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Working with fabric

by Posted in 3.1 General & Homemade, 3.6 Good to know Tagged

One of the much touted benefits of plastic is that it reduces pressure on natural resources. Nowhere is this more true than in fabric and fibres.Producing natural fibres is certainly resource intensive. And synthetic fabrics have moved on since the early days of crimpolene and can now convincingly replace anything from wool to silk. They used to make the sheerest of stockings to the thickest and woolliest of fleece jackets. Dirty old fishing nets can be recycled into saucy bikinis.

And at a fraction of the price. So much so that synthetics now make up 60% of the market.

While using synthetic fibres means that less space is needed to grow cotton or flax, less pesticides are used and vegans can be pleased that less sheep need shearing and silk worms dont need to die for us.

But of course synthetics come with their own very real and severe environmental costs.

Synthetic fibres have the same qualities as plastic. The problems with a polyester sock are the same as with a PET bottle. Though you get more wear out of a sock eventually it gets thrown away and because it is now non-biodegradable rubbish it needs to be specialy disposed of. Cheap clothes and fabrics  go on to pollute the environment in the same way a bottle may.

Plus all the other problems attendant with plastic products (you can read more about the problems with plastic here).

Micro Pollution

And it’s not just end of life disposal that is difficult, synthetic fabrics pollute through out their life time. Everytime they are washed they shed thousands of non biodegradable micro plastic fibres that wash down the drains and into the oceans where they are now affecting the ecosystem, (see micro plastics for more)

The energy used (and the CO2 emitted) to create 1 ton of spun fiber is much higher for synthetics than for hemp or cotton. 

So I am researching natural fabrics

Fibres to fabrics 

My  ongoing experiences with fabrics

The more I sew the more I realise all fabrics are not the same – even if they go under the same name! The following are my ongoing notes on the subject. I have a lot to learn!

Cotton

http://plasticisrubbish.com/2024/09/26/cotton-fabric/

Lawn is a very fine cotton though as with everything in life it seems you can get different grades of fabric that have, predictably, slightly different qualities. The Ebay lawn I used to make my wrap around top creases far more than the Thai lawn from Japan I used to make the back packers bloomers. I am not complaining about the Ebay lawn. It is still good and at that price, a real bargain. But if you don’t like ironing but do mind looking crumpled than it might be better to try and source a higher grade fabric.

I though I had when I bought some grey lawn from the Button Box in Huddersfield to make the Choir Boy Top. This is more like a muslin more crumply than the Japanese lawn but nots as creased as the Ebay stuff.

Printed Cotton
ROse and Hubble for loon pants. Seems to be indestructible.

Batting

Looks like a kind of cotton wool used for quilting and stuffing things. Can be bought HERE

Wool

Reading up on wool. How eco is it? This wonderful blog is my go to for this stuff. Heres their introduction to wool.

Silk

And while we are on the subject did you know about peace silk?

“When it comes to peace silk, the moth has been allowed to complete it’s full transformation, emerging from the cocoon alive and able to continue with mating. Additionally, the eggs are raised every year from one strain, assisting in the conservation of the species. ”

You can buy peace silk here

Silk is measured in mom’s. the more moms the thicker the silk. One momme = 4.340 grams per square meter; 8 mommes is approximately 1 ounce per square yard or 35 grams per square meter.

https://www.lilysilk.com/us/what-is-momme-silk/

10 momme = 43gm per square meter

Die silk

Acid dyes – Jacquard Acid Dye 14g

Hot-water powder dyes, producing vibrant colours on protein fibres including silk, wool, feathers and most nylons. The “acid” is the vinegar that you add for fixing. Dye in an old saucepan, in the microwave, or paint or print and steam-fix. Ideal for dyeing silk scarves a constant colour, silk fibres for silk-papermaking, or wool for feltmaking.

Each pack will dye approx 2lbs of fabric

https://www.rainbowsilks.co.uk/ProductDetails.cfm?SubCatId=107&Code=JACA

Chiffon is a translucent fabric, or gauze, it is a lightweight, balanced plain-woven sheer fabric, or gauze, woven of alternate S- and Z- Twist crepe (high-twist) yarns. Chiffon is smoother and more lustrous than the similar fabric, Georgette.

Early chiffon was made purely from silk Under a magnifying glass, chiffon resembles a fine net or mesh, which gives it some transparency.

Chiffon is most commonly used in evening wear, especially as an overlay, for giving an elegant and floating appearance to the gown. It is also a popular fabric used in blouses, ribbons, scarves and lingerie.

Habotai is a soft, glossy, medium weight Chinese silk in ivory. It is popular for silk painting. It can also be used for making scarves or cushions, although other silks are preferable for the more hard-wearing uses.

