The Surprisingly Dangerous Story of Viscose
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 มิ.ย. 2024
- I hope you enjoy this rayon/viscose deepdive as much as I did researching it. And when I say our hero, Agnès Humbert's memoirs are riveting I really do mean it. Recommended on any TBR.
Who would have thought that such an innocous looking fibre in the shops would have such a convoluted and frankly deadly history. Let alone flammable. 💀
Also honorable mention to our queen Doctor Alice Hamilton. The lady absolutely deserves all the accolades.
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More educated rants about the... "challenges" of the textile industry:
Why So-Called Textile Recycling Is An Absolute Disgrace • Why So-Called Textile ...
Newspaper clippings taken from trove.nla.gov.au/
References:
(1) Humbert, A.; Mellor, B. Resistance: A French Woman’s Journal of the War (Originally “Notre Guerre”); 1946.
(2) St. Clair, Kassia. The Golden Thread; John Murray Press, 2019.
(3) Rayon - an overview www.sciencedirect.com/topics/...
(4) Unit - Chemistry of Fibres, Textiles. wwwchem.uwimona.edu.jm/courses...
(5) Woodhouse, T. Artificial Silk And Its Manufacture; 1922.
(6) Hilaire de Chardonnet. US531158A, December 18, 1894. patents.google.com/patent/US5...
(7) {Fabric of Time: Rayon} Part 1: Early Development. Tuppence Ha’penny Vintage. www.tuppencehapenny.com/blog/...
(8) Hilaire de Chardonnet. Wikipedia
(9) Hilaire Bernigaud, count de Chardonnet | Synthetic Fibers, Rayon, Nylon | Britannica. www.britannica.com/biography/...
(10) Nitrocellulose | Explosive, Fire-Retardant & Coating Uses | Britannica. www.britannica.com/science/ni...
(11) The American silk journal. v. 24 (1905). HathiTrust. hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433...
(12) An Improved Artificial Silk. North Queensland Register. Townsville, Queensland November 20, 1899. nla.gov.au/nla.news-article831...
(13) Cuprammonium Rayon. Wikipedia; 2023.
(14) Rayon. Wikipedia
(15) James. Rayon - The Silky Science Experiment. Heddels. www.heddels.com/2018/05/rayon...
(16) Carbon Disulfide. Wikipedia
(17) Chemical info for Carbon disulfide. chemicalsafety.com/sds1/sdsvi...
(18) Blanc, P. D. Fake Silk: The Lethal History of Viscose Rayon; Yale University Press, 2016.
(19) Carbon Disulfide | NIOSH | CDC. www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/carb...
(20) Corcoran, D. Rayon, an Epidemic of Insanity, and the Woman Who Fought to Expose It. Undark Magazine. undark.org/2017/06/09/viscose...
(21) Kotseva, K.; Braeckman, L.; De Backer, G.; Bulat, P.; Vanhoorne, M. Cardiovascular Effects in Viscose Rayon Workers Exposed to Carbon Disulfide. Int. J. Occup. Environ. Health 2001, 7, 7-13. doi.org/10.1179/oeh.2001.7.1.7.
(22) Ayache, A. Viscose: The Ugly Side To Your Pretty Clothes - The Ethicalist. theethicalist.com/viscose-the...
(23) Hoskins, T. H&M, Zara and Marks & Spencer Linked to Polluting Viscose Factories in Asia. The Guardian. June 13, 2017. www.theguardian.com/sustainab...
(24) Is Viscose Really Better For The Environment - Great Plains Conservation Safari Boutique. greatplainsconservation.com/s...
(25) CanopyStyle - Canopy. canopyplanet.org/campaigns/ca..., canopyplanet.org/campaigns/ca...
(26) Chemical info for 4-Methylmorpholine N-oxide. chemicalsafety.com/sds1/sdsvi...
(27) Lyocell. Wikipedia
(28) TUE; May, 30; 2023 - 07:00. Planet has enough clothes to dress the whole world for the next 100 years. echo live. www.echolive.ie/corkviews/ari...
(29) Valle, G. D. Clothing companies are trashing unsold merchandise instead of donating it. The Outline. theoutline.com/post/2602/clot...
