Repeating of Phase 1 with the inclusion of a microfibre catching device (e.g., Cora Ball, Guppy Bag, Lint LUV-R filter). Phase 3: Repeating of Phases 1 and 2 to simulate the ageing and use of textile materials.

2. Nudging messages and consumer engagement
Based on the results from the domestic laundering simulation a qualitative experiment will be conducted, whereby a craftivism website will be manipulated to feature three different scenarios: a) current messaging of adding a microfibre catching devise; and b) current messaging plus figures/result from domestic laundering simulation of Phase 2; c) current messaging plus figures/result from domestic laundering simulation of Phase 3. Participants in this experiment will be allocated into different groups and asked to participate in an eye-tracking study that visualises the movements and centres of attention on the website, thereby indicating whether providing facts and figures may stimulate interest, as well as follow-up qualitative interviews to gain deeper insights into the decision-making process.

This project aligns with a key priority identified by the EPSRC of sustainable industries. It focuses on the current topic of microfibre pollution and being able create a future which meets current needs without compromising future ones.
This DTA (objectively) explores knitted textile structures and their microfibre shedding rates over time, and the effectiveness of microfibre catching devices, thereby aligning with the priority of reducing plastic waste that can pollute our oceans and rivers.
This DTA addresses a key area, as it focuses on the second most polluting industry, after the oil industry (Remy et al. 2016; WRAP, 2020), which has seen a call for the use of more sustainable solutions to purchasing garments and encouraging consumer to act on them. In looking at this challenge this project draws upon textile technology to stimulate domestic laundering and measuring MFP, whilst furthermore focuses on commercial viability and stakeholder buy-in.

This project therefore addresses a variety of EPSRC objectives, which concern 'advanced manufacturing, increasing efficiency, speeding up innovation, and enabling new business models and technologies'.