Year 12 Research Task 1: Investigating Materials and Processes

Kallee Wishart

For this research task I will be required to investigate different materials, uses and classifications as well as
outlining the environmental impacts of the production/industry by presenting a report/presentation. It requires
me to choose a type of textiles from the following options, apparel, furnishings, costumes, textiles art and non-
apparel items. From one of those topics of textiles I will have to investigate the uses of cotton, wool and one
synthetic textile. The synthetic textile I have chosen to investigate is Polyester and form of textile is costumes.

Wool:

Wool is defined as a fine, soft curly or wavy hair which makes the coat of a sheep goat or other similar animal,
specifically when shorn and prepared to make cloth or yarn. Because wool can be any natural hair-like fibre produced
by many animals there are many different forms of wool available. Including,

-Lambswool: A type of wool sheared from a lamb seven months or younger, providing soft, fine wool that is ideal for
clothing and home items. It is also softer and less likely to cause skin irritation like regular wool typically does. It’s
most used by knitters and spinners.

-Merino: This type of wool originates from Spain but is grown all year round across Australia and comes from the
Merino sheep. It’s said to be most suited for luxury clothing, high-performance sportswear, and other higher
standard clothing. It’s very easy to care for and can be machine washed.

-Cashmere: Cashmore wool is a harvested from cashmere goats, pashmina goats, and other breeds to make yarn,
various textiles, and clothing. The soft hairs are usually kept for textiles and clothing whilst the coarse guard hair can
be kept for brushes and other non-apparel items.

-Mohair: This fabric is made from the hair of the Angora goat. It’s durable and resilient and is often used to in fibre
blends to add high lustre and sheen qualities to the textile. Mohair also dyes very well as well as having excellent
insulating properties to give a feeling of warmth when worn.

-Angora: This type of wool is the product of the Angora rabbit’s coat. It’s well known for its soft feel, silkiness, and
thin fibres as well as its halo (fluffiness). It’s much warmer and lighter than regular wool because of the fibres hollow
core, also providing its ‘floating’ feeling.

-Alpaca: Alpaca wool is derived from the coats of Huacaya or Suri Alpacas and was first produced in various South
American nations. It has qualities such as high breathability, moisture-wicking abilities, and heat retention abilities.
It’s commonly used in sweaters, socks, fleece jackets, hats, gloves, suits, and other designer wear.

The natural description of wool after being sheared it usually comes as a creamy white colour and sometimes a
natural black, brown, silver, and random mixes. The appearance of wool fabrics is generally heavier and bulkier and
are characterised by being slightly raised and fuzzy surface appearance. Wool can be woven into thick fibres with
deep and rich textures. It can cause threads very fine to silky or coarse yarns.

You can tell if a fabric is wool by using another burn test. The fabric should burn steadily, although with a bit of
difficulty and smell like burning hair it it’s wool. By touching the fabric, you can usually tell if it’s 100% Cotton by its
coarse touch because of the small protruding fibre hairs. It also may be easier to crush than Polyester and Rayon, as
they’re smoother to the touch and lighter.
A property that wool is very well known for is its ability to absorb water (up to 30% of its weight). It’s also very good
at absorbing and retaining dyes and can help to remove sweat and absorb odours. The matrix of the wools structure
also gives it the fire-resistant and antistatic properties. It is also not as soft as cotton but is very warm and heavy with
great moisture wicking. Note: Moisture absorbent fabrics capture sweat and hold it, but moisture-wicking fabrics
capture the sweat and then bring it to the surface of the fabric so the moisture can evaporate!

Wool fabrics have been, can be and continue to be used for objects such as blankets, horse rugs, cloths, carpeting,
insulation, and upholstery. Other uses include being used in pianos for wool felt covers and absorbing large sounds
for heavy machinery and speakers. In the many available weaves, designs and colours wool fabrics are usually used
for overcoats, jackets, suits, and dresses. They’re perfect for winter items with their typically shaggy or long threaded
look as well as functionally, wool does not conduct heat and allows the body to keep its warmth and maintain
temperature. Wool is also very common in-home textile items such as seats, upholstery, rugs, blankets, etc

Although there are not as many environmental impacts as others, wool does still unfortunately have a few. Because
sheep need the space to roam around and graze over grass, land must be cleared, and trees cut down to make room
for them to graze if there is no available space to do so. This then leads to increased soil salinity and erosion as well
as decreased biodiversity in the area due to flora and fauna fleeing the area to seek a healthier environment to live.
Animals faecal matter and chemicals used to rid livestock of parasites can also be very damaging to the pollution of
water sources. In Australia specifically ‘pests’ such as Kangaroos can be eradicated from properties if they’re seen to
damage the efficiency of work for the landowner/famer at all, like coyote problems in America, except millions of
coyotes are slaughtered every year by ranchers and the federal government.