Habutai or habotai  is normally a lining silk 

It comes in a variety of weights (thicknesses) which is measured in mommes (abbreviated mm). A lightweight and sheer habutai silk might be 8 mommes (“8mm”); a 16mm habutai is considered quite thick.

I bought this 

good quality silk habotai, 10 momme, 140 cm wide, ivory, suitable for lining and craft

naturalsilks 

And you can get organic 100 % cotton lace here

  • N.B.
    lines changes, products get removed. For more information why not ask the Plastic Is Rubbish FB group for updates. They are a great source of tidbits, personal experience and the latest news. Why not join them and share the plastic free love x
Join our Facebook group here
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Fatty Acids – Oils, Butters & Waxes

by Posted in 3.6 Good to know, More Information Tagged ,

Welcome to the slippery pole

Fatty Acids Or Fossil Fuel?

Fossil fuel oil is slippery is very versatile. As well being the base for most plastics and driving our cars it can be found in less obvious places. It is sold as a moisturizer (think Vaseline and even E45), petroleum-derived, synthetic fragrances are added to many commercial cosmetic products and hexane (another petroleum derivative), is used to extract some vegetable oils.

While I don’t mind oil on my pistons I draw the line at rubbing it on my skin or using it to fry my eggs.

So what to use instead? Renewable Fatty Acids of course

What Are Fatty Acids?

So let’s talk fatty acids. For the purposes of this post, fatty acids are the oily greasy stuff you use to cook with, cut off your bacon, burn in your beeswax candles or rub on as your Shea Butter Body Moisturiser.

They are the oil that is formed in a plant or the fat stored by an animal. There is of course a lot more to them then that and Meanwhile here is a beginners guide.

Fatty acids are fatty, oily, greasy or buttery. They can be harvested from plants and animals.
Vegetable Derived These are obtained from the seeds, nuts and even flesh of plants.There are many kinds of vegetable oils, butters and waxes. Mains uses are cooking & cosmetics.
Animal Derived  This is the fat stored by an animal. These are mostly solid ranging from hard and waxy like lard to the softer butterExamples would be butter & lard

Essential Oils Are not an oil at all as they don’t contain any fatty acids.

Uses
Main uses of fatty acids are cooking, cosmetics, lubricating and soap making.
Some like Jojoba should only be used for cosmetic purposes. Coconut oil on the other hand can be used for just about everything.

Find out about using oils to make creams and cosmetics here.

Types Of Oil, Wax Or Butter
They come in a variety of forms under the following headings – but it is a rough guide only.
Liquid Oil – never solidifies
Solid Oil – firm when cool but has very low melting point so sometimes it may be counted as an oil i.e. Coconut oil
Butters – a solid oil. Has a high melting point. Rather confusing. Milk butter for example acts more like a solid oil, while Cocoa butter is more like a wax.
Waxes – very hard-of a candle (wax), like consistency. Bees wax for example.

Harvesting
Next you might want to know how your fats and oils they have been obtained and processed – especially if you plan to eat your oil.
Animal fats are collected after slaughter. Concerns here are rather about how the animal was treated before it was slaughtered.
Extracting vegetable oils and processing them is a more complex process. Most commercially produced oils are solvent extracted. This involves a chemical solvent like the petroleum-derived hexane. This technique is used for most of the “newer” oils such as soybean and canola oils.
Mechanical methods where the oil is squeezed or pressed out of the vegetable matter in a variety of ways involves less in the way of petroleum derivatives but depending on the method used can affect the oil. Cold pressed oil is considered the least invasive method of extraction though it also less efficient.
Read more abouts oil extraction here.

Hydrogenated Oil
Both animal and vegetable fats can be hydrogenated.
Hydrogenated oil is made by forcing reactive hydrogen gas gas into oil at high pressure in the presence of a palladium catalyst.
Hydrogenated oil is more stable, does not go rancid as quickly
It has a higher melting point, so can be used for frying.
It is used to make liquid oils more solid. Margarine is an example of a hydrogenated oil.
Oils have been hydrogenated since the 1930s.
Concerns
Hydrogenating oil modifies the chemistry significantly.
The fatty acids in oils are unsaturated fats. They are unstable.
Hydrogenating oil turns these unstable fatty acids into new more stable fats known as trans fats acids.
There are concerns that trans fatty acids may increase LDL, or bad cholesterol, and decrease HDL cholesterol, the good cholesterol.
Because they are not natural the digestive system does not know what to do with them. They may actually bioaccumulate in the body.
Read more here

Here

Storage

Most oils and waxes last for ages. Some like butter will go off.

