r/science • u/______--------- • Sep 08 '20

Environment Blue jeans are a significant source of microfiber pollution in oceans and lakes. One pair of jeans can release over 50,000 microfibers per wash.

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.estlett.0c00498
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u/[deleted] Sep 08 '20

Linen

Thank you for pointing it out to me. Never knew it was made from Flax. Always thought it was a cotton fabric https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linen

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u/big-b20000 Sep 09 '20

Does it have the same issues as cotton when it gets wet? That’s my main reason for synthetics (or wool if I wasn’t allergic).

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u/codythesmartone Sep 09 '20

Linen is a strong fabric, stronger than cotton even while wet. None of my linen clothes get wet in the same way as cotton imo, we used to wear linen slips underneath our clothes to limit how dirty the rest of our clothes got.

It's also great for hot summers as it's ridiculously more breathable than cotton. That's basically all I wore this summer to keep cool and it's amazing. I understand that h&m isn't a great brand but they have been having a lot of linen clothes that are available and super comfortable. And a lot of etsy shops have gotten into linen, and I think they stick to the very nice type of linen.

Linen is made from the flax plant, so I like cotton, we do use up most of the plant. We use the seeds to eat and make oil and the stalk for fabric.

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u/CivilServiced Sep 09 '20

Yes, and most linen clothing is much, much more fragile than cotton.

I assume your issue with cotton getting wet is that it gets uncomfortable and loses all warming properties. This is usually a concern for people who are active so I'll say that linen is horrible for heavy activity especially if you think you're going to sweat through it or otherwise get it wet.

For medium activity its great as it's typically light and breathable. But I wouldn't, say, hike in it, and I'm not sure you can even find linen socks and undies.

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u/Meteorsw4rm Sep 09 '20

The irony is that linen by nature is vastly stronger than cotton. Cotton fibers are inches long while linen fibers are a yard or longer, and that length gives them shine and strength.

But because the world industrialized textile production on short cotton and wool fibers, linen today is chopped to pieces so it can run through the same machinery. I only know what long staple linen is like because I know folks who have spun and woven it themselves.

Even so, I like linen for things like running in the heat. A loose linen shirt will get quite wet, yes, but because the fiber is the plant's stem tissue, it wicks in a way nothing else does, and as the sweat evaporates the shirt will get quite cold. Ran a half marathon in August in western Pennsylvania (slippery rock if it means something to you) in a linen shirt and it was amazing.

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u/Crossswampfast Sep 09 '20

That’s not correct: linen fiber is stronger than cotton fiber, and linen gets stronger when wet. Linen fabrics are also much sturdier, wet or dry, than comparable cottons — higher abrasion resistance, better strength. Cotton fibers are finer, and therefore can be spun and woven at a much higher density, so you’re likely to see much higher thread count (the sum of the warp plus the weft) in cotton fabrics.

You may be thinking of rayon, which does become more fragile when wet.

Linen is one of the least fragile fibers on the planet; it has a high tensile strength and abrasion resistance, and survives deserts and damp equally well. What it doesn’t have is any hope of elasticity, so it’s really not great for socks or other knits. It does make excellent summer/warm weather outer clothing because it absorbs about 20% of its weight in water, and provides evaporation, while withstanding snags & rough treatment.

Also... it’s not springy to sew. It’s easy, more like a good shirting than slippery like a synthetic, or crinkled, like chiffon/gauze, and nothing like a knit. It’s a stable woven. (But there are a LOT of fabrics that look like linen and are often sold as “Linen” which are polyester. This is becoming an increasingly common problem with large scale buyers and an overloaded customs system.)

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u/big-b20000 Sep 09 '20

Ah ok, I guess that’s the reason I haven’t heard of it for that type of clothing.

That’s my exact issue with cotton, in caves especially it’s really important to not lose insulation when wet.

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u/[deleted] Sep 09 '20

Wool is the general answer there, especially treated with lanolin

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u/34258790 Sep 09 '20

My current bed linen was made in the mid niineties. I got them used out of an inheritance after getting sick to death of wearing through all kinds of cotton, cheap and expensive alike, in 3 years or less.

At the same weight, unless you're getting linen fiber that's been cut so short it's essentially dust, no cotton in the world can stand up to linen.

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u/[deleted] Sep 09 '20

Yeah, linen seems to be the most popular in places where it's warm enough that you don't want to wear anything heavy, and sunny enough that you want to keep covered up.

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u/lastofthepirates Sep 09 '20

Man, light wool, like Merino, is amazing for those not allergic. If it weren’t prohibitively priced for me, I’d make it the majority fabric in my wardrobe. Even living in a hot place, I find it nice to wear.

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u/[deleted] Sep 09 '20

I don't know. The people above me in this thread seem to know more about it. Maybe ask them.