Using Textiles for Survivability and Sustainability in COVID-19 Times
November 10, 2020 At no other time in history has the spotlight shined so much on the role of textiles in saving lives. The capability of textile materials to filter and destabilize SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) is attracting a lot of attention, as well as sustainable fibers like cotton for many advanced applications.
Coimbatore, India-based Bharathiar University is organizing a seven-day international virtual conference to highlight the functional and environmental impacts of textiles. About 300 people have registered for the event, which features speakers from Hong Kong, Finland, United States, India and Ireland and will cover topics such as life-saving cotton products, fashion in a circular economy, consumer preferences for ecofriendly products, and life cycle analysis.
In opening the event, Professor P. Kaliraj, Vice-Chancellor of Bharathiar University, emphasized the importance of textiles to developing nations and also its environmental and societal impacts.
It was such a pleasure for me to offer a special address on textiles as life savers in the wee hours this morning (Nov. 10). Today I introduced 4Es towards textile sustainability, taking into consideration the current coronavirus situation. In my opinion, sustainability has to take into account:
- Environment
- Energy
- Economy
- Employment
The textile sector has to forge ahead looking at interdisciplinary approaches to develop value-added sustainable products such as viral barriers, medical filters and more.
Participating in the event, Professor Venkatachalam Arunachalam, a highly respected academic with 42 years of research and teaching experience in the Coimbatore area, stated, “The materials sector should look into cotton and other fibers to develop cost-effective advanced products that can save lives and protect the environment.”
It is certain that even with a vaccine for the SARS-CoV-2, masks are going to continue to play an important role. And, as such, the textile sector has a useful role to play both in the current pandemic as well in the future towards the safety of human beings and the planet.
GET THE NEWSLETTER TODAY!
