Saluala

‘To select from a pile in the manner of rummaging ‘.(tranberg Hansen, K Saluala, The world of second hand clothing and Zambia.) The second hand clothing that clothes the whole of Zambia and employs 2 million people.

Samu wash nuts

A natural source of saponins for machine and hand laundering. The case of nuts harvested for biodiesel in India. Use a handful in a cotton bag twice, then compost remaining vegetable matter. the wash nut tress are not sprayed.

Sanforisation

Treatment applied to cotton whilst stretching length and width to prevent subsequent shrinkage after washing.(www.r0.unctad.org)

Scouring wool

Cleaning the grease and organic matter from fleeces is environmentally invasive because of the residue of grease and scourer left in suspension in the cleaning water. In 2003, the EU directive 76/69 called for a ban on substances and preparations including nonyl phenol ethoxylate because of aqautic toxicity and low biodegradability. Alcohol Ethoxylates are subsituted, which biodegrade faster and are less toxic although scouring is less efficient.

www.wooltesting.sgs.com

Screen printing

The processes of screen printing are wasteful, and require wash-off which does contaminate water with whichever chemicals and inks are being used. Screen printing Better practise.

Making up ones own ingredients, using procion with manutex and urea.

(suggestion from Fibre crafts)

Seacell

A cellulose and seaweed-based fibre that slowly releases silver ions could have applications in medical textiles and hygiene products, such as compression stockings and burns bandages. Fibre produced by the Lyocell process Anti allergen, antifungal and antibacterial.

Seamless garment manufacture

The less threads used, the less sweated labour. Threads are often different fibres from the cloth of a garment and can contaminate an oil based (technical nutrient) garment which could be taken back and reused by upcycling. Historiac examples include felted kepeneks worn by Turkish shepherds, part coat, part wearable tent.

Self cleaning clothes,

Inspired by lotus leaves, a polymer film, including silver nanotechnology particles makes water drops bead up and roll off, even taking dirt with them. mse.clemson.edu/scrapbook

Also bacteria impregnated into every single fibre of a fabric, could live, breed and eat up the dirt, creating self-cleaning clothes. Eventually, the garments in your wardrobe may be able to support a variety of bacteria engineered to eat odour-causing chemicals and human sweat. Other bacteria might secrete waterproof and protective coatings to extend the life of clothing and produce antiseptic for bandages. 05 July 2001 New Scientist

Serge

Famous fabric made from shoddy. Dyed blue to cover the variable colouration of the recycled fibre.

Silk

Single filament spun by the mulberry eating silk moth to create a cocoon. Unwound and spun to create luxury fabrics from fine chiffon to heavy dupions and velvets.


Single material

Allows for ease of proper recycling. When materials are mixed, they contaminate each other, and cannot be easily reclaimed. (EU Cotton in poly cotton must be burned away to reclaim the polyester.)

Sisal

Yields a stiff fibre which is used for rope and carpets. The plant is an agave, which is a succulent.

Sizing booths

Advanced technology. A person is measured using CAD and the clothes made to fit or altered using CAM. Could be used to avoid waste, and in co-designing and in mass market applications of customisation.

Skal

Environmental certification body which gives organic certification and has consumer confidence in the Netherlands and growing recognition across Europe.

Slow Consumption

Strategies which slow down the speed of consumption of products. Tim Cooper of sheffield Hallem, suggests ‘product life extension as an alternative to producing new products and discarding old ones’ <www.shu.ac.uk/schools/slm/csc.html> 7.5.07 [online]

Design for durability would also slow down the consumption of products.

Slow Design

Strategy evolved by Alastair Faud Luke to live more slowly. Inspired by the movement for slow food, a reaction against fast food. Nourishing ourselves with rituals of delay.

Smart Technology

For the purposes of ecological textile and fashion design, the use of nano technology, biominetics, etc to create fabrics which mitigate environmentally damaging aspects of use, for example laundering, which could include self-cleaning clothes.

SME

Small to medium sized enterprise / business.

Sodium Carbonate

Domestically it is used as a water softener during laundry. It competes with the ions magnesium and calcium in hard water and prevents them from bonding with the detergent being used. Without using washing soda, additional detergent is
needed to soak up the magnesium and calcium ions. Called Washing Soda.

<en.wikipedia.org> . 7.5.07 [online]

Sodium bicarbonate

Used to neutralise acid and to restore ph balance of water with a high level of
chlorine: < en.wikipedia.org . 7.5.07 [online]

Sodium Hydroxide

Also known as lye or caustic soda. Used in soap making, as a catalyst for the
production of biodiesel, and in the delignification of cellulosic materials (which
separates out the cellulose fibres.) < en.wikipedia.org . 7.5.07 [online]

Soil Association

The UK’s largest organic certification body. (www.soilassociation.org)

SolarPlate Prints

Printing system which uses the sun to develope the printing plate. (Cyanotypes)

Solvent spinning

PET is solvent spun. Colour can be added to the process of making the fibre, so there is no dye waste. Fibres, yarns and fabrics can be returned to the solvent state for reuse, maintaining the potential perpetual lifecycle of nonrenewables. (AS)

Solution dyed

(green chemistry conference) Dye in solution with the liquid stage of polyester or nylon manufacturing. There is no dye waste, and the colour is light and wash fast. The colour remains and if these materials are recycled, and the colours are separately sorted, economic reuse potential is endless.