(30) Eco-Business. Explainer: Why fast fashion brands destroy unsold clothes. Eco-Business. www.eco-business.com/news/exp...
What a great dive into Agnes's life and the history of rayon. I'm inspired to read her memoir. I'm also glad you brought up bamboo. It's such a green washed fiber! In the spinning community, bamboo rayon is very accessible and frequently blended with wool. People are often surprised to learn it's actually rayon. Many people assume it's extracted like bast fibers. Thank you for covering this important topic!
It was *such* a great read! Her writing is so vivid!
But also yes to the bamboo. It took me a long time to realize that bamboo is just viscose/rayon, and I was shook.
I was today years old when I learned bamboo is rayon and I am angry. I hate green washing so much!
@@Padraigp I think I saw a picture of that somewhere. Thanks for the reminder!
@@Padraigp that sounds familiar , it might be what I saw. Thanks for the reminder!
@@PadraigpAll viscose is rayon but not all rayon is viscose. (Viscose refers to the production process).
Viscose uses alkali and carbon disulphide in the production process.
The alternative Lyocell process uses amine oxide - Tencel is the brand name for that product.
The original process used tetraaminecopper dihydroxide salts to dissolve the cellulose.
It's still being called artificial silk here in france, I'm pretty sure. Not sure whether it can be officially, but definitely in general speech.
But echoing other comments, yes, the marketing around "bamboo" is SO criminally obfuscating. They really make it sound like the fiber is extracted from bamboo itself as opposed to recreated from a sludge of cellulose. I keep trying to explain people that it's not.
Anyway, thank you for the video! If you feel like ranting on the topic more I'm sure there is much to say on the topic of "vegan leather" (this is mostly a playful microsuggestion haha)
It really does sound like that! I thought bamboo was extracted like hemp or bast for the longest time.
The French are still calling custard 'English Cream'. (need an introduction to clotted cream?)
I always knew this, but a few years ago I had to do some reading to verify the 'rose fibre' was a type of rayon. I had read comments about yarn made from this method and I doubted that it was as 'green' as claimed.
I recall my Organic Chemistry instructor saying that the process of making Rayon was so inefficient, that the Rayon was referred to as a by-product of the acid reaction with the cellulose.
Ooof. I had not heard that anecdote, but I can see where it comes from. 💀
I read the same thing in our science book
I am so glad you've done this. I'm getting increasingly cheesed off with companies claiming environmentally friendly policies whilst using and producing some extremely toxic processes. The bamboo scam!
News flash: *Everything* that anyone does, doesn't matter what it is, where, or by who, has an *impact* on the planet. Every. Thing. There are *zero* exceptions. The tree hugging thing is getting old.
@@MadScientist267
Nevertheless, there is no reason to cause a significant negative impact that can be prevented.
What you’re saying is just an appeal to futility fallacy. We can say the same about laws. Let’s just get rid of laws because there will always be people who do wrong. See how that sounds?
The best thing to do, even when buying quality products, is to buy way less. Buying much less or only what’s needed is beneficial for everyone.
@@ShanteRoxxane I'm not disagreeing with being "personally responsible"; reducing your waste levels, not intentionally (or with complete disregard) disposing of things that have notable impacts improperly, reducing energy usage in a sensible way such as unused lights off and the like, not sitting in a car for 4 hours with it idling so you can run the aircon, etc etc etc...
Your analogy breaks because they are not the same. Law of man is more "can and can't" territory and less "degree of impact", of which the laws of nature are firmly demonstrating the opposite. So for every "solution" all that is really happening is an exchange and displacement of one set of problems for another. This needs to sink in.
There was a successful campaign in the 1960s to create the desire for synthetic fabrics over natural and although public desire has swung back to natural fibers, synthetics are mostly what is available for sale.
Yup. It is everywhere and it really takes time, effort and resources that many do not have to avoid it.
It strikes me though that the "polyester pantsuit" or jacket + skirt was a liberating uniform for working women in part because it was so durable. So at the time it was not "fast fashion" at all, but something you bought to last a long time.
I grew up in that era and loathed most of the polyester clothing I had to wear. So scratchy!