Oils Butters & Fatty Acids  I Use
For Cosmetics
You can use a lot of waxes and oils neat to moisturise and cleanse or as as ingredients in creams. Here are the  oils we use to make creams and cosmetics

Cosmetics & Eating
I love a multi tasking product and you cant do better than a moisturiser you cook chips in.
Rapeseed oil – a lighter oil with quite a strong scent but U.K. sourced. Read More
Olive oil – a richer oil can sometimes be bought on tap in the U.K. Used for cooking and cosmetics.read more
Rice Bran Oil less “oily” than olive oil and rapeseed oil and not as malodorous as the latter. I used it to make suntan lotion and mosquito repellent.

Only Eating
While I love to get my monies worth I draw the line at lard as a beauty regime.
Butter – eating only. Read more
Lard – a plastic free substitute for cooking oil.

Read about the fatty acids we eat here

More
Find out more basic information about ingredients and alternative products here
Using oils to make creams and cosmetics
Read about the fatty acids we eat here

Essential Oils Are not an oil at all as they don’t contain any fatty acids.

Oils I try To avoid
Palm Oil because it is often badly farmed read more here
Margarine because it is a hydrogenated oil.
And oils derived from petrol. Don’t want to eat them donut want to moisturise with them

Polymers & Polymerisation

by Posted in 3.6 Good to know Tagged

Polymers

A monomer is a molecule that can join with other molecules to form a chain of molecules. A chain of monomers (or molecules) is called a polymer. 

Chains of polymers then bond or stick together to form stuff like cellulose, the woody stuff in plants.

Natural polymers are created as part of ongoing biological processes.

Read more about monomers and polymers here.

Polymerisation

However polymers can be made, by wo/men in labs, chemists. Here they create synthetic polymers and stick them together to create a huge range of products.

Some may copy the polymers found in nature but others, like plastic, are completely new – they have no natural equivalent.

The process of making polymers is called polymerisation.

 Most synthetic polymers that we use today are made from hydrocarbons derived from oil.

However as oil becomes more scarce and more expensive, synthetic polymers are being derived from all manner of substances including corn, potatoes and even chicken feathers.

Fun Quote

“nature has been knitting polymers since the beginning of life. Every living organism contains these molecular daisy chains. The cellulose that makes up the cell walls in plants is a polymer. So are the proteins that make up our muscles and our skin and the long spiraling ladders that hold our genetic destiny, DNA. Whether a polymer is natural or synthetic, chances are its backbone is composed of carbon, a strong, stable, glad-handing atom that is ideally suited to forming molecular bonds. Other elements—typically oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen—frequently join that carbon spine, and the choice and arrangement of those atoms produces specific varieties of polymers. Bring chlorine into that molecular conga line, and you can get polyvinyl chloride, otherwise known as vinyl; tag on fluorine, and you can wind up with that slick nonstick material Teflon.”

An excerpt from Susan Freinkel‘s book, Plastic: A Toxic Love Story.

 

 

 

 

Vote between elections…

by Posted in 3.6 Good to know Tagged 1 Comment

There was some information about junk mail here but it  has been merged with another post here.

Talking of mail, while in the process of setting up a postal vote and I came across this government organised website called Vote England. It is a secure online voting platform where registered voters can make their opinions known.

They also have Vote…erm  other places in the U.K. like, you know, the small place full of sheep…. or those with the sporrans….

You register to vote with them, (you need to be on the electoral roll), and then you get busy telling the government what you think.

Obviously, unlike a vote in a ballot box, these are not private votes. You could see this as a problem. You are telling the man every thing about yourself and leaving a data trail of your political opinions. Or you could look at it as your chance to be an online politician standing by your beliefs.

In your role as baby politico you can also propose an issue to be voted on.

If that seems too far too fast how about signing a petition?

There’s this asking Dairycrest to keep delivering milk in glass bottles

 

Hydrocarbons

by Posted in 3.6 Good to know, More Information Tagged 1 Comment

Hydrocarbon is a molecule that only contains hydrogen and carbon atoms, joined together by covalent bonds. Remember that a covalent bond is a shared pair of electrons.

These compounds may be simple with only a few atoms or more complex with more.

The compounds come in different forms. Methane the smallest hydrocarbon is a gas lighter than air while tar, a much larger compound, is thick and gloopy.

The ability of carbon atoms to bond strongly to each other allows them to form an almost unlimited variety of chains, rings, and other structures that form the backbones of organic molecules. Since each atom can form four bonds, these backbones include other elements, such as hydrogen. The compounds are flammable, since the two elements they contain will combine easily with oxygen in the air, releasing energy. Fossil fuels, such as oil and natural gas, are naturally occurring mixtures of hydrocarbons; coal also contains some, although it is mostly just carbon.

In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is categorised as an organic compound. {Organic compounds are the complex compounds of carbon. Because carbon atoms bond to one another easily, the basis of most organic compounds is comprised of carbon chains that vary in length and shape. Hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen atoms are the most common atoms that are generally attached to the carbon atoms.}

Hydrocarbons contain a lot of energy.

