Thomas Stanton

The environmental case for natural textiles rests heavily on biodegradability—the idea that cotton and wool, unlike polyester, return cleanly to the environment. A team of UK researchers has tested that premise against physical evidence from lake sediments in Staffordshire, recovering natural fibres from deposits spanning more than a century.

Researchers in the UK have developed an openly accessible library of infrared spectral signatures designed to improve identification of textile fibres. The FasTEX dataset combines laboratory measurements, reference spectra and analytical tools, enabling machine learning approaches that could accelerate fibre identification across environmental monitoring, forensic investigation and textile sustainability research.