RAYON/VISCOSE
Rayon Background
Rayon is a widely used product within the fast-fashion industry, well known for its versatility, price point, and ability to keep up with industry pace. The most common fibers, viscose and rayon, are interchangeable. The country of origin can have a slightly different fiber content label name depending on location. The name rayon can stand alone or be put with the name viscose if the material comes from the United States (23). Fast fashion brands indicate their primary fiber name as viscose because of its volume from outside the United States (23). In this informational page, I will be referring to the specific fiber name, Rayon for reference.
This man-made cellulosic fiber has been in the textile industry ever since the 19th century (1)(23). The accessibility and lifespan make it easy to garner large amounts of material for production. Its use in the textile industry has largely grown ever since the late 1900s due to its longevity and ability to keep up with production rates, with little risk of running out of supply (23).
For context, rayon comes from the wood of trees (cellulose). From there it gets reduced drastically through a multitude of steps to turn the dry material into a thick liquid that eventually turns into thread (4). This final product is what will eventually be sent to factories to create fabrics. Because this fiber does not naturally come directly from the wood, it is considered a man-made cellulosic fiber because of the many steps it goes through until it becomes a profitable end product (1)(23).
Cutting the Tree
The cellulose used in the creation of rayon is most commonly derived from the wood of eucalyptus, beech, and pine trees (8). What all three of these have in common compared to the rest of the tree taxonomic group is their ability to quickly sprout and grow.
This feature is crucial in the textile industry due to it being able to keep up with the demand for fast-fashion garments. The demand keeps this cheaply made and overproduced fiber a commodity, contributing to overall environmental pollution. Rayon being largely accessible due to the fast rate makes it such a key material for the fast fashion industry. The growth process, in most cases, is not so natural. A large array of pesticides and fertilizers are used to artificially speed up the natural span of these trees, exposing the surrounding soil and water to these harmful chemicals, eventually depriving oxygen in water.
Eucalyptus trees naturally grow fairly fast, so it is not so common for pesticides to be applied to the soil (7). What makes the growth of commercial trees so bad for the environment is how they come to be. In order to create room for commercial trees to grow, clear-cutting occurs (24). Many accusations have linked cellulosic production to deforestation, completely taking away the topic of clearcutting, which brings in a whole host of environmentally degrading issues.
The Ecosystem Services Trees Provide For The Benefit of The Environment And Humans (6)
1. Carbon Sequestration
Forests naturally remove CO2 from the atmosphere by absorbing large amounts of this greenhouse gas (5). “Carbon Sink” is the term coined by environmental scientists, describing the ability of trees to absorb more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases, making forests an important part of keeping our planet hospitable (9). The lengthy lifespan of these greenhouse gasses contributes to the negative global warming side effects. Trees inherently perform the process of photosynthesis by absorbing carbon dioxide, eventually turning it into oxygen for the soil (10).
2. Biodiversity Conservation/Climate Regulation
Forests are homes to a variety of species; the abundance of trees and plants helps form healthy habitats for these species (9). With carbon dioxide so effluent in the atmosphere, our earth warms up, eventually hurting a majority of life on Earth, as well as reproducing harmful ones at an earlier rate. Trees being big and bulky contribute shade providing the ability to cool the surface and air temperature (25).
(13)Invertebrates, such as ticks, have the ability to reproduce in large quantities due to the extreme warming temperatures (26). During the winter months, reproduction doesn’t happen as rapidly for obvious reasons however, with the recent “warm” winters, reproduction of these dangerous invertebrates has happened sooner, making this a problem for humans.
3. Water Regulation
Tree’s physical components help slow the downpour of rain, preventing heavy amounts of water from flooding the soil, bringing in contaminants from erosion that make it more difficult for the water to flow (11).
Soil has the natural ability to filter rainwater (12). Keeping the soil viable and healthy is super important so it can filter war, due to it being a major reservoir for humans to receive drinking water. In addition, trees' ability to intake carbon dioxide provides oxygen for the soil, making sure it has the ability to always be able to absorb, store, and produce water for plant growth and drinking water purposes (13).
Forests have the ability to filter the rainwater from contaminants like sediment (14). Tree roots prevent the contamination of sediments from entering the water, which could bring in unnecessary amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus (15). Large amounts of these two essential nutrients enter bodies of water to provoke algae to over-bloom, meaning that they grow larger than their capacity (16). Algae is a photosynthetic organism, meaning it produces oxygen. When the algae over-blooms, oxygen is not being transferred into the water but is being released into the atmosphere (16). Water survives off of oxygen, providing a safe place for marine life to living marine organisms. The oxygen that should be in the water is instead being released into the atmosphere, creating a “dead zone” (16).
4. Soil Fertility
Soil is crucial for the growth of any type of plant, especially for commercial growth. When soil is fertile, it is healthy for crops to form a dependency on. When soil is not fertile, it is exhausted of nutrients, typically in a dry form, with very little to no water. This is called organic matter depletion, also known as soil depletion (17). When the soil is depleted, there is a slim to zero chance of it ever being lush again. This process decreases the amount of viable land to have a plantation, farm, or new forest on. The soil is in a more dead state, making it harder for regrowth to occur.
Deforestation & Clearcutting
Deforestation is the intentional act of clearing the land from trees and plants (10). All trees from a piece of land are cut from their roots, typically in a way that won’t promote regrowth. Although there is a common misconception that deforestation reduces carbon emissions, as carbon was initially absorbed in the wood, there is no way of it exiting back into the atmosphere unless it is burned (heated) (19).
