Close
today i learned (til)

The Joy of Humanity and Clothing: Growing Culture and Protecting Our Planet Earth

April 19, 2024

While exploring the world of clothing and textiles, I created a collage of videos based off what I consider to be “The Joy of Humanity and Clothing”, culture. While culture is beautiful and a root joy for nearly all cultures, it is vital to remember that the unintended consequence of these rapidly evolving trends is over consumerism. Overconsumption is a constant issue in our time as the rise of fast fashion and the quicker and neverending cycle of trends.  

There are three categories of textile wastes: pre-consumer (“clean” by-products from the manufacturing process), post-consumer (textiles that no longer have value after use such as towels, sheets, etc.), and industrial textile waste (“dirty” waste materials created from their manufacturing process) (Juanga-Labayen). Although textiles can nearly be 100% recyclable and it would be ideal to reuse all parts of textiles, in reality, much of it goes to waste (Juanga-Labayen). The EPA measures the creation, recycling, energy recovery, and landfilling of most textile materials. In 2018, the rate of recycling was estimated, by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to be around 14.7% with the estimated rate of recycling clothing to be around 13%, as reported by the American Textile Recycling Service (EPA 2023). Out of all of the material-specific waste (MSW) combusted in order to recover energy, textiles make up nearly 10% of all recovered energy (EPA 2023). Textiles make up nearly 8% of all waste put into landfills (EPA 2023). Although the rate of recycling and energy recovered via combustion have remained relatively standard throughout the years, so has the rate of textile waste that goes to landfills. And while the rates are relatively stable, the amount of overall consumption has drastically skyrocketed due to overconsumption.  

There are two major types of textile recycling: mechanical and chemical. Mechanical recycling is the physical recycling that we often think about when we think of recycling such as reusing and repurposing clothes and textiles through upcycling and downcycling. Chemical recycling is the process of depolymerizing the polymers in clothes or dissolving the fibers of cotton (Juanga-Labayen). Polymer or oligomer recycling entails the process of taking apart the fibers while leaving behind the polymers or oligomers intact (Juanga-Labayen). This then allows for the materials to be fully recycled into new textiles. For textiles that contain biodegradable materials such as cotton with over 50% cellulose, anaerobic digestion is used in order to create biogas that is rich in methane for energy use. Cotton garments can also be treated to break down and be used as compost for certain things although they have not been approved for use in farming. Another alternative is that textiles can also be treated with alkalis to be fermented and made into feeding for ethanol production. This process is ideal for clothing that may have some polyester blended into cotton such as jeans (Juanga-Labayen).  

While there have been many innovative ways to reinvent and reuse textiles, the root cause of many of these issues is that there is a staggering increase in textile consumption along with unwanted textiles. Reusing is the best option but both reusing and recycling are much better than burning or landfilling textile materials. While I and many others have been able to find ourselves through our self-expression through clothing, we must also learn more about the “behind the scenes” of the production of our clothing. 

Sources: 

EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/textiles-material-specific-data. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024. 

Juanga-Labayen, Jeanger P., et al. “A Review on Textile Recycling Practices and Challenges.” MDPI, Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 16 Mar. 2022, www.mdpi.com/2673-7248/2/1/10. 

“The Aftermath of Fast Fashion: How Discarded Clothes Impact Public Health and the Environment.” SPH The Aftermath of Fast Fashion How Discarded Clothes Impact Public Health and the Environment Comments, 22 Sept. 2022, www.bu.edu/sph/news/articles/2022/the-aftermath-of-fast-fashion-how-discarded-clothes-impact-public-health-and-the-environment/. 

0Likes
About Author

You May Also Like

Articles, Story Time, today i learned (til), vintage science
Vinyl is Better than Digital Music
today i learned (til)
Neural Links: The Road to Real-Life Telepathy
Field Notes, today i learned (til), vintage science
The Ballad of Gringo Perdido
today i learned (til)
What Canon Captures CoCo?

Your journey starts here! Let’s talk!

ThemeRex © 2026. All rights reserved.
  Timothy Durham was convicted of rape when a test showed his DNA genotype matched the DNA recovered from the crime scene. Eye witnesses testified that Durham was in a different state at the time of the incident, but he wasn’t exonerated from his 3000 year sentence until follow up DNA analysis showed that the preliminary forensic analysis used in the trial was misinterpreted (Thomas et al.). DNA testing serves an invaluable part in our criminal justice system, but it comes with complications and bias that can lead to wrongful convictions and misinformed juries.  