@@judyshoaf448- I still have a handful of my mom's polyester pantsuits. :) I keep them for costumes, not for everyday wear.
Yes, I remember it well. A nightmare of electric school uniforms and non-breathable nylon knickers.
Thank you so much for sharing this. As a weaver, and someone who tries to be conscientious in my choice of fibers in purchased clothes as well, I knew that my knowledge of viscose and rayon (and tencel, so beloved of weavers!) was limited. It's so sad that it is biodegradable and renewable but the chemicals involved are so caustic...
Yeah, it really is so devastating.
As a knitter who fell in love with bamboo yarns, I'm gutted to learn that the bamboo yarns I love so much aren't produced the way I thought they were. Sad and angry.
Superwash wool is also horrible for the environment. :(
This video was immensely eye opening, thank you, Kristine, for sharing. Textiles/chemicals/manufacturing are not something I understand at all, but I find your videos on the topic very accessible. It is definitely makes me recommit to wearing out my clothes as much as possible and not buying more. 💙
I am so glad to hear you find them accessible! I always worry that I get too chemical-y or technical at times. ❤️
@@KristineVikeYou strike a great balance between accessibility and technical knowledge. Thank you!
Fantastic essay. I’m an industrial designer working in biomaterial design. I already knew much of the production process of these materials, but the eyewitness account of Agnes really gives a window into how horrifying the industrialization of work is in general and fibre work in particular. The resurgence of interest in local fibre production is really exciting and that 60+ years of existing cloth would give us a nice buffer to shut down unethical and exploitative factories while we rebuild high quality fibre supply chains.
You probably know more than me then. Trying to find *any* details on current processes beyond general flowcharts and descriptions was… challenging.
You've got me curious, what is industrial design? Does working in biomaterial design mean working on developing new materials, or are you more on the logistics side of things, or something else?
High quality fiber supply chains? Yes, please! I've been trying to be more intentional about the fabrics in my wardrobe and it seems the more I learn, the more I realize I need to learn more.
Yes please. Finding natural fibre clothing is crazy difficult. I wish you all the best of luck with this venture!
Articulate and enlightening video, Kristine. All natural fibers are more expensive to purchase than viscose-types but the consumer and society in general does pay a high price for viscose , the price of contaminated water and air. For my sewing hobby, I seek out cotton, silk, wool, linen. Have you tried to find cotton lace? It is a fun challenge.
Such a good way of putting it. And I couldn’t agree more. The price will always have to be paid by someone, somewhere.
As a lace knitter, I wonder if cotton lace is difficult to find because of the nature of the fiber? Cotton is very difficult to block. I've only been successful with the use of starch. (For those who don't know blocking is what opens the lace and its done by steaming or wetting the piece and pinning to a blocking mat and letting it dry. Animal fibers will retain. The blocking memory. Cotton couldn't give two figs.
@@EsmereldaPea I also recall "sugar water" being used. The starch would have been dry starch with the fabric soaked. wrung, and then cooled in the _ice box_ before being ironed or blocked. That's for cotton anyway.
Pam
@@KristineVike Also consider that natural fibers need to be ironed or steamed, however Rayon will wrinkle the minute you put it on! I could never understand why. Pam (wondering who are Polly and Esther, and *where* did they get those horrible clothes?)
What a horrendous history - horrifying, and very eye opening. Thank you Kristine.
It was quite convoluted too. At one point I was far from sure I’d manage to wrangle it into a somewhat comprehensive story. 😅
@@KristineVikeyou have done well - I really appreciate your video content and structure
"safe and effective"...just remember things are not always what we are told about them.
Things are very rarely what we are told about them, I find. Especially if someone benefits from our ignorance.
Thank you. That was excellent. You answered so many questions that I had not been able to find answers to. Greed conquers again. We humans certainly lack any sense when money is to be had.
It was a surprisingly difficult topic to find information on. Especially exactly how much chemicals the current process uses. I found a book that laid out the methods and details from 100 years ago. But the current details beyond a general “first x then y”? Shrouded in secret.