All that stored carbon could date as far back as when the tree was able to start absorption. Unfortunately, this process releases an unnecessary amount of carbon back into the air, contributing to the over-accumulation of greenhouse gasses being trapped in the atmosphere. In order to create rayon, one of the most used fibers in fast fashion, tree cellulose must be heated up (4). This is the point in time where the textile industry emits carbon not just from using energy, but from what source they are heating, contributing to pollution.
Soil is able to thrive and provide nutrients to growing plants, making it a critical part of the ecosystem. To keep this role, the soil needs to be supported by always having a flow of water, not making it susceptible to erosion. Deforestation makes that process difficult to attain. When the land is stripped of forest components, it opens up direct space for the sun to hit the ground. Overexposure to sunlight leads to the evaporation of the water from the soil (18).
Soil loses water from its lack of access to trees, as well as being directly exposed to sunlight. Just like trees benefit from soil, soil also benefits from trees. When trees take in carbon dioxide, they turn it into an organic version of carbon dioxide and transfer it to the soil (19). Due to the occurrence of this transfer, the soil is now able to do its part in retaining water so that it can provide a safe home for plants to endure a healthy life. When the land is stripped of forest components, it opens up direct space for the sun's radiation to hit the ground. The heat from the sun can help contribute to the evaporation process of the remaining water existing in the soil, helping lead to depleted soil (18).
On top of this, we as humans are losing a major source of drinking water due to deforestation. A little more than 30% of our water comes from the soil (20). If the soil is drained from water, where are we finding that other 30% of drinking water when our other source, glaciers, are melting at such an expanded rate?
Clearcutting is the direct practice that leads to deforestation. Clearcutting is emptying the land of every single organism that has grown there, and replacing it with a new commercial plantation. In the textile industry, this is a very important practice. Rayon being one of the most highly used fibers in the fast-fashion textile industry means we need to have a constant influx of it, leading to more tree growth in a quicker span of time. These plantations are perfect for the industry since we have a piece of land where we can grow a ton of trees and artificially edit the growth and reproduction time with harmful pesticides, but not so good for the environment. Unfortunately, we are depleting the soil even more by re-growing the same tree over again, withholding essential nutrients. With that, we are taking away the soil’s ability to retain fresh clean water. In addition, the new planting and seeding for the growth of these trees are done in an organized manner, which is the opposite of how nature intended. Eucalyptus trees, for example, need at least 10-20 feet in between each other to facilitate optimal growth including a subsequent amount of shade for protection. The cooler environment ends up protecting the vitality of the streams and rivers, which directly impacts the soil. The big problem is that in this so-called “organized manner” there is more opportunity for the sun to dry these reservoirs up because the beauty of the shade from the forest is absent. Sadly, habitats can not be created because of this deforestation. Unfortunately, heavy amounts of pesticides are sprayed on these plantations to make it more viable, exposing the water that's left to chemicals that are not easily filterable, ruining the health of our water. (24)
Rayon Fiber Production Process
Logs → Mills
Once the trees are forged from these huge chunks of land, they get transferred to a facility that chops it, heats it up, and is turned into cellulose sheets (4). This is the point in the process that the carbon dioxide that was originally captive in the logs, is now released back into the atmosphere. This step represents the environmentally degrading aftermath of deforestation. (29)
Rayon Mill
These cellulose sheets which once used to be beautiful trees, are now undergoing chemical reactions, with two forms of transportation. In the rayon mill, where the sheets are sent, is where all the chemical prophecies happen, and the fiber gets turned into a thread.
First off, the cellulose sheets are put in a tank of caustic soda, formally known as sodium hydroxide, to break down the hydrogen bonds within the wood (3)(4). It is a chemical that is used in everyday products, but when there is a large amount being used, it can have serious negative effects on humans. When in contact with sodium hydroxide, it can harm the skin’s tissues and burn the skin (21). Contact with sodium hydroxide is more likely to happen at mills in low-income countries where safety amongst employees is not of importance. In addition, a lot of people working under forced labor conditions don't receive the healthcare necessary that could help cure their skin from contact with sodium hydroxide.
Shedding/Getting Pulp Ready
After the chemicals are squeezed out of the sheets, they are transferred to a shredding machine. The sheets steeping in the caustic soda make the cellulose ready to be transferred to the shredder, now that they are in a more viable state. These small pieces of pulp are then put through turning panels that have the ability to generate it into fluffy crumb-like material, to then be aged for a couple of days. (4)
After the aging process, this material is churned with carbon disulfide, for the purpose of subtracting the wood entirely from this stage of the material and turning the material into a thick liquid (4). Yes, this carbon disulfide is crucial in the process, yet incredibly disruptive to the nervous and reproductive system of anyone who comes in contact (22). Working in mills and factories for the textile industry located in low-income countries, it is common for a safe workplace to be of sorts, making exposure to such chemicals very easy to achieve. Carbon disulfide has such a negative affect to the human body, that in the United States, viscose made of carbon disulfide is prohibited from being made (23).
Forming the Fiber, Rayon
To form the solid durable fiber, the thick liquid is pushed through an object with tiny holes, called a spinnerette, into a sulfuric acid bath (4). From there, rayon yarn is created by twisting the thread that comes out of the spinnerette (4). Lastly, they are raveled up into spools (4). These spools are physically taken out by a human to be transferred to another facility to get washed (4). I want to hone in on this fact because the sulfuric acid is not washed away before a human (the garment worker) is touching it. Sulfuric acid causes the deterioration of the skin, eyes, teeth, and lungs (2). The level of severity is dependent on how much exposure. With the minimal health and safety requirements posed at mills and factories in low-income countries, we will be unsure of the level to which garment workers come into contact with sulfuric acid.
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First photo taken by Mitchell Luo https://unsplash.com/@mitchel3uo
Third photo taken by Raoul Croes https://unsplash.com/@rxcroes
