Environmental impact of using nanomaterials in textiles

Abstract Nanotextiles are emerging engineered materials for textile industry. However, the exposure of these materials possesses risks to health, environment, and sustainability. It has been observed that nanosized materials from commercial textiles are released during their washing and/or abrasive exposure, which cause their accumulation in water bodies and soil. Production of biocidal nanotextiles is also reported in the literature, which can destroy the aquatic echo system when dumped into waters. The acquisition of data on emissions and environmental concentrations of nanoparticles (NPs) of the nanotextiles is of utmost importance. There is a lack of sustainable separation procedures and analytical methodologies to determine the concentrations of nanomaterials. Moreover, quantification of fate of nanotextiles is also important as currently some of the major sinks of the nanotextiles are sewage sludge, wastewater, air and soil, which contribute to the environmental degradation. This chapter highlights the application of nanomaterials in textiles, release of nanomaterials from textiles, analytical procedures for determination of NPs from water, their toxicity, and threats to public health and environment.