Background:

Forensic genetics aims to identify the origin of a biological sample. It can be traced back to Karl Landsteiner who discovered human ABO blood groups. With blood groups, suspects could be eliminated based on their blood type. For example, if a suspect had type A blood and there was type B blood left at the scene by the perpetrator, the investigators could rule out the suspect. Unfortunately, the reverse didn’t work. If the suspect and perpetrator both had the same blood type, it can’t be concluded that the suspect was guilty. Blood identifiers evolved into 8 distinct categories which improved the ability to eliminate suspects, but could only conclude that (if the system matched) it might be the perpetrator or this person might be related to the perpetrator (Jobling and Gill). The field evolved in the 1980s with the discovery of Minisatellites, lines of repetitive DNA that don’t encode proteins. Minisatellite patterns in DNA create what we know today as the DNA fingerprint, and it has a much higher accuracy rate than previous methods (Augustyn et al.). Around the same time, a breakthrough for victims of sexual assault was discovered. In the case of assault, bodily fluids of both the victim and the assaulter can get mixed. A process called differential lysis was created which could selectively increase the concentration of sperm in a fluid sample thereby allowing for accurate DNA testing (Jobling and Gill). Forensics evolved to use single-locus probe testing after several years because of its ease of interpretation. It looked at specific minisatellites that had high variability between subjects. This was the first DNA-based method to be used in a criminal investigation. Two murder homicides from several years apart were connected using DNA evidence. The evidence was then used to exonerate an innocent man, and the guilty party was found when he tried to evade mandatory DNA testing for all men in the small town. His guilt was then reinforced when the DNA profiles matched, and he gave a confession (Jobling and Gill). Finding DNA at a crime scene doesn’t guarantee that you’ll find a murderer. There are issues with non-pure samples and limited samples that make DNA work difficult, and accreditation of facilities and new techniques and take time (Jobling and Gill).  

Subjectivity of DNA Interpretation:

In a 2009 publication, the National Academy of Science discusses the possibility for subjective influence in lab based forensics. The interpretation bias happens in complex cases where, for example, there could be a mixture of DNA. A study published in 2011 looked specifically at this issue. A gang rape happened in Georgia, and the mixture in DNA from the case was used to prosecute one suspect after another suspect took a plea bargain to testify against him. With DNA mixtures, there are three possible conclusions: suspect excluded, suspect cannot be excluded, and inconclusive. If the suspect is excluded, it means that there’s little to no possibility that his DNA is part of the sample. If the suspect cannot be excluded, it means that there’s a possibility that his DNA is part of the sample. In the trial, the DNA examiners who knew the context of the case concluded that the suspect being prosecuted could not be excluded. The 2011 study gave the DNA evidence from this case and the DNA profiles of the suspects to 17 forensic examiners. These examiners had no context of the case, and they all worked independently. Of the 17, only 1 came to the same conclusion (suspect cannot be excluded) as the examiners who knew the context of the case. Twelve of the 17 concluded that the suspect who was prosecuted and convicted had no relation to the DNA found in the sample. Not only does this show that subjectivity occurs due to the context of the case, but the 17 examiners came up with different findings based on their past experiences meaning that not all DNA analysis is objective. Some organizations like the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods say that quantitative statistical evidence should be presented with every categorical conclusion, but the US doesn’t require this (Dror and Hampikian).

False Positives:

There are two categories that cause wrongful identification in a DNA report: coincidental matches and false positives. Coincidental matches are DNA matches between two unrelated people. The probability of these matches is about 1 to 500,000 for white individuals and about 1 to 350,000 for black individuals. This small probability of coincidental matches makes people feel confident in DNA evidence. False positives, on the other hand, are matches between DNA and test DNA that result from issues in the forensics lab. There have been multiple cases of forensics labs accidentally switching victim and suspected rapist DNA which lead to convictions that were later overturned when the lab realized the error. There are also cases of misreading or misunderstanding a sample. In a case from 1993, a man was convicted of rape because someone interpreted a mixed sample of victim and perpetrator DNA as an individual sample. The conviction was again overturned. To prevent false convictions, retesting DNA is allowed, but it’s not an efficient solution. Many people are pushing for statistical information on the probability of false positives, so that the jurors can make accurate judgements based on DNA evidence (Thomas et al.).  

Conclusion:

DNA analysis is a useful tool for the criminal justice system, but subjectivity can be an issue in forensic testing. To combat wrongful convictions, there are organizations like The Innocence Project who use DNA testing to free the innocent, but reformed forensic testing standards should be put in place to prevent subjectivity and to ensure juries are correctly informed during trials. https://www.innocenceproject.org/    

Citation:

Augustyn , Adam, et al. “DNA Finerprinting.” Encyclopedia Britannica , 26 Apr. 2018, www.britannica.com/science/DNA-fingerprinting#ref153186. Dror, Itiel E., and Greg Hampikian. “Subjectivity and Bias in Forensic DNA Mixture Interpretation.” Science & Justice, vol. 51, no. 4, 2011, pp. 204–208., doi:10.1016/j.scijus.2011.08.004. Jobling, Mark A., and Peter Gill. “Encoded Evidence: DNA in Forensic Analysis.” Nature Reviews: Genetics, vol. 5, no. 10, Oct. 2004, pp. 739–751., doi:10.1038/nrg1455. Thompson, William C, et al. “How the Probability of a False Positive Affects the Value of DNA Evidence.” Journal of Forensic Sciences, vol. 48, no. 1, Jan. 2003, pp. 1–8., doi:10.1520/jfs2001171.