Raising Awareness of Textile Waste Contamination Danger

Textiles are fundamental materials in fashion industries and other sectors, including healthcare and food service. Textiles can easily be contaminated with viruses, bacteria, and other harmful microorganisms that can cause many diseases. Reducing the risk of transmission of micro-organisms, especially in a tragic post-pandemic context, has become one of the greatest modern concerns. Diverse methods of textile decontamination can be discussed, including thermal, chemical, and physical techniques and their effectiveness in eliminating microorganisms. In recent years, textile and footwear recycling has become a priority for the fashion industry due to its negative impact on the environment. Before being recycled, textile waste should be decontaminated to avoid the spread of pathogen agents. The purpose of this state-of-the-art research is to raise awareness regarding the need of establishing a decontamination step at the beginning of the textile waste recycling process to maintain safety standards from both the facility cross-contamination viewpoint and the human resource perspective.