A Comprehensive Review of the Effect of Elastane and Common Wet Processes on the Cotton and Cotton/Elastane Knitted Fabrics’ Properties and Revalorization of Fabric Waste

Abstract

This paper represents a comprehensive review of the effect of elastane and common wet processes (bleaching, dyeing, and softening) on the properties of 100% cotton and half or full plated cotton/elastane single jersey knitted fabrics. The fabrics were characterized in terms of their structural (fabric weight, thickness, and stitch density), comfort (air permeability and water vapor resistance), mechanical (stiffness, bursting elongation, and bursting strength), and antistatic (volume electrical resistivity) properties. Fabrics’ antistatic properties were further improved by in situ synthesis of Cu-based nanoparticles (CuNPs) on their surfaces. Such fabrics can be also considered as bioactive since they possessed excellent antioxidant (determined using the ABTS method) and antimicrobial (against E. Coli, S. aureus, and C. albicans) activities. The last section of this chapter is focused on proposing a novel circular economy solution for the disposal of softened cotton and cotton/elastane knitted fabric waste collected from the textile industry (i.e., after clothing cutting). For that purpose, selected fabrics were revalorized as adsorbents for the widely used textile dye Congo Red and the maximum dye adsorption was tested using isotherm models. Thereafter, the fabrics with adsorbed Congo Red dye were evaluated as antistatic and dissipative fabrics, i.e., as alternative non-metal-based conductive textiles.