Hydrocarbons like crude oil and natural gas are harvested for their high energy content.

Crude oil can be distilled to separate different hydrocarbons including petrol.

Carbon is great at bonding and so can easily forms polymers. A polymer is a large molecule that is made up of many smaller, repeating molecules, called monomers, which are joined together by covalent bonds.

Hydrocarbon chains can be broken and rearranged in different ways.  According to B.P. “the hydrocarbon compound is the most versatile on the chemical charts. It can make an estimated 2.5 million possible combinations. Longer, heavier molecules can be transformed into lighter ones and vice versa.”

And so they can be used to make new and different products such as plastic, a wholly synthetic product made from a natural resource.

Hydrocarbons are often used to make polymers.

Many hydrocarbons occur in nature. In addition to making up fossil fuels, they are present in trees and plants,

Disclaimer

I suppose I must have studied chemistry at school. I seem to remember some high jinks with a bunsen burner but nothing else. I now realize that you can understand nothing about the practical world without some basic knowledge of how it works. So I am trying to teach myself chemistry via Google. I know I get it wrong sometimes. Do bear that in mind when you read these fumbling explanations that I am learning as I go. Any help gratefully received.

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Downcycling

by Posted in 3.6 Good to know, 4.9 Useful to know, More Information 5 Comments

A comment often made about plastic recycling in, (I would suggest), a rather disparaging tone, is that it is not recycling but downcycling. 

Which seems dismissive of the recycling program and is  wrong as it does not apply to all forms of plastic recycling

So what is downcycling?

The term down-cycling is applied to a recycled product that is not as structurally strong as the original product as made from virgin materials.

This downcycled material can

  • only be used to make a different product
  • or has to be mixed with virgin materials before it can be reused to remake the original product

Paper for example; the fibres in paper degrade as they are recycled  so it goes from writing paper to loo roll, by way of newspapers.  Cotton too. The recycled fiber is of shorter and harder to spin so it needs to mixed with  virgin cotton fibers to improve yarn strengths before it can be reused.

This is true of plastic that is is mechanically recycled. The plastic gets weaker. One example of plastic  down-cycling chain is as follows

  • virgin PET bottle to fleece or carpet
  • fleece or carpet fibers to plastic lumber
  • plastic lumber to landfill though manufacturers claim that plastic lumber can be recycled again..

But why call it downcycling?

You may think I am being picky but I think that the name has negative connotations. Down-cycling suggests that the products created by recycling are moving down some kind of linear scale. And if this is so, then toilet paper  has a lesser value then writing paper. I beg to differ. Try wiping your bum  with Basildon Bond.

Applying the term downcycling to the process of plastic recycling as outlined above, seems even more counterintuitive. If you consider that a bottle has a lifespan of months, a fleece has a life span of years, a carpet decades and plastic lumber hundreds of years, it seems more like upcycling to me. The base material may not be as strong, it may may even need to be mixed with virgin plastic, but it is being used far more sensibly.

Using the term downcycling to describe this process  diminishes an essential and valuable practice that results in products with proven use whether it’s toilet paper or carpets.  Or have I got it all wrong?

The New Recycling

Just to remind you, not all recycled plastic is “down cycled” and closed loop plastic recycling is already being offered by a number of companies. For example “We take discarded soft drinks and water bottles made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and milk bottles made from high density polyethylene (HDPE) and recycle them back into food-grade plastic. The resulting rPET and rHDPE is then used to make new bottles and food packaging.”

Plus some of the new synthetic fibres can be recycled as the same fabric with no loss of quality almost indefinitely. Patagonia is promoting one such closed loop fabric recycling scheme.

Then there are the associated technologies that turn plastic waste back into oil. While you might argue that is not recycling, you would be hard pushed to call it down cycling.

Find out more about plastics that can be recycled with no loss of quality here

N.B. Please don’t misunderstand me. I don’t think recycling is the answer to plastic (over) use and misuse but as part of a system of controlled usage it has a vital part to play.

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Petrol in my vegetable oil?

by Posted in 3.6 Good to know, 4.9 Useful to know, More Information 6 Comments

Did you know that petroleum-derived hexane may be used to harvest your vegetable oil? No me neither but here’s how.

Extraction

Vegetable oil comes from plant components, nuts, seeds, or fruits, but typically seeds.
Oil from plants is can be obtained either chemically with the use of solvents or mechanically (often calledcrushing” or “pressing).