Solution spinning

Includes wet spinning and dry spinning. The former method was first used to produce rayon fibres, and the latter method was used to spin cellulose triacetate to acetate fibres. ( www.britanica.com )

Soy silk

Soy Silk is made of left-overs from the tofu manufacturing process. It is soft, lustrous and resembles Silk in appearance and handling. Dye it as you would Tussah Silk, with acid or natural dyes. And since it is a cellulosic fiber, Procion Dyes should work well too. Colours wick into the fiber quickly, and are bright and strong.

( www.earthguild.com 5 4 07)

Staple


Name used to describe a fibre.

Stuffing

See filling and kapok

Substantive dyes

A dye used in a process in which dye molecules are attracted by physical forces at the molecular level to the textile. The amount of this attraction is known as "substantivity": the higher the substantivity the greater the attraction of the dye for the fiber. Also known as direct dying. Direct or substantive dyeing is normally carried out in a neutral or slightly alkaline dyebath, at or near boiling point, with the addition of either sodium chloride or sodium sulphate.

< www.wikipedia.org > 7.5.07 [online]

Substitution

A very large number of different chemicals are used in the production and use of textiles, so the possibility of substitution has enormous implications for the textile industry. The Danish Technological Institute is participating in several
projects to investigate the possibility of substituting chemicals in production.

(www.danishtechnology.dk)


Sugar beet

Along with corn, sugar beet can be used in the manufacture of environmentally friendly fibres and plastics for use as textiles which respond like silk or linen, and of clear or opaque wrapping for food. Is biodegradable in the correct conditions. One brand name is INGEO.

Sulphur Dioxide

(www.answers.com) A colourless, extremely irritating gas or liquid is used in many industrial processes, especially in the manufacture of sulphuric acid. Products include bleach, reducing agents, and sulphites which are food preservatives. Sulphur dioxide is formed when sulphur containing fuels are burned, in the atmosphere it can combine with water vapour to form acid rain.

Surfactants

Surface active ingredients acting as cleaning agents in a product.

Surfactants (Synthetic)

Synthetic surfactants often derived from petroleum. There are various types:

Alkyl phenoxy polyethoxy ethanols (also nonyl phenoxy ethoxylate or nonyl phenol ethoxylate) Found in laundry products and many common cleaning products. Adverse effect on genes, slow to biodegrade and carcenergenic. Alkyl benzene sulfonates or ABS (also linear alkyl benzene sulfonates or LAS, linear alkyl sodium sulfonates). Very slow to biodegrade and seldom used. LAS, however, are the most common surfactants in use. During the manufacturing process, carcinogens and reproductive toxins such as benzene are released into the environment. Because oleo-based alternatives are available, LAS should not be used. Also used in Laundry products and usually identified as “Anionic Surfactants’

Another group of surfactants include Tetrapotassium pyrophosphate/Tetrasodium pyrophosphate. these are basic phosphates (tetrasodium being the more common of the two) used to reduce water hardness. ( www.seventhgen.com )

Surfactants (Biodegradable)

The greensmart™ designation is used for Novozymes' formulations that utilise biodegradable surfactants at a neutral pH, contain no phosphates, no solvents, and low concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOC). So they are safe for humans and the environment. ( www.novozymes.com )

Sustainability

‘Implies using resources, including design and energy, with maximum efficiency, at a rate that does not compromise the needs of future generations -(EW) It is a term also applied to communities and systems. AFL says it means the subject can persist a long time into the future.

Sustainable product design

(AFL) requires 1) no detrimental environmental impact. 2) made from sustainable resources in terms of materials and energy consumption 3) ethical production without exploitation, 4) economic viability. 5) Follows principles of eco-design.

Swishing

Another word for swapping and freesharing.

Synthetic fibres

‘Acrylic, nylon, polyester. Derived from polymers. produced from simple chemicals, primarily petrochemicals. Energy intensive’ (well dressed p 44)

Systematic Product recycling

When a product is ‘taken back’ by a manufacturer, systems will have been designed to utilise the material value of the returned item. It will have been designed for disassembly. Companies involved in systematic product recycling will have developed the necessary economies of scale to make this a viable proposition. Storage of disassembled parts and sorting facilities will be necessary. Other eco-design strategies might be utilised, which in themselves are often also financially beneficial. these could include sites where most processes can take place avoiding unnecessary transportation costs. The production systems might be closed loop, Energy might be a by product of the system, or other carbon neutral or alternative energy sources might be in place.

Systemic Insecticides

‘Systemic insecticides have an ability to permeate all the tissues of an animal or plant and make them toxic. This property is possessed by some chlorinated hydrocarbons and others in the organophosphorous group.’ (Carson R silent spring p 46. pub penguin 1972)