Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41782816›Full record

ArticleiScience2026

"Natural" fibers in lakes: A 150-year sedimentary perspective on persistence.

Thomas Stanton, Antonia Law, Carry Somers, Savannah Worne, Kelly J Sheridan, Chimdia Kechi-Okafor, Alana Wheat, Alexander Wood, Anna Bateman, Naomi Richardson and 5 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in iScience, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Thomas StantonDepartment of Geography and Environment, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK.
Antonia LawSchool of Geography, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK.
Carry SomersFashion Revolution, London W1W 8DA, UK.
Savannah WorneDepartment of Geography and Environment, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK.
Kelly J SheridanCentre for Forensic Science, Department of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UK.
Chimdia Kechi-OkaforDepartment of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Engineering and Environment, Northumbria University, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UK.
Alana WheatSchool of Life Sciences, Keele University, Newcastle-under-Lyme ST5 5BG, UK.
Alexander WoodIndependent Scholar, Loughborough, UK.
Anna BatemanIndependent Scholar, Loughborough, UK.
Naomi RichardsonCentre for Forensic Science, Department of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UK.
Edwin BaynesDepartment of Geography and Environment, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK.
David B RyvesDepartment of Geography and Environment, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK.
Pawel GacaGAU-Radioanalytical, School of Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre (Southampton), University of Southampton, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK.
Andrew CundyGAU-Radioanalytical, School of Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre (Southampton), University of Southampton, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK.
Deirdre McKayDepartment of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Engineering and Environment, Northumbria University, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Natural fiber textiles, such as cotton, are widely marketed as greener, biodegradable materials within the fashion and textiles industry. However, contemporary environmental assessments of whole (plastic and non-plastic) textile fiber pollution regularly find natural, not plastic, fibers dominate environmental samples. Here we combine palaeolimnological, archival, and forensic science methodologies to evaluate long-term fiber preservation in sediments. We recover individual textile fibers from a unique 150-year lake sediment record from Rudyard lake, Staffordshire, UK. Between c.1876 and c.1979, all bar two fibers recovered from this sediment were natural. After c.1979, fiber accumulation rates increase, driven primarily by an increase in cotton accumulation. These data challenge assumptions of natural fiber biodegradability and add to the technofossil record of historic human activity. We conclude that there is a pressing need to reconsider whether natural textile fibers are as benign as is largely assumed, particularly in pursuit of plastic alternatives for fashion and textiles.

Indexed as

EnvironmentEnvironmental assessmentPollution

Identifiers

PMID41782816
PMCPMC12955082

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.