Cotton is the most significant natural fibre and has been a preferred choice of the textile industry and consumers since the industrial revolution began. The share of man-made fibres, both regenerated and synthetic fibres, has grown considerably in recent times but cotton production has also been on the rise and accounts for about half of the fibres used for apparel and textile goods. To cotton’s advantage, the premium attached to the presence of cotton fibre and the general positive consumer perception is well established, however, compared to commodity man-made fibres and high performance fibres, cotton has limitations in terms of its mechanical properties but can help to overcome moisture management issues that arise with performance apparel during active wear. This issue of Textile Progress aims to:

The fiber damage during manufacture, use, and service of textiles leads to fragmented fiber generation. All textiles (natural, regenerated, and synthetic polymer sources) release fiber fragments. Several textile structural parameters have been studied in association with fragmented fiber release; however, there is a paucity of work on the effect of different fiber types and yarn structures on fragmented fiber release. This study elucidates the impact of key fiber types and yarn structures (rudimentary elements of textiles) on fragmented fiber release during laundry. Five different bespoke textile samples from three primary yarn structures (flat filament, textured filament, and staple yarn) from the two most employed fibers (polyethylene terephthalate and cotton) were subjected to repeated simulated washing processes to quantify shed fragmented fiber and length distribution of the collected fragmented fiber. The results show that yarn structure impacts the quantity of fragmented fiber shed and the length distribution profile. The release of fragmented fiber decreases during repeated washing of fabrics from staple and textured filament yarns, except for fabrics from flat filament yarns. The mean fragmented fiber length for all samples increases on repeated laundering. The quantity of fragmented fiber shed per gram of textile, and the length distribution profile of fragmented fiber from the woven fabrics made of the five types of yarns after the first and fifth washing cycles were estimated.