Plastic contamination is a burning issue costing the global cotton and textile industries billions of dollars annually. Any time plastics from different sources end up in a cotton lint bale, the value to the textile mills plummets significantly. Various industry players have therefore made a concerted effort to find lasting solutions to the menace posed by plastic to cotton profitability and sustainability. Nevertheless, until now, there have been no up-to-date comprehensive documents detailing the numerous and ever-growing efforts committed to solving this challenge. Therefore, this article provides a detailed yet compact review of this highly dynamic subject matter. First, it puts into perspective plastic contamination in the cotton and textile industries. Then, the cotton value chain is subdivided into phases from pre-cultivation to textile mills. The root causes of plastic contamination are discussed in each stage, followed by discussions of some already developed and emerging solutions in response to the challenge by the affected industries and researchers. Concluding from the author’s perspective, the paper makes projections for the future directions of plastic mitigation efforts within the cotton and textile industries. This article also infers from the reviewed literature that research on finding alternative materials to plastic as module wrap, the development of new, effective, and all-condition plastic sensing techniques for ginning and spinning equipment, and standardized protocols for UAV in-field surveys of plastic trash are some of the areas that will be beneficial to finding a permanent solution to the challenge.

Plastic contamination is a topical issue in the cotton and textile industries. These plastic contaminants come from diverse sources, including agricultural mulch films, improperly disposed plastic trash near cotton fields, and importantly, the plastic wraps used to cover cylindrical modules built by John Deere’s onboard module builder harvesters. When these different plastic materials end up in the cotton lint bales, the value of the bale to the textile mills plummets significantly. To that end, there has been a concerted effort by the two major industries by this issue to find lasting solutions to the menace posed to their profitability by plastic. In this review article, the subject of plastic contamination within these industries is first put into perspective. Thereafter, the cotton value chain is subdivided into different phases from pre-cultivation to textile mills. The root causes of plastic contamination in each of the phases are then analyzed, followed by discussions of the select solutions that have been developed or are being developed in response to the challenge by the industry and researchers. Finally, from the author’s perspective, brief projections for the future direction of plastic mitigation efforts within the cotton and textile industries are presented. This review is envisaged to serve as a useful reference for new hands starting their research career in cotton- and textile-related industries, as well as practicing professionals needing to keep abreast of developments in the industry.

Plastic contamination is a burning issue costing the global cotton and textile industries billions of dollars annually. Any time plastics from different sources end up in a cotton lint bale, the value to the textile mills plummets significantly. Various industry players have therefore made a concerted effort to find lasting solutions to the menace posed by plastic to cotton profitability and sustainability. Nevertheless, until now, there have been no up-to-date comprehensive documents detailing the numerous and ever-growing efforts committed to solving this challenge. Therefore, this article provides a detailed yet compact review of this highly dynamic subject matter. First, it puts into perspective plastic contamination in the cotton and textile industries. Then, the cotton value chain is subdivided into phases from pre-cultivation to textile mills. The root causes of plastic contamination are discussed in each stage, followed by discussions of some already developed and emerging solutions in response to the challenge by the affected industries and researchers. Concluding from the author’s perspective, the paper makes projections for the future directions of plastic mitigation efforts within the cotton and textile industries. This article also infers from the reviewed literature that research on finding alternative materials to plastic as module wrap, the development of new, effective, and all-condition plastic sensing techniques for ginning and spinning equipment, and standardized protocols for UAV in-field surveys of plastic trash are some of the areas that will be beneficial to finding a permanent solution to the challenge.