What an astonishing video! I have been telling anyone who will listen about the problems of 'fast fashion' for the last 20 years, and focussed on the waste and garment manufacturing. I hadn't really educated myself on the horrors of the fabric production. I'm an engineer by background, so in my head I just lumped in 'plastics' together, and 'plastic = bad'. I hadn't given much thought to the chemical processing at all. This is horrific. A lot of us have fallen for the 'bamboo' craze as being good, when I can see now that it's just yet another layer of feeding our over-consumption.
I put on a lot of weight quickly for health reasons, and had to go on a spending spree last year for new clothes as nothing fit me. Having no budget I found myself shopping online at the lowest of the low places that I hate, but needs must. This whole issue of desperately poor quality and awful materials is part of a much wider problem of many of us finding ourselves too poor too purchase the sort of 'last a lifetime' garments that we would have bought in the past. But that is a whole other story!
That statistic, about how many clothes already exist, is just shocking. Thanks for this.
The term I came across in India is "art silk" (probably art as in artificial, originally). There are so many different names for this fiber family. :(
So, so many! And probably many more to come and keep track of.
@KristineVike It makes it really hard to help people who are new to the problem. I'm so glad to have this video to send them.
Top quality research and presentation of another dark corner of human history that still has repercussions today. I also like learning about the heroic and often tragic stories of people like Agnes.
WOW I did not know this. Thank you for putting this information out there. Horrifying.
I am so glad you found it useful.
Yipe horrifying ! Thanks for the infomation. My Grandmother always recycled clothing ,sheets ,etc. My family always hated nylon materials ,rashes and body over heating discomfort is common..Cotton and wool is our favourites.not even mixed is tolerated. We can only have cotton linen and wool or silk.
This was amazing, thank you! I'm currently trying to focus on purchasing natural materials exclusively for my knitting / new clothes. There's so many names. I feel encouraged to also spend time at my local second hand stores!
I’ve had so many fun finds at second hand stores when I have the time to peruse them!
I hadn't had the time to deep dive into what viscose and rayon were, so thank you for answering my questions about what were they and if they were 'green'. Great video.
The Courtauld fabric empire started in a shed just off the town centre of my hometown Braintree UK. The company was likely during the 1960s the largest employer of the town. The yarn was only dyed and woven though. To this day I do not know where it was made. Thank you for taking me deeper into this realm.
Everything you say is true. I'm old and have a closetful of clothes bought over my lifetime, and me, I'm fine with never buying any more clothes. But, the big problem is how many people are employed world-wide in the business of clothing. And the fact that so much of our economy is dependent on it. It's as big a problem as fossil fuel dependence, and will be just as hard to put the brakes on. From cotton farming in India, all the spinning, weaving and dying, fashion designers, factories cutting and sewing garments en masse, to the retailers, importers, shipping, All those people need another job, or UBI, if we just quit making all these clothes. I watched the video "Dead White Men's Clothing", about what happens in Africa at the tail end of us cleaning out our closets and "donating". They don't want it, and it comes in shipload after shipload, ending in dumps or being burned or floating out to sea.
Thank you for this video!. I´m sewing teacher and I often tell about viscose miths with my students. I khow about all bad things in the industry and I feel guilty for being too much depressing for my students. I love to make garments but fashion industry is awful. ♥ Thank you for your sensibility.
Thank you. This was super educational. You answered a lot of questions regarding fabric, that noone else could answer me on, just in the first few minutes. 🥰
I’ve always been a sceptic, and try to avoid synthetic as much as possible. I knew it wasn’t as clean as it seemed, bit didn’t know it was this bad.
I am from Krefeld. I have never heard of this part of Krefeld's history. I am horrified.
Thank you for telling what rayon is and its environmental impacts especially with such a gripping story as a backdrop.
I did a presentation video for a environmental biology class last year about fashion industry waste. I knew some stuff from videos and articles, but watched a few documentaries about fashion waste. In one segment, they shared experiences in villages in India that were downstream of a rayon factory and the workers. The workers could only go to the company hospital (huge red flag), the company supplied downstream villages with drinking and cooking water, not for bathing or crops (another red flag). Since it's a poor area, I'm guessing they aren't paid very well and labor laws enforcing protective equipment aren't as good as in the West. I work at a fabric store and sometimes correct people about rayon. While it is made from cellulose, its treated with nasty chemicals so it's not really a natural fiber
Christine thank your thoughtful work is excellent. There is a new mycelium leather factory opening up in South Carolina, USA and other progress with these plant-based heavier fabrics that will be a wonderful addition to our lives.