Solvent extraction
Most commercially produced oils are solvent extracted. This involves a chemical solvent like the petroleum-derived hexane and heat up to 500 degrees. Once the oil is dissolved, the solvent is removed by distillation.
This technique is used for most of the “newer” oils such as soybean and cannola oils. Many of these products do not give up their oil easily, it has to be forced from them.
Hexane is a colorless flammable liquid, C6H14, derived from the fractional distillation of petroleum.
It is classified as an air pollutant by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and as a neurotoxin by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
It’s unclear how much hexane remains in the food after processing

Testing by Swiss scientists found no detectable levels but independent testing commissioned by the nonprofit Cornucopia Institute found hexane residues in soy oil.

The process recovers 99% of the oil but to get rid of the hexane, the oil is heated to a high temperature.
Also the high temperatures used in this process can and do change the chemical structure of oils. Many argue this reduces or even completely destroys the flavour of many delicate oils.

Mechanical The oi is squeezed or pressed out of the vegetable matter in a variety of ways;

Screw press, a large screw based mechanism in a housing. As it turns it increases the pressure and  crushes the oils out of the seeds
Ram press uses  a  mechanise  piston in a cylinder that rams out the oil. Ram presses are generally more efficient than screw presses.

Expeller-pressing
Industrial machines for extracting oil mechanically are call expellers.  They squeeze the oil out of the raw materials, under high pressure, in a single step. As the raw material is pressed, friction causes it to heat up and can sometimes exceed temperatures of 120°F (49°C). The amount of heat produced is important as heat can change the chemical structure of the oil. Wikkipedia

Cold Pressed Oils
Cold pressing tries to avoid the problems of heat. In this process the nuts, seeds, or fruits from which the oil is being harvested are ground into an even paste.
This is slowly stirred till the oil to separates from the solids.Then pressure is applied,(either with a machine or in the traditional way, with a stone) forcing the oil out.
N.B The friction caused by the pressure will increase the temperature and manufacturers must keep it within a certain degree range to be able to claim that the oil is cold pressed. This varies the world over
European Union cold pressed oil must never exceeds a certain temperature which varies depending on the source material, but is usually between 80° to 120°F (27° to 49°C).
In the United States, labeling is not as regulated, so consumers generally need to contact companies directly to enquire as to their manufacturing process.
Many people believe that cold pressed oil has a superior flavor.

Next
The extracted oil may now be purified, refined or chemically altered. More of that to come.

More

Go back to the oil index to find out about the plastic free oils and butters we use

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Air Miles & Buying British

by Posted in 3.6 Good to know, 4.9 Useful to know Tagged ,

One of the joys of living plastic free is mooching round the shops seeing what you can source. Better still if they are independant shops rather than supermarkets. But it’s not just about local shops, buying local produce is extremely important to me for a number of reasons, one of which is product miles.

What are product miles?

The distance a product has to travel from growth or production to the place of consumption. is called product miles.
It follows in the better known tradition of
Air-miles – how far a product had to fly
Food miles – the distance from farm to fork
I am sure there are others I don’t know about. Container miles maybe? Ship miles? But I prefer product miles as it covers them all.

Why Count Them
I am always concerned by how far a purchase has to travel to reach me. If it was grown or made next door it will, obviously, have to be transported a shorter distance than one made in China.
I want to cut the carbon cost of everything I use and product miles have an attached carbon cost. The longer the distance a product travels, the more petrol needs to be burnt resulting in more emissions, more trucks are needed on more roads… basically it means more of everything. And a lot of them things I don’t much like including global warming.

Seasonal & Local

Buying closer to home doesn’t always mean that product was produced more ethically. Peppers grown in cold Holland in artificially heated greenhouses may have a higher carbon cost then peppers imported from hot Spain even though it is further away. Out of season U.K. strawberries will have a higher carbon cost (again from heating greenhouses) than ones grown in season.

Buying native fruit and veg in season is the greenest way to buy. But does limit my choice. If I need to buy imported often because there is no unpackaged, local veg my general rule of thumb is seasonal, native from the country of origin. So I will buy imported melons from Spain but only if they are naturally grown in Spain and in season.

Ideally No further away than  Europe – bananas being the exception.

Case Study The Product Miles Of A U.K. Made Plastic Bowl
Even then it is not always easy….
Salmon Luke make plastic bowls here in the U.K. This is from their website:
“Here are the product miles for our bowl and cutlery.
One Salmon Luke bowl 1,972 miles
One spoon and fork set 2,164 miles”
But be aware that “the raw ingredient for plastic is obviously oil, but it’s nigh on impossible to find out where ‘our’ oil was extracted. So, for the purposes of our study, we calculated the product miles from the petrochemical company which produced the finished polymer. ”

Shopping British Owned

So we don’t just buy #plasticfree, we try to support our local shops when ever possible and buy British made. Failing that if we have to enter those hellish portals, we try to buy from a U.K. owned chain store. check out our buyers guide here

N.B.

