Textiles

Transforming textile waste into durable, value-added materials remains a central challenge for sustainable apparel systems. This study developed single-layer, nonwoven sheets from discarded 100% cotton textiles using a papermaking-derived wet-laid process and evaluated their potential as leather-alternative materials through a sequential two-phase approach. In Phase 1, reclaimed-cotton nonwoven sheets bio-finished with persimmon juice or konjac were benchmarked against commercial plant-based olive, cork, pineapple, and cactus leather alternatives using ASTM grab tensile and rotary-platform abrasion testing. The bio-finished sheets showed low breaking forces, limited elongation, and abrasion failure. In Phase 2, biodegradable polycaprolactone (PCL) was applied as a reinforcing finish. The resulting PCL-treated reclaimed-cotton sheets’ (RC-PCL) breaking force performance improved by over 6.5 times the nontreated nonwoven specimens and approximately 4.5 times the bio-finished nonwoven specimens. Additionally, the RC-PCL completed the 2000-cycle abrasion endpoint without through-thickness failure. Elongation remained low while the dogbone tensile test showed increases in tensile strength, strain at break, and apparent Young’s modulus after PCL-finishing. These findings indicate that biodegradable PCL-finish substantially improves the strength, cohesion, and abrasion resistance of reclaimed-cotton nonwovens, while flexibility, coating optimization, and end-of-life performance remain priorities for future leather-alternative applications to support sustainability efforts and value-added use of reclaimed materials within the textile industry.

Aramid fibers combine high specific strength, impact-energy absorption and thermal stability, yet the same rigid, highly oriented chains also produce a chemically inert surface, low compressive strength and sensitivity to ultraviolet (UV) radiation and hydrolysis. This review synthesizes original research articles, indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection, with emphasis on 2021–2026, on how fiber- and fabric-level functionalization affects the structural and functional integrity of aramid composites. Unlike previous reviews, organized by method, material form or application, it follows the retention of this integrity from fiber to component. Plasma, chemical, bio-inspired and nano structural treatments are compared by interfacial gain, fiber damage and property retention after UV exposure. The roles of aramid nanofibers, matrices, processing, hybridization and shear-thickening fluids are discussed, together with added functions such as electromagnetic shielding, strain sensing, thermal management, liquid repellence and self-healing. Several interphases, including oxide layers and aramid nanofiber coatings carrying conductive phases, strengthen adhesion while protecting the fiber or adding a function, but most data refer to unaged fibers or small specimens tested for one property at a time. An evaluation framework is proposed that links fiber, laminate and component scales with combined aging, icing and electromagnetic requirements for outdoor structures.

The increasing use of blended textiles has created waste streams that are difficult to recycle because chemically dissimilar fiber components must be separated without unnecessarily destroying their material value. Polyester–cotton blends containing elastane are particularly challenging, yet they are increasingly relevant to post-consumer textile recycling. Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) offer a tunable platform for selectively interacting with polyester, cellulose, and polyurethane-based elastane through dissolution, swelling, hydrolysis, glycolysis, or other depolymerization pathways. This review critically examines DES-assisted recycling from a component-selective perspective, focusing on how DES chemistry and process conditions determine which fiber is targeted, the form in which it is recovered, and the extent to which accompanying components are preserved. Reported approaches for PET removal, cotton dissolution or deconstruction, and elastane separation are compared with emphasis on the experimental evidence distinguishing polymer-preserving dissolution from chemical degradation. Recent advances demonstrate selective recovery routes for individual components and binary blends; however, a fully integrated DES-based process capable of sequentially recovering PET, cotton, and elastane from a realistic ternary textile has not yet been demonstrated. On this basis, the review identifies component-specific design principles and proposes sequential separation as a conceptual research framework for complex blended waste, derived from independently demonstrated component-selective processes rather than an established experimentally validated recycling process. Solvent selectivity, preservation of non-target polymers, solvent recovery, process severity, and downstream product quality are identified as key requirements for translating DES chemistry into scalable textile recycling.