I found it so relaxing to go to a weaving workshop when I was in Guatemala in San Juan, Lake Atitlan. The Pueblo specializes in natural dyes and weaving works for women , for so many were left widows in their society after their civil war, and they needed more work for the women, the males do excellent weaving work down there as well.
I don't want to leave them out either.
They do so much with the looms and the handweaving down in Guatemala around the lake I think people would enjoy weaving more it's very interesting almost relaxing .
If you produce more videos on the hand weaving I think people would appreciate it immensely. ❤🌷
Thank you so much this is the second of your videos I've seen. What thorough research, and clarity of explanations!!! I had often wondered what the differences were between tencel, modal, and viscose, etc. Now I know. It is very disheartening as well, as you pointed out, that most of the fabrics being mass produced are so reliant on chemicals that harm the environment. What serves the industry as well is that the quality of these garments are inferior to those that use traditional methods of bygone years, so they fall apart more easily and must frequently be replaced. I could go on and on, but thank you again for your insightful presentations that give one pause to ponder!🙂
Thanks for covering this topic! In addition to the observed effects on rayon workers, there were prior reports of 'carbon disulfide hysteria' (Charcot's term) in rubber factory workers. There were also cases of poisoning related to its use as a rodenticide. There were even human experiments with CS2. I'm interested in the topic since there was a viscose rayon factory on the lake where I grew up. My father later developed Multiple System Atrophy. Johnny Cash also lived on the lake (in a better neighborhood) and was diagnosed with MSA, but later had his diagnosis changed. MSA is unfortunately difficult to diagnose and the only way to know for sure is by autopsy (new diagnostic tools are under development). The lake was also polluted with coal ash. I understand that causation is impossible to determine for MSA* and two cases don't make a cluster, but I can't help but wonder about it. Learning about CS2 has opened my eyes to the dangers to viscose rayon factory workers. I buy most of my clothes 2nd hand. { * except for one family in Japan where it appears to be associated with a mutation in a gene for CoQ10 }
Oh my, how awful!
I read about the CS2-induced bout of “mass hysteria” in male factory workers. It was pretty horrifying.
Personally the whole thing reminds me of the bad case that inspired the movie Dark Waters. My supervisor knew one of the people involved. Not the same chemical or mode of working, but the same kind of hushing up, denying knowledge and profit focus. It breaks my heart how many similar cases there are out there.
Me, also. Another example is the 'Radium Girls' story. Often there's not just denial, but victim-blaming as well - and rejection of measures, no matter how inexpensive or simple, that would be mitigating. In the case of the rubber factory workers, there was a guy who came up with a containment device that could have prevented a lot of exposure, but he was ridiculed. That incident is similar to when Ignaz Semmelweis proposed that handwashing could save the lives of new mothers. Instead of listening to him, the other physicians had him committed to a mental institution. ~ Thanks again for the excellent video. I hope many people watch it. @@KristineVike
@@KristineVike
Thank you
@@KristineVike
The Ravens Eye You Tube channel has some detailed History on other materials it may give you inspiration for your next story🌻
@@rhyothemisprinceps1617
Awesome channel support and great contributive information.
Thank you
Fascinating history, thank you for sharing!! This is the first video of yours I've come across, and I'm so happy to find your (well sourced!) work. Very excited to check out more.
Such a great piece! Thank you for it.
Viscose is in so many things. Cigarette filters. The fabric used in tires. I have one rayon shirt. I hate it. It looks pretty. But it does not seem to breathe the way fabrics woven or knitted from natural cotton fibers breathe. Because I knew it was made from cellulose, I thought it might breathe, and might be more comfortable than clothing made from polyester fibers, which I think must be made from petroleum, but I don't like my rayon shirt. It doesn't drape the same way on my body as cotton fabrics. I hate the way it feels. And I learned, after being places where people smoked cigarettes, like outdoor bus stops, and then just dropped their cig butts on the ground when they were done irritating their respiratory system, and that of everyone around them. that after a few weeks the tobacco decomposes, the paper decomposes, but the rayon filters, slightly yellowed with the little bit of smoke they actually absorbed - months later they are still littering the ground.