Lines changes, products get removed. For more information why not ask the Plastic Is Rubbish FB group for updates. They are a great source of tidbits, personal experience and the latest news. Why not join them and share the plastic free love x

And before you go…

If you have found the #plasticfree information useful, please consider supporting us. It all goes to financing the project (read more here) or

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

The ban that didn’t?

by Posted in 3.6 Good to know Tagged , 6 Comments

Got all giddy when I read that Oxford Council were banning plastic takeaway packaging….. only to be disappointed. Very disappointed!

On the 18th April 2015 The Independent reported that Oxford Council was to

ban non-recyclable plastic food containers

The story quoted one in the Oxford Mail  published Tuesday 14 April 2015 in News

“NON-recyclable takeaway boxes are to be banned from Oxford food vans.

Under new rules approved last night, packaging and utensils used by street traders, including burger and kebab vans, must be either recyclable or biodegradable.

Businesses will be allowed to use up existing stock that does not comply, but will have to make the change when they apply for their next annual licence from Oxford City Council.”

With thanks to the Oxford Mail

Hooray!!!

And the Independent quotes the council as saying

“The city is thought to be the first in the country to announce such a measure, and the city’s Labour council leader Bob Price told The Independent he was “sure many other local authorities will be taking the same approach as Oxford” soon.

“Plastic take-away food containers are an environmental disaster and recyclable and biodegradable alternatives are easily available,” he said.

“As a society, we should be relentless in driving down the amount of rubbish we send to landfill and increasing the level of recycling and re-use of materials.”

More cheers!!! But wait…

technically polystyrene, and other plastics, are recyclable. It can be difficult and expensive and food stained items, full of half chewed kebab, floating in last nights slurry of spilt beer, (and worse), are less likely to be recycled. But they can be recycled!

“You can recycle foam meat trays and clamshells (#6 polystyrene) if they are free of food stains and food odors. Wash with a little soap then rinse and let stand to dry. If food stains persist, toss them into trash. To recycle them, bag them separately.”

So it is the plastics industry who are now cheering thanks to this amendment…

“Oxford polystyrene U-turn hailed by plastics industry Posted 15 April 2015  by Plastic & Rubber Weekly

“following a plea made by Martin Kersh, executive director of the Foodservice Packaging Association, the council amended the wording.

It now reads “For food traders all packaging and utensils for use by customers shall be made of biodegradable or recyclable materials.

Kersh told PRW: “The councillors agreed that the phrasing of the by-law should be altered from biodegradable and recyclable to be biodegradable or recyclable.

“It would be very difficult to enforce a ban on polystyrene.”

Following the council ruling, British Plastics Federation (BPF) director-general Philip Law said: “A victory for common sense and a recognition that plastics packaging products are recyclable, save energy and help reduce the carbon footprint of retailers. The Food Service Packaging Association and Incpen, together with the BPF were active in informing Oxford’s local politicians and council staff.”

Oxford Council confirmed to PRW that as polystyrene is recyclable then it can continue to be used.”

Hmmm…. all plastics are theoretically recyclable and as technology advances are becoming more so, so what exactly have Oxford Council banned? Not plastic, not polystyrene, what? Is there actually a non- recyclable plastic packaging in common use, out there? If so, what is it called? Really, I want to know?

The point surely should have been that plastic does not biodegrade. If not collected, and specially disposed of, plastic litter is out there for ever – a permanent visual blight on the landscape and a threat to the ecosphere. So while it may be recyclable, using it for one-use, disposable items that can become everlasting litter is a misuse of plastic. And clearing it up is a misuse of council resources.

What we need is a ban on the misuse of plastic.

More

The problems with polystyrene – yuck you really don’t want to be eating this stuff.

 

 

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Bristles

by Posted in 3.6 Good to know, 4 About The Alternatives Tagged 2 Comments

Natural fibre brushes come in many sizes – you can get everything from big bristly brushes for sweeping yards to cute scrubbers for your nails. They  can be used for sweeping, brushing, scrubbing and scouring.

If you don’t know your Piassava from your Pasodoble read the following:

Bassine is a coarse leaf fiber from palmyra palms. It is inexpensive and durable. It is used to make stiff sweeping brushes often used outdoors.
Natural Coco Fibre (COIR)  comes from the husk of the Coconut tree. It is softer than bassine so more liable to crush and splay. Makes a good soft sweeping brush.
Black Coco Fibre (DYED COCO) is coloured natural coco and has exactly the same properties.
Flagged Black Fibre is specially treated dyed coco fibre where the ends have been flagged or split. It sweeps better than plain coco fibre.

