The increase in the global population is directly responsible for the acceleration in the production as well as the consumption of textile products. The use of textiles and garment materials is one of the primary reasons for the microfibers generation and it is anticipated to grow increasingly. Textile microfibers have been found in marine sediments and organisms, posing a real threat to the environment as it is invisible pollution caused by the textile industry. To protect against the damaging effects that microplastics can have, the formulation of mitigation strategies is urgently required. Therefore, the primary focus of this review manuscript is on finding an environmentally friendly long-term solution to the problem of microfiber emissions caused by the domestic washing process, as well as gaining an understanding of the various properties of textiles and how they influence this problem. In addition, it discussed the effect that mechanical and chemical finishes have on microfiber emissions and identified research gaps in order to direct future research objectives in the area of chemical finishing processes. In addition to that, it included a variety of preventative and minimizing strategies for reduction. Last but not least, an emphasis was placed on the potential and foreseeable applications of machine vision (i.e., quantification, data storage, and data sharing) to reduce the amount of microfibers emitted by residential washing machines.
Keywords: chemical finishing; data sharing; machine-vision; mechanical finishing; microfibers; microplastics; supply chain; sustainability; textile.