Recycling Poultry Feathers into Fibers: More Bang for the Cluck

ith broadened awareness of �ber and textile innovations and of human impact on our environment, we must consider our choices with new enlightenment, when choosing �bers for products. In a previous volume of ‘The Stitch’, we reviewed some di�erent options for �ber production. In this Stitch we will review the use of Poultry Feathers as a ‘di�erent’ option for �ber production. The American chicken industry produces 4 billion pounds of chicken feather waste every year. Your average chicken process-ing facility pumps out around 4,000 pounds of feathers an hour and researchers have found that the industry’s by-product turns out to be as valuable as its primary products. Feathers are made from Keratin- a tough, tightly wound protein �ber that makes up hair, wool, �ngernails and hooves. The structure of keratin in feathers makes it durable and resistant to “thermal stress” (thermal decomposition begins about 455 degrees Fahrenheit), making it an ideal . Feathers are very similar to wool, the di�erence being that the feather surface area is much larger because the diameter of the �bers is much smaller. So the �ber can absorb more (moisture content in the range of 16-20%) than wool or cellulose �bers. Thanks to those properties, feathers can be put to good use in replacing wood pulp and other expensive �bers. The process of taking feathers to �ber includes several steps. Feathers cannot be taken directly from the chicken and made directly into new materials. Because of the issues of health and safety, the feathers must be washed �rst to rid them of any contaminates. The washing process uses organic cleaning

liquids consisting essentially of chlorinated hydrocarbons. The cleaning process is performed at temperatures of between 40 degree and 80 degree celicus, preferably at about 60 degrees Celcius. Once the feathers have been cleaned, the quill, the sti� core of the feather, must be stripped from the barbs. The barbs are �exible, and it is this desirable part that is used to become a feather �ber, because of the Keratin properties in the barbs. The feathers are chopped, and the quill is separated from the barbs. The quill and barb have very di�erent shapes, even after chopping. This shape di�erence, quills being more globular and barbs being �at are separated by a turbulent air �ow that separates the two parts. The air moves the quill to the bottom of a device, and the barbs blow to the top. Once the barbs are collected, they are dissolved into a keratin solution and then reformed into a solution that becomes the feather �ber. Feathers take much less processing than wood pulp and do not require bleaching, as they are already white by nature. A time and money saving bene�t to keratin is that it can be processed.on current textile equipment and dyed with existing dyes. Currently there are three primary companies that are exploring the use of poultry feathers into di�erent uses, including textile �ber. Maxim LLC, Tyson Foods, and Feather�ber Corp. The use of feather �ber is being used primarily in non-woven textiles, such as diapers, �lters, and car interiors. However, it is being explored as a use in clothing. It is being blended with man-made �bers like polyester, and it is also being compacted into breathable nonwoven cloth, like that used for hospital gowns. So as our world becomes more conscious of using our ‘earth’ more wisely, it will be interesting to see other uses of feathers in a �ber format are too come.

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Polyester is the most commonly recycled synthetic fiber with the greatest market share. The benefit of recycled Polyes-ter is that it can be done in a way so that there is no downcycling, or degrading of the quality of the fiber. This means that recycled polyester can be as good as virgin polyester. While polyester is the most commonly

recycled fiber, recycled nylon is also being used in the textile market. While Virgin nylon is made from crude oil, recycled nylon does not require the use of crude oil, thus requir-ing less energy and creating less CO2 pollu-tion. Recycling nylon reduces incinerator emissions, and is recyclable again at the end of its life. .

Fun Fact: Polyester and Nylon Are the Leaders in Recycled Fibers

Sustainability:NOT JUST A BUZZ WORD IN THETEXTILE INDUSTRY Sustainability is a term that is used all the time in many different industry conversations. But what does it really mean in the textile/apparel industry? There are several global regulations that are being set and affecting our industry here and now. These are and will continue to affect the world our graduates will be entering. Sustain is defined by Webster’s as “to keep from falling or sinking” and “To nourish or keep alive”. However, what continues to surface in industry articles and symposium’s is that companies are striving for corporate sustainability by making business decisions based on their environmental, social and economic impacts. These same companies are looking for these effects to be happening through-out the supply chain. Companies are realizing that environmental and social impacts are of great impor-tance to the buying public and purchasing habits are being driven accordingly. Sustainability has created a lot of “Green wash-

ing” by marketing companies. Green washing is the making of unsubstantiated claims. These claims can be very deceptive to the consumer, who is in need of a greater education about what is green and sustainable. It is a term that is overused and rarely understood. (cont’d on page 3)

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Sustainability also includes the social and economic impacts upon the earth. There are many organiza-tions and global regulations that are impacting this part of sustainability. REACH: (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals) is a wide-ranging EU legislation intended to manage and control the risks to human health and the environment from the use of chemicals.WRAP: (Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production) principles are based on generally accepted international workplace standards, local laws and workplace regulations which encompass human resources management, health and safety, environmental practices, and legal compliance including import/export and customs compliance and security standards. The program is the world’s largest facility certification program mainly focused on the apparel, footwear and sewn products sectors. Facilities receive a certification of six months to one year based on compliance.CPSIA: The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) is designed to allow the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) to regulate the safety of products made and imported for sale in the USA. AAFA Restricted Substance List (RSL): The AAFA Restricted Substance List (RSL) covers chemicals and other substances whose presence in a product is regulated through a government standard or law. The list identifies chemicals and other substances that have been banned by law internationally.

DID YOU KNOW?

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The reality is, the total volume of organic cotton produced is approxi-mately one tenth of a percent of total cotton. There are so many products being made that make the statement “Organic Cotton”, but can you produce a product that has only 2% organic cotton and the rest is conventional cotton (98%), and still label it organic cotton? There is no one international standard for calling something eco-friendly. discussing organic cotton, we need to realize that organic certification of cotton refers to the process of growing the fiber; it does not include any addi-tional processes that follow after the fiber has left the field. So if you have a t-shirt that is made from 100% organic cotton and the final product is dyed purple? Has the dyeing process can-celled out all the good and expense of using organic cotton? True organic cotton, has such high insect and weed pressures that there are only a few

places in the world where it can be

grown without synthetic pesti-cides. We may want to con-sider natural dyes to replace

the harmful dyes to make the

product ‘purple’. One would need to

consider that many types of berries and other natural products can kill you or make you very ill. Additionally, remem-bering that many chemicals are needed to make the natural dyes work, stay or adhere to the fibers. Many use mordents to fix the dyes. Mordents contain metals that adversely affect the environment and human health. When considering vegetable dyes, the question arises, how

much field space is needed to produce enough veg-etables to make enough dye for the natural/organic fibers?

Sustainability is something that is huge for our indus-try; so much to learn, and so many paths to travel. Students need to start to think about the concept of designing products from “Cradle to Grave”. Starting habits of designing “Cradle to Grave” as a student will later become main stream for them as industry experts. Their understanding that sustainability is not just about how we ‘recycle’ a product at the products life end, but from the conception of the product. The challenge to the apparel/textile indus-

try is how to consider all levels of sustainability.

Students need to start to think

about the concept of designing

products from “Cradle to Grave”.

In