Cotton:

Cotton is defined as a soft, white fibrous substance that surrounds the seeds of the cotton plant, which is then made
into a textiles fibre and thread for sewing or making cotton fabrics. Oils and protein rich flour is used to obtain the
seeds from the tropical plant used to make the fabric and thread.

There are many different types of Cotton because it’s a naturally occurring product that’s produced by most thick
furred animals allowing for a variety in types/available forms. Some of these forms include:

Pima Cotton: finest type of cotton, they’re very long and extra soft. It’s a very desirable product and highly sought
after as it’s resistant to fading, tearing, and wrinkling. This cotton is native to South America and America’s
Southwest.

Egyptian cotton: This cotton is very similar to Pima cotton, being in the same scientific class, Gossypium barbadense.
It has the same resistant qualities as Pima cotton but is grown in Egypt at the Nile River Valley.

Upland cotton: Upland cotton has very short fibres and is about 90% of the world’s total cotton production. It is
native to and grown in central America, Mexico, the Caribbean and Southern Florida.

Organic cotton: Organic cotton is any cotton that is not grown and harvested chemically but from a plant that is not
genetically engineered.

Regards to appearance of Cotton, under a microscope cotton can look like a twisted ribbon or collapsed and twisted
tube, called convolutions. Cotton can come in many colours, including whites, blues, yellows, greys etc. It’s very
strong and can be noticed by it being easily affected by water or moisture. It can show very small changes in loss of
strength over years and may only differ slightly after about 50 years in storage. But when exposed to sun light it can
gradually loose strength.
To be able to recognize cotton some tests can be done to see if it’s 100% cotton such as the burn test. If you take a
few fibres from the fabric and hold them against a flame, they won’t curl from the heat but will having a burning
paper smell and leave greyish ash without signs of melting. Usually, you would be able to tell a fabric is cotton by its
touch, it should feel smooth and nearly silky but cheaper versions may lack these qualities and still be cotton. If it’s a
piece of clothing it should be able to keep its shape and not wear out or shrink and the colours should not fade.

Cotton has many specific properties such as being very breathable, having a high moisture-wicking, medium
retention, medium stretchability abilities and most used in shirts, dresses, blouses, sheets, blanket, jeans, skirts etc. It
was first produced in India and is still the biggest exporting/producing country today. While cotton is more durable
than silk it’s less durable than wool which is prone to pilling, rips and tears but is still one of the most highly produced
fabrics in the world.

Because of Cotton’s wide variety and desirable qualities there are very many uses for it. This includes products in
fashion, non-apparel items, costumes, textiles art and money more. Some examples include:

-As a woven fabric, cotton is used to make various woven fabrics including canvas, denim, damask, flannel and many
more.

-Cotton is very commonly used in clothing because of its mass production, soft feeling, durability, and absorbency. It’s
commonly used for t-shirts, denim jeans, dresses, tracksuit pants and many other items of clothing.

-Cotton is very commonly used in clothing because of its mass production, soft feeling, durability, and absorbency. It’s
commonly used for t-shirts, denim jeans, dresses, tracksuit pants and many other items of clothing.

-Home décor products use cotton very often. Cotton is used in many houses for items such as upholstery, curtains,
rugs, and pillows due to the fabrics soft and durable nature.

-Cottonseed oil is a by-product of the cotton production process. The cotton seeds are used to manufacture
cottonseed oil, which can then be used in salad dressings. Margarine. Other uses include makeup products, soaps,
candles and many more.

Unfortunately, Cotton has some environmental impact of production, and this is because cotton is a heavily sprayed
crop, it ruins the soil and deprives it of any natural replenishing nutrients for another crop that could have been used
in that soil. Because of the runoff off pesticides, fertilizers, and many other chemicals there’s a massive water
pollution problem from the production of Cotton. Because this then runs into main water sources some countries
pollution is so bad that the rainwater is even polluted making most water very unsafe to drink. It also impacts wildlife
and soil in the attempt to control pests and boost the cotton production. The need to harvest land to plant these
crops in the first place is also a large problem, possibly having harsh effects on native flora and fauna as well as other
species living in the area.