Bahia Piassava (BASS) is a stiff fibre harvested from trees. It is water resilient and doesnt distort. It comes from Bahia in Brazil.
Arenga (GUMATI ) Arenga fiber is harvested from the Arenga Pinnata Palm in Indonesia. Arenga is softer and finer than Bahia Paissava. It is very hard wearing and resilient
Tampico Fibre is from the lecheguilla plant (Agaves Sisalana, Agave Foreyodes) grown in Mexico. Good wearing and reasonable sweeping qualities, but is liable to crush. It is also very water absorbent, and non-electrostatic, so that the brushes remain dust free. The natural colour varies from green to yellowish-white although the fibre can also be black or brown as well as grey. The material is used extensively for making yard brooms, panel brushes, deck brushes, nail brushes and bath brushes.
Cereal root is the root of a species of grass, zacaton plant, which grows on the high plateaux of Mexico. The roots of the Zacaton are cut from the plant, washed clean from soil and transported to a preparation factory. Cereal root is a tought, elastic and water-resistant material which is used for vegetable brushes and washing-up brushes.
Union mixture is a mixture of white fibre and bassine. It´s a strong and water-resistant mixture which is used for vegetable brushes, deck brushes and scrubbing brushes

With thanks to Ravibrush  and  irishantverk for the above information

Animal Derived Bristles
The most commonly known uses for animal bristle and hairs are
Boars hair is used for hairbrushes.
Feathers for dusters
Paint brushes for decorating and art

But almost every other animal hair, feather or bristle can be used for something it seems.
Including
Camel Hair Brushes
Goat Hair Brushes
Hog / China Bristle Brushes
Horse Hair Brushes
Ox Hair Brushes
Pony Hair Brushes
Red Sable Brushes
Sabeline Brushes
Squirrel Hair Brushes

Decorating Brushes
Paint brushes are made from either synthetic fibres or natural hairs. Natural hair brushes are usually Chinese Hog or badgers hair and are recommended for use with oil based paints as they flow more smoothly and actually paint on the surface rather than simply “spread” the paint about. Synthetic brushes, e.g. Nylon or Ployester can be used with all paints but their use with water based, emulsion paints, is more usual. Chinese hog bristles absorb water which makes using them with water based paints very difficult and getting a good finish is almost impossible. Other natural fibres used for good quality paint brushed are Camel hair brushes, Squirrel hair brushes and Sable hair brushes.

Synthetic Bristles

Polypropylen (PPN) PPN
Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
Flagged PVC/PPN

Easy enough to spot when they are used alone but sometimes they are mixed with natural fibres. Do check carefully. Ask if any of the above have been used or look carefully at the bristles. Here is an example.post scrub brush

Find reviews of natural fibre sweeping brushes here

    • Coir is a coarse, short fibre extracted from the outer shell of coconuts, that can be used for other things including
    • Coconut pan scrub

You can see almost every kind of brush ever made, here

Read about other natural fibres and yarn here

post

Natural V Synthetic fabric

by Posted in 3.6 Good to know, 4 About The Alternatives, 4.9 Useful to know Tagged 4 Comments

In April I am going to be trawling through my wardrobe, ( such as it is). here is some background information to get you in the mood.

What’s in your  Fabric

Synthetics

60% of fibres used today are synthetic and most of them are are petroleum derived, plastic in fact.

The most common are:

Acrylic fibre resembles wool and so is used to replace that natural fibre.
Nylon is used as a silk substitute. It is a very fine and strong fibre so can be used to make ladies tights.
Polyester is one of the most popular man-made fibres. It is the same  Polyethylene terephthalat, (frequently shortened to PET or PETE and was formerly called PETP or PET-P), that is used to make bottles and a lot of other plastic stuff.

Natural Fibres

The next big player in the textile market is cotton. Then in much smaller amounts wool and silk.

Regenerated Fibres

The base material is cellulose that can be obtained from a range of sources including wood, paper, cotton fiber, or  bamboo. It is then converted through a chemical process into a fiber. One such in bamboo. Most bamboo fabric  is made using  chemical solvents such as sodium hydroxide (NaOH – also known as caustic soda or lye) and carbon disulfide  combined with multi-phase bleaching. Both sodium hydroxide and carbon disulfide have been linked to serious health problems. Others are looking extremely promising and are biodegradable. But I don’t really know enough about them and more research needs to be done. They make up a small percentage of the market so for now I am going to discount them!