Thank you soooo much! I didn't know all this so very important facts... and your teaching have reached my mind. Thank you and please continue!
Often wondered about these synthetic fabrics. Thanks for the enlightenment ❤
That was lovely, thank you for making this
We got hit by a hurricane a few years ago so i had to start over with no belongings, and i furnished my entire wardrobe and living space from thrift stores. I haven't bought a single new garment in 3 years (except underwear), and i was able to be entirely self-sufficient on a very small income by recognising the value of used goods. I've even ended up with articles of clothing that i had owned before and lost! So take a trip to a thrift store and rediscover old joys and spend $20 instead of $200. Everybody wins.
I like to express myself with clothes. I sown them myself and love it. Thanks for the info.
Thank you for making this video!
Thank you so much for this explanation♡
What's important is that the company owners made a decent profit.
I know, right?
"Corporations are people" comes to mind. 🙄😥
Thank you for sharing this information with us!
Yet again so interesting (better the second time 😉). And fueling my anti-capitalism and anti-consumption radicalisation even more 😎
Yeah… encouraging lower consumption isn’t particularly enticing or sexy, I suppose. 😂
(Also, thank you. 🥹)
Can you do a series of videos of all toxic and non-ethical fabrics? Loved learning about the history behind viscose
Oh this is so interesting Thank you so much for posting it!!
I am so glad people are enjoying it! ❤️
An old Bemberg rayon plant from the 1900s still exists in Elizabethton, Tennessee, USA. It's closed now, but it was built there because of the unlimited water resources and non-unionized people. There's almost no record of pollution (to humans or the environment) but it's a historical place because one woman started a strike in 1929 that led to the formation of an union and changes in laws. I'm a polymer engineer and I'm not too fond of brands talking about sustainability and green fibers. Nothing it's green, everything comes with strings attached. Thanks for the video.
Thank you for going through the effort of dharing this.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you for this video, it explained a lot about viscose that was still unclear to me.
Thank you for describing this in. Such detail. I've been trying to figure what clothes are healthy.
aaaaaaand this is why i will never buy a brand new garment again.
(well, except for socks and underwear heheh)
this was a freakin awesome video, thank you.
I am so glad you enjoyed it! I’ve wanted to do research on it for so long!
Thank you for this presentation
wow eye-opening! I used to think viscose was better than other synthetic ones, as the manufactures claimed...what a shame. A lot of expensive brand still use viscose and such. such a false claim and lie. Sending love ❤
Thanks!
Aw, thank you! ❤️
Wow. Fantastic information. In the hopes of not having to be complicit in causing harm to animals, including us human animals, I like to learn about the earthly origin of commercial materials that I can expect to come across in my life - not just their properties and their uses but how they came to be. I've done some research on nitrogen and the Haber Process for making ammonia and other nitrogenous substances from aerial nitrogen plus natural gas or petroleum, something which has greatly affected contemporary life. I've done some research on the earthly origin of urethane, including spandex , and in the agricultural origin of opiate drugs. Now I'm glad I had this opportunity to learn a little more about rayon, and cellophane. I knew viscose was derived from cellulose, which of course is the quintessential fibrous material of all green plants, but until now I didn't know any details of how cellulose got transformed into viscose. Ouch.
Fascinating! Thanks :)
Wow; Agnes! What a hero. Thankyou for this wonderful explanation. It has made me even more determined to wear recycled cotton & wool. I had no idea bamboo products weren’t the new wunderkid on the block but yet another “green washed” load of BS.
Fashion history fascinates me! For that reason I have to subscribe ❤
Viscose manufacturers love advertising bamboo based viscose as bamboo clothing. That’s like claiming cars run on peat moss since petroleum started as peat.
