Man-made menace .......................... [ Polyester]

[Guest guest]

Man-made menace

_http://www.business-standard.com/common/news_article.p

hp?leftnm=5 & subLeft=7 & chklogin=N & autono=316969 & tab=r_

(http://www.business-standard.com/common/news_article.php?leftnm=5 & subLeft=7 & chk\

login=N & autono=316969 & tab=r)

 

Polyester is popular, but natural fibres are better.

Polyester is a magical material. It is found in just about everything, from

clothes to artificial blood vessels. It is tough, retains its original

heat-set shape, doesn’t wrinkle easily or retain moisture. This is why

both rich

and not-so-rich happily wear it — some because they cannot afford the upkeep

of natural-fibre clothing such as cotton, linen or wool (the washing,

bleaching, starching, drying, ironing), and others because its qualities make

it

suitable for high-fashion designerwear. Demand is rising around the world.

But polyester is made from petroleum, and its manufacture is a

chemical-intensive process. So not only does it draw upon our finite supply of

fossil

fuels, making it can damage the local environment and the health of garment

factory workers. Most manufacturers of artificial fibres are in the

developing

world; most consumers are not. But even distant and relatively affluent

consumers face downstream effects, because of the impact of the industry on

global

warming, the ozone layer, air pollution and smog, and the output of

hazardous wastes. Even though to some extent polyester can be recycled, most

of it

ultimately ends up in garbage dumps. Fashion is not a sustainable industry

as it now exists. The Environmental Health Center in Dallas, Texas,

reported a few years ago that polyester clothing was after all not always safe

to

wear. Clothes are frequently treated with various chemicals, including water

repellents and fabric dyes. People with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

(MCS), or those with sensitive skin, prone to eczema and hives, cannot wear

polyester. They should wear organic cotton if possible, washed in baking soda

and

water. Now that the hot season is upon us, many perspiring

polyester-wearers will suffer heat rashes and heightened body odour, unless

they spend the

day in airconditioned rooms. Polyester does not breathe well, and doesn’t

have the “wicking†effect of most natural and some high-tech artificial

fibres that draws moisture away from the body, allowing it to evaporate before

bacteria flourish. Science is catching up with nature, though. Ingeo is an

artificial corn-based fibre that its manufacturers claim is totally

renewable and has all the good qualities of natural fibre, plus a few. It

can be

used for clothes as well as food-grade packaging materials. Ingeo has won

some converts in high fashion, including Versace. Hopefully the trickle-down

effect will take hold soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

I hope Ingeo is not ladened with viruses and bacteria

or cancer cells, corns being mostly gmos.

 

Melly