You can find more detailed facts and figures about synthetic and natural fibres here

Why Choose Natural Fibres

Natural sounds so lovely and clean but it can be low down and very dirty. Cotton comes with its own nasty a gender. A quarter of the total worldwide pesticide use occurs in cotton farming, hundreds or farmers get poisoned and it can take more than 20,000 litres of water to produce 1kg of cotton. Greedy and dirty!Read more…

Wool isn’t much better “The top three pesticides used on sheep are moderately toxic to humans but they are moderately to highly toxic to fish and amphibians, such as frogs, and they are suspected endocrine disruptors. Some of these pesticides are also highly water soluble which means that they can easily be carried from the sheep dip application site by rain or irrigation water runoff into our streams and rivers and contaminate our groundwater.” From Organic Clothing blog

However there are equally nasty chemicals used in making synthetic fibres. For example when making polyester, “Antimony is leached from the fibers during the high temperature dyeing process which is then expelled with the waste water. If not properly cleaned this results in a hazardous water pollutant.  Acrylonitrile used to make acrylic fibres is classed by the EPA as a probable human carcinogen (Group B1).

A main ingredient of Nylon  is “the chemical adipic acid. Producing the acid was once the largest source of industrial nitrous oxide (N2O), a greenhouse gas. Efficient pollution controls have reduced adipic acid emissions 61 percent between 1990 and 2006, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. But the chemical still accounts for 5-8 percent of global human-caused emissions of N2O.” read more

Plastic Fabric Pollution 

Synthetic sock survives ocean voyage

Moreover synthetic fibres have the same qualities as plastic. The problems with a polyester sock are the same as with a PET bottle. Though you get more wear out of a sock eventually it gets thrown away and because it is now non-biodegradable rubbish it needs to be special disposed of. Which is expensive and not always effective. Often cheap clothes and fabrics are not properly disposed of and go on to pollute the environment in the same way a bottle may. Plus all the other problems attendant with plastic products (you can read more about the problems with plastic here).

Micro Pollution

And it’s not just end of life disposal that is difficult, synthetic fabrics pollute through out their life time. Everytime they are washed they shed thousands of non biodegradable micro plastic fibres that wash down the drains and into the oceans where they are now affecting the ecosystem, (see micro plastics for more)

The energy used (and the CO2 emitted) to create 1 ton of spun fiber is much higher for synthetics than for hemp or cotton. 

My Choice

So, while acknowledging that natural fabrics have a major environmental impact I feel they are a better option for the following reasons

You can see the contents of my wardrobe here

 

Selling second hand clothes to Africa

by Posted in 3.6 Good to know Tagged 6 Comments

You give to Oxfam, (and lots of other charities), they sell it to textile businesses (not charities) who make a profit from selling it to poorer Africans! Oh the irony!

According to the latest available UN figures, the UK is the second largest used clothing exporter after the US. It exported more than £380m ($600m), or 351,000 tonnes, worth of our discarded fashion overseas in 2013. Top destinations were Poland, Ghana, Pakistan and Ukraine. From the BBC News

According to Dr Brook in his book Clothing Poverty only a small percentage of clothes donated to Oxfam end up in U.K. stores. Most is sold to be exported. The majority is sold through “normal market exchanges”. It is purchased by “clients in the global south “ who sell to “African traders.”

Apparently most charities do this.

“Only about one-fifth of the clothing donated to charities is directly used or sold in their thrift shops. Says Rivoli, “There are nowhere near enough people in America to absorb the mountains of castoffs, even if they were given away.”

So charities find another way to fund their programs using the clothing and other textiles that can’t be sold at their thrift shops: they sell it to textile recyclers at 5–7 cents per pound.”

Cambridge University issued a report in 2006 titled Well Dressed? The Present and Future Sustainability of Clothing and Textiles in the United Kingdom, in which it raised concerns that trade in secondhand clothes in African countries inhibits development of local industries even as it creates employment in these countries.

And the authors of Recycling of Low Grade Clothing Waste warn that in the long run, as prices and quality of new clothing continue to decline, so too will the demand for used clothing diminish. This is because in the world of fast fashion, new clothing could be bought almost as inexpensively as used clothing.

Read more

One of the sad ironies of today’s globalised economy is that many cotton farmers and ex-factory workers in countries such as Zambia are now too poor to afford any clothes other than imported second-hand ones from the west, whereas 30 or 40 years ago they could buy locally produced new clothes. The Guardian

And it would appear that H&M have got it really sussed. They sell you the clothes then you give them back so they can be reworn…. or resold.  From the H&M website

Don’t let fashion go to waste

No true fashion lover likes seeing clothes go to waste. We want to make it as easy as possible for you to give your garments a new life. For example, we’ve already made some new collections from worn clothes – many of which came via our own Garment Collecting service.

Looking ahead, there are three ways to repurpose the unwanted garments:

  • Rewear – clothing that can be worn again will be sold as second hand clothes
  • Reuse – old clothes and textiles will be turned into other products, such as cleaning cloths
  • Recycle – everything else is turned into textile fibres, or other use such as insulation.

You can see all posts on Charity Shops here

You can see all our posts on clothing, fabrics and the plastic-free wardrobe here.