Thank you so much for this video! I have owned several items of clothing made from viscose for years because they feel so nice. I very rarely buy new clothes but now that I know the downsides of this fiber I will definitely be careful never to buy things made of viscose again!
Thanks! very interesting
I am glad you like it!
Totally awful. Im so glad you've researched and talked about this. I had no idea.
I am so happy you found it interesting!
@@KristineVike It really was informative. I make my own clothes or buy secondhand. I always understood that viscose and all of it's cousins were natural fibres. It's clearly much more complex than that and full of manufacturer's half truths and lies. If you are happy for me to, I'd like to share this video in a community post on my channel. This information needs sharing.
Incredible information.
I've always liked viscose cloth. It's silky and supple, easy to iron and feels great on the skin. I had no idea how it is made. To me polyester feels horrible, so do flannel and wool. Not everyone can afford silk and in cold countries it's not practical. Cotton is nice. We are limited in quality materials.
Thanks for exposing this but I can't finish listening right now, I'll get nightmares.
This was fascinating. Thank you. Do you have any information on what impact these chemicals have post-production on the people who sew, wear, and launder the fabric?
Wow!
I am so naive with regard to this kind of thing!😢
Interesting video thank you
Kristine, this was an incredible video; however, I was horrified and unable to finish watching to the end. I don't know how far rayon production has advanced, but I cannot ethically ever purchase it again. I knew there were many chemicals involved in rayon production, but not to this extent. Thank you for your research.
It was very difficult to find details on the amount of different chemicals per unit of viscose in factories today, or I would have included it. I dearly hope they have managed to reduce it from how it was done in the forties.
if there is little information about anything important, in my experience mostly that means there are nasty things to be hidden
This was heartbreaking and eye opening
Now I know why I'm allergic to so many fabrics! Some of the recycled fabrics smell like old tires. It's almost impossible to find "clean" clothes that are affordable.
I had a huge reaction to EVA that I am still fighting a year later! Thank you for this.
How about an episode on perfumes? So toxic! And they last forever on clothes which makes buying used a problem. I have to give away 1/3rd of the clothes I buy online (I can't go to brick and mortar because of all the cleaners). Even groceries come with perfumes on them - YUCK!!
Whenever I see “recycled plastic” on clothes in the store I run away.
Modern cellulose fabrics don't retain any of the processing products. It's like saying you are allergic to paper.
on the road for 500 000 views ! what pedagogy, what knowledge!
Why aren’t young people wearing their grandparents’ old clothes? We wore a lot of vintage clothes from the 50s-70s in the late 80s.
the "less waste" tidbit on the cellophane ad 😅
Indeed. 💀
I thought that picture was of the presenter or of her mother or grandmother. It looks just like her. Beautiful.
Kristine, I wonder if you might be able to answer a fabric question for me. I've looked online and found nothing.
Why do blue jeans wear out faster than black jeans? Is there something in black dye that strengthens denim, or does indigo dye weaken denim? Is the denim itself different? Black jeans do feel smoother than blue. Is the denim different to begin with or does the dye do something to it?
Even natural textile workers suffer from brown lung.
Oh yes, bakers too from all the dust they breathe in. Lungs are sensitive organs!
Cotton is particularly bad - cotton fibre lint is also highly explosive.
Odd coincidence. I just got off the phone with someone who said he has "allergic" reactions to "Arc Flash" clothing.
Second web result:
Title of many posts: Arc Rated Clothing Causing Health Effects.
First statement: We have gone to wearing cotton HRC2 (8.6 cal/cm2) uniforms and about 10% of the employees have found the clothing to cause burning and itching with at least one case of dermatitis.
Gangster slang: "It's all about the Benjamins."
All this time I thought it was an intact fiber byproduct, but so short it had to be spun by machine. Not a cellulose dissolved and extruded like polyester. Or collodion. I suspect "banana" is the same story as "bamboo".
I was wondering about banana fabric as well. But my research pile was so high at that point that I didn’t want more digressions. 😅
Banana fabric is produced from retted banana leaves (like linen).
It has been produced in the Philippines that way for centuries.
It’s also used for making rope under the name “sisal”.
Pineapple fibre is similar.
