Development of fully biodegradable fusible interlinings for eco‐friendly garments and investigation of their performance on a shirt

Interlining is a very important accessory in the garment industry and is used between two layers of fabric in the garment to support the appearance and stance of the garment. In fusible interlinings, petroleum‐based synthetic materials such as polyamide, polyester, high‐density polyethylene (HDPE), low‐density polyethylene (LDPE), and various copolymers are used as the bonding material. Since these polymers do not degrade over time in nature, they do not support environmentally friendly production. This study aimed to produce fully biodegradable (100%) fusible interlinings by using environmentally friendly biodegradable polymers instead of traditional ones and thus develop eco‐friendly garment with their help. Firstly, fusible interlinings were produced by coating three different polymers, one conventional (HDPE) and the other two biodegradable (PLA and PCL) on the cotton base fabric by knife coating technique. In the second stage, these fusible interlinings were applied to a 100% cotton shirting fabric, and their performance and biodegradability tests were performed. According to the results, it was revealed that these interlinings could be used in the production of completely biodegradable clothes. HDPE, PLA, and PCL coated cotton base fabrics bonded to woven shirting fabrics at different application conditions by a flat‐bed fusing press. The importance of bonding temperature, time, and polymer type on the results were demonstrated statistically. It was seen that PLA would be an ecological alternative to the widely used HDPE, thanks to its biodegradable feature.