TÜV Rheinland: Addressing the Textile Microplastics Challenge

TSUEN WAN, Hong Kong - Nov. 2, 2021 - PRLog -- Many of our favorite garments have been found to be the source of significant microplastics in the ocean. It is estimated that between 0.2 and 0.5 million tonnes of microplastic fibres from textiles enter the marine environment each year.

At this webinar on 16 November 2021 (Tuesday) 3 pm – 4:30 pm (GMT+8), organized by TUV Rheinland Hong Kong, and supported by the Invest Hong Kong and German Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong, speaking respectively on the detection of microplastic in the marine environment, R&D on sustainable textile design and the development program for improvement will be Rakesh Vazirani, Head of Sustainability Services, TUV Rheinland together with Emily Choi, Senior Manager of Consumer Products, Invest Hong Kong, Dr. Lei YAO (Gloria), Director of Project Development , The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA), Dr. Frank Lam, Assistant Professor of Engineering Education, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and Gundolf Klaehn, Head of Environmental Component, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

It is estimated that one laundry cycle with synthetic textiles can emit between 700,000 and 6 million microplastic fibres, representing up to 0.5 % of the product's total mass (OECD, 2020; Ziajahromi et al., 2017). In this way, the washing of synthetic textiles may account for up to 35 % of total annual microplastic releases.

To date, much of the attention has focused on the shedding, washing and disposal of synthetic textiles by consumers. However, this is only part of the picture and ignores microfiber leakage during the manufacturing and processing of these materials.

REGISTER: http://tuv.li/1fS1

Agenda

a) Hong Kong's vital role in sustainable sourcing

b) Impacting Mermaids > Microplastics Detection in marine environment

c) Research & Innovation for Sustainable Textile Design

d) Development Program to improve environmental performance of Textile Industry

e) Assessment and Data to plan improvements

f) Q&A