Clothing that dissolves in water not great; check. The chemical industry measures toxicity by way of human experimentation; Nuremberg. Employers treat their employees as expendable; check. This was fascinating. Knew it was bad but not the detail. Didn't even know viscose and rayon are the same. Your low-end levels are muddy. Thank you very much for this bit of education. Cheers!
My favorite fiber lately! Smooth and flexible, doesn't make me sweaty or smelly... I've been actively looking for clothes (new and secondhand) with some or 100% rayon thinking that it was cellulose and hence natural and healthy! This is awful 😞. Nothing is safe.
Thank you for this informative video. It's horrific!
Thank you for this info, it save me 💵 100
Good God. I had no idea. Thanks always thought it was a good thing.
I bought some lily silk only tonrecieve rayon made from lilies. Same deal.with "rose silk" and I really hate them for it. I have entirely too much of the "lotus silk" fiber. Grrrr I will probably sell it on before spinning it ever.
Thank you for your great content. I just tried to email you with a question about swimwear and the website email address didn't work. I will copy and paste here. Maybe one of your followers might have ideas as well.
Hi Kristine,
Thank you so very much for your generous TH-cam content.
I spent a couple of years in Norway as a young woman, so textiles combined with Norway tics a lot of boxes for me.
I am a mender and slow stitcher as well as a knitter, weaver, and also a trained spinner.
In my old age, I've gotten really interested in fabric collage and wearing crazy witch-attire handmade from repurposed and reclaimed stuff.
But swimwear has stumped me.
I don't know where to begin my experimentation.
100% cotton jersey?
It seems like pool chemicals would make very fast work of cotton.
How would you start?
TIA
Sandy Hellebrand
I had no idea...
And just as I was thinking... well thank goodness these production methods are no longer practiced... Just as I got 13 minutes in. 😳
Yeeeeah, sorry. 😅
(Though much as I tried, I couldn’t really find current chemical consumption per, for instance, kilo or ton of finished viscose. Just a book from 100 years ago - and I deeply hope we have improved the method since then!)
Thank you. I've known rayon has a dark side, now I know why.
❤
Thank you, this video was very educating, I didn't know that rayon and viscose is the same and I even bought bamboo clothes thinking they were environmentally good.
But please I do have a plea, get a better microphone as I am somewhat hearing disabled it makes a huge difference. Some videos I skip immediately because I can't hear. With other videos I hear perfectly well. Your's is somewhere in the middle.
But thank you again very informative.
The sound is terrible.
omg. Finding natural fibre clothing is ...difficult at best .. expensive though ...I always thought rayon was ok...rats! Thank you for this. I will share.
I was pretty bummed too. It is always sold as such a “good alternative”!
Robert Hooke. Hooke's Law demonstrates that an elastic material is stronger if it can be made 'Plastic'. Usually used in Reinforced Steel.
How can material be deformed to breaking, and then become stronger before breaking?
Where does this strength come from?
Is there a trade-off?
See V Lewe, 1915.
We really have made a mess, haven't we
Remember, unless it's Tussar silk from my native India, the silk worms are boiled to death in their cases. If you are concerned about the environment you should not wear silk because of the pain and suffering it causes to the moths.
If you ever want to recycle your shawl that you have on please send it to me!!!!!
A friend made it for me, so you can’t have it. But there is a pattern. 😉
archive.org/details/manualofworstedw00np/page/95/mode/1up?view=theater
I have such a weird reaction when I put viscose or rayon clothing on. It makes me feel instantly stressed and almost claustrophobic! Many times in changing rooms I have been in a panic to get the item of clothing off me. Then I look at the label. And it’s always the same thing. Sometimes the clothing has a very ethnic or folk look about it with embroidery etc. As if it were made by artisans somewhere. This feels like a deliberate deception. Please if you read this and feel the same way - put a comment!
Breathing in, handling or ingesting plastics (like polyester) is bound to cause health issues.
I try to preserve my clothes but they simply don't last as long as they used to.
There are no viscose factories in the world that control their chemical byproducts competently?
Ozzie Lezbourne
Why do you look like Agnes though
the fabric is green, but its production is NOT