Note for Cotton diagram: As seen in this diagram there are alternatives to disposing an item after its use. Recycling
and reusing any textile can prolong its life greatly rather than adding to landfill and a growing problem in the textiles
industry.
Synthetic Textiles (Polyester):

Synthetic polyester is defined as a synthetic fibre derived from products such as coal, air, water, and petroleum. It’s
formed from a chemical reaction between acid and alcohol, which can then form very long molecules that are strong
and stable.

The two main types/forms of Polyester includes PCDT and PET which stands for polyethylene terephthalate. PET is
the most common form of Polyester produced and is stronger than PCDT, it can also be used alone or blended with
other fabrics for making wrinkle free and stain resistant clothing which can easily retain its shape. But PCDT has more
elasticity and is more elastic and resilient. These types of Polyester can be differentiated by their chemical makeup.
There is also a plant based Polyester that has the main benefit of being biodegradable, helping greatly with its
impact on the environment, allowing them to break down quicker and not last as long in the environment.

The structure of polyester is a long chain of polymers chemically synthesized of at least 85% of an ester and alcohol
with an acid.

To identify polyester, one could notice qualities such as polyesters hydrophobia, making it unsuitable to absorb
perspiration and other fluid making the wearer feel moist and clammy. These fibres also tend to have a low level of
wicking. Polyester is also stronger and stretchier than fabrics such as cotton.

Polyester could also be recognised by its production process, being formed by polymer chips being melted down,
having the melted polymer then extruded through a spinneret, then cools and used as filament or cut into lengths.

Some properties of polyester include it being very durable and resistant to many chemicals. Resistant to shrinking
and stretching and therefore retains its shape well. They’re lightweight while also being very strong and a quick
drying fabric which is why polyester is so popular as outdoor clothing. Its fibres are also easily dyed. Polyester is
relatively elastic but has very poor absorbency.

The uses of synthetic polyester can be in a variety of products including food packaging, plastic water bottles, soft
drink bottles, pianos, wood guitar finishes and of course, fabrics. Because polyester is such a strong and durable
fabric it can be commonly used for items that need to withstand forceful and repetitive movements. This makes
Polyester a great fabric for outdoor jackets that will be used in wet or damp environments. But in the fashion industry
the fibre is usually used for making shirts, trousers, suits, bags, footwear, sportswear, bed sheets and more. These
Polyester fibres can be spun together with natural fibres to produce a fabric that has blended properties, for example
blending wool and cotton improves their crease resistance.

From these three categories of textiles, I have found Polyester production to be the most dangerous and harmful to
our environment. Because polyester is a petroleum-based fibre it’s made using a carbon-intensive non-renewable
resource. Because it’s not a bio-degradable product it will last in the eco-system even when it eventually breaks
down. Producing polyester requires using harmful chemicals including carcinogens, and if released into water or air
untreated can cause very significant environmental damage. Although it does require less energy to produce
polyester than nylon it still needs more than double energy to produce it than the energy needed for conventional
cotton to produce. To dye polyester, low impact and natural dyes cannot be used so another dye must be used that
has a dangerous impact on water supplie.
REFERENCES:

- https://kleiderly.com/blogs/kleiderly-magazine/fabric-series-all-about-nylon [Accessed 3/2/2022]

- https://laminatedplastics.com/tradenames.php [Accessed 3/2/2022]

- https://www.britannica.com/science/nylon [Accessed 3/2/2022]

- https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Chemical-structure-of-PEDOTPSS-b-SEM-image-and-c-digital-photo-of-
polyester-fabric_fig2_274088376 [Accessed 3/2/2022]

- http://schwartz.eng.auburn.edu/polyester/structure.html [Accessed 3/2/2022]

- https://www.heddels.com/2016/09/know-your-wools-cashmere-lambswool-angora-and-more/ [Accessed
8/2/2022]

- https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-lambswool [Accessed 8/2/2022]

- https://www.woolmark.com/fibre/what-is-merino-wool/ [Accessed 8/2/2022]

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cashmere_wool [Accessed 9/2/2022]

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohair [Accessed 9/2/2022]

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angora_wool [Accessed 9/2/2022]

- https://sewport.com/fabrics-directory/alpaca-wool-fabric [Accessed 9/2/2022]

- https://languages.oup.com/google-dictionary-en/ [Accessed 9/2/2022]

- https://www.encyclopedia.com/sports-and-everyday-life/fashion-and-clothing/textiles-and-weaving/
polyester#:~:text=Polyester%20is%20a%20synthetic%20fiber,between%20an%20acid%20and
%20alcohol.&text=Polyester%20fibers%20can%20form%20very,are%20very%20stable%20and%20strong.
[Accessed 9/2/2022]

