There are mainly two main kinds of fibres produced, and they are either natural or man-made. Cotton and wool are some examples of natural fibres, while man-made fibres are made from petrochemicals. In this age, most of the textiles and clothing that are used contain synthetic fibres, and according to CIRFS, the European Man-Made Fibres Association, ‘man-made fibres account for 76% of all fibres produced worldwide’.

Why do we use man-made fibres?

Similar to many products made from petrochemicals, man-made fibres are relatively cheaper and easy to care for as compared to products made from natural materials. However, using such materials will bring about pollution, and the many steps in processing these fibres multiply the environmental damage numerous folds. We will explore the effects of these materials and the effects of their processes in this section.