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Inhalable textile microplastic fibers impair lung repair

biorxiv.org

51–52 of 52 posts

Re: Inhalable textile microplastic fibers impair lung repair

#51
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> wool, which is also not very sustainable This is a matter do be checked with some detail, since some position against wool have become vocal: wool is, as expected, biodegradable (though it may be subject to chemical treatments that ruin this property); wool is recyclable, both as fabric and as industrial-use material (e.g. as an insulant); as a material for clothing, the excellent properties relative to the other o…

> processes for the production of wool may entail some impact, independent from the material but related to the sheep. I suspect this is the massively buried lead here - one so huge and so buried that I'm having a hard time giving you the benefit of the doubt. The lifecycle of wool itself is probably not at all the major concern. It will not take just a few more sheep to replace the entirety of the global use of poly…

The 8-billion-pound elephant in the room is the number of people that need clothing. Wool, and eating meat, can be sustainable if demand is below an environmental-degradation threshhold. We're living "high on the bog" of the riches that petroleum provides, and weaning is painful (but worth it, if enough of us care about the life-stories of our great-great-etc-grandchildren).

Re: Inhalable textile microplastic fibers impair lung repair

#52

Just wear merino, folks. Not outrageously expensive, warm, rarely needs washing. I’m a 15 year convert to wearing it daily. Whenever I try a “plastic” jumper on at the shops I can tell immediately it feels sweaty and uncomfortable…

Wear merino, and help it last a long time by not washing it (or washing it gently). If our bodies don't stink (thanks to ammonia-eating bacteria like Nitrosomonas eutropha) we don't need to wash clothing as often, nor do we need to shower. Rolling in dirt like birds and horses is a stretch for most of us, but I think we'll figure out some way.
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