- https://barnhardtcotton.net/blog/know-fibers-difference-between-polyester-and-cotton/ [Accessed
9/2/2022]

- Nelson Textiles Technology by Christine Castle and Lynda Peters Published in 2009 by Cengage Learning
Australia Pty Limited [Accessed 10/2/2022]

- https://www.online-sciences.com/industries/the-importance-and-uses-of-polyesters/ [Accessed 12/2/2022]

- https://tortoiseandladygrey.com/2016/08/29/environmental-impacts-polyester/#:~:text=Polyester%20is
%20a%20synthetic%20petroleum,%2Dintensive%20non%2Drenewable%20resource.&text=The
%20production%20of%20polyester%20uses,can%20cause%20significant%20environmental%20damage.
[Accessed 12/2/2022]

- https://kleiderly.com/blogs/kleiderly-magazine/fabric-series-all-about-polyester [Accessed 12/2/2022]

- https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Scanning-electron-microscope-images-of-mature-cotton-fiber-grown-
under-field-conditions_fig4_341839606 [Accessed 12/2/2022]

- https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/materials-science/cotton-fiber#:~:text=Under%20a%20microscope
%20a%20cotton,2.4). [Accessed 12/2/2022]

- https://textilefashionstudy.com/physical-and-chemical-properties-of-cotton/ [Accessed 12/2/2022]

- https://silverbobbin.com/how-to-tell-if-fabric-is-100-cotton/#:~:text=You%20can%20test%20fabric
%20for,ash%20without%20signs%20of%20melting. [Accessed 12/2/2022]

- https://sanvt.com/journal/how-to-identify-high-quality-cotton-clothing/ [Accessed 12/2/2022]

- https://sewport.com/fabrics-directory/cotton-fabric [Accessed 12/2/2022]

- https://www.learnaboutwool.com/globalassets/law/resources/factsheets/secondary/gd3270-secondary-
fact-sheet_2019_p.pdf [Accessed 12/2/2022]

- https://d1cqrq366w3ike.cloudfront.net/http/DOCUMENT/SheepUSA/CharacteristicsOfWool.pdf [Accessed
12/2/2022]

- https://www.ehow.com/how_6606006_tell-fabric-wool_.html [Accessed 13/2/2022]

- https://www.brainkart.com/article/Tips-to-Identify-Fabric-by-Look-and-Feel---Touch_1873/ [Accessed
13/2/2022]

- https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/875-wool-fibre-properties [Accessed 13/2/2022]

- https://www.neatapparel.com/blogs/news/moisture-absorption-vs-moisture-wicking#:~:text=Moisture
%2DAbsorption%20vs%20Moisture%2DWicking%20Fabrics&text=To%20put%20it%20plainly%2C
%20moisture,so%20that%20it%20can%20evaporate. [Accessed 13/2/2022]

- https://silverbobbin.com/cotton-vs-wool/ [Accessed 13/2/2022]

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wool#:~:text=In%20addition%20to%20clothing%2C%20wool,heavy
%20machinery%20and%20stereo%20speakers. [Accessed 13/2/2022]

- https://tissura.com/articles/wool-fabrics#:~:text=Available%20in%20a%20range%20of,popular%20choice
%20for%20home%20textiles.&text=Wool%20fabrics%20are%20perfect%20for,body%20to%20keep%20its
%20temperature. [Accessed 13/2/2022]

- https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-clothing/wool-industry/wool-environmental-hazards/
[Accessed 13/2/2022]

- https://iwto.org/sustainability/tbc-environmental-impacts-of-wool-textiles/ [Accessed 13/2/2022]

- https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-polyester-4072579 [Accessed 14/2/2022]

- https://www.fabrics-hemmers.com/polyester-all-round-blue [Accessed 14/2/2022]

- https://fashion-history.lovetoknow.com/fabrics-fibers/wool [Accessed 14/2/2022]

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wool [Accessed 14/2/2022]

- https://mci.textileexchange.org/discover/wool/ [Accessed 14/2/2022]

- https://unsplash.com/s/photos/wool [Accessed 14/2/2022]

- https://i.redd.it/050f5hx8jjh71.jpg [Accessed 14/2/2022]

- https://www.istockphoto.com/photos/organic-cotton-clothes [Accessed 14/2/2022]

- http://www.asiantextilestudies.com/cotton.html [Accessed 14/2/2022]

- https://matmatch.com/learn/material/polyester [Accessed 14/2/2022]

- https://sewport.com/fabrics-directory/polyester-fabric [Accessed 14/2/2022]