Acentral issue that has been going on for more than just decades now is thechange in climate.
But first, what is climate change? According to the NationalAeronautics and Space Administration or NASA, climate change is a change in thetypical or average weather of a region or city. This could be a change in howmuch rain a place usually gets in a year, or a change in a place’s usualtemperature for a month. People often confuse climate with weather. NASA statedthat weather is the short-term changes we see in temperature, clouds,precipitation, humidity, and wind in a region or city.
This can change everyday, and sometimes within the same day. Alarge number of people are affected by the change in climate, with one of theprimary victims being students and workers. This is mostly because a lot ofthem don’t use any mode of transportation other than walking or riding abicycle. According to the NationalCenter for Safe Routes to School (2013), walking to and from school increasedsignificantly between 2007 and 2012, from 12.4% to 15.
7% in the morning; andfrom 15.8% to 19.7% in the afternoon. Lake (2015) observed that a fair numberof workers walk to get to work, which is right around four million people.Whether students walk or commute going to school, they are still greatlyaffected by the change in climate. Walkingand riding a bicycle being the only modes of transportation for students andworkers, they are usually caught in some number of minutes of rain, andsometimes even rainstorms. Since they are caught in the rain, everything theycarry around with them ends up wet, and sometimes even if they are using anumbrella. Even those who commute are affected by the rain.
In October of 2016,a news article reported that several accidents occurred in Pittsburgh during aThursday morning commute due to the heavy rain. This shows that even thoughcommuters are inside a vehicle, they can still be affected by rain andsometimes in worse ways than someone who is walking or riding a bike to get totheir destination.Students and workers who walk or ridebicycles to their destinations are not only at risk of a number of negativeoutcomes, they are also likely to be great affected by the weather such asrainstorms. According to climatemps.
com, Manila, Luzon is provided with anaverage of 2061 mm (81.1 inches) of rain fall per year. On average, there are144 days per year, or 12 days per month, with more than 0.1 mm of rainfall.
Data show that it rains frequently in the Philippines, which adds more to theproblem in which students and workers are at risk of being greatly affected bythe rain while walking to their destination. To reach their destination withoutgetting wet much from the rain, they are required to use certain items toprotect themselves.Usually, students and workers who walk orride bicycles make use of umbrellas, jackets, or raincoats when on the way totheir destination while it is raining. However, using only these items don’talways cover all their needs, especially when it is raining. The problem withusing an umbrella is that there are times where the umbrella is not big enoughto protect both you and your luggage from the weather. It’s either, you areprotected, your bag is protected, or only a part of you and your bag areprotected.
On the other hand, the problem with only using a jacket or araincoat is that while you are almost fully protected from the weather, theitems you carry are not, since a raincoat is only big enough to protect aresingle person. There is a need to create some way to fullyprotect both the person and the bag that the person carries, without having tosacrifice something for the other. To do this, researchers thought of anaccessory that could be attached to any bag and can protect a person andhis/her items as if they were just wearing a raincoat. This accessory providesthe person with a raincoat that can be folded and attached to the back of abag, which can then be unfolded so that the person is able to wear the raincoatwhen needed. This also comes with a raincoat for the bag as well. In order forthe researchers to do this, they must use the finest but cheapest possiblematerials in the creation of this accessory, and not just any mediocrematerial.
Numerousstudies have been found regarding the number of children and students that walkto and from school. Some of these studies show that the number has increasedwithin the past few years. According to the National Center for Safe Routes toSchool (2013), this number increased between 2007 and 2012, from 12.
4% to 15.7%in the morning, and from 15.8% to 19.7% in the afternoon.
The National Centerfor Safe Routes to School (2011) also stated that 48% of children ranging from5 to 14 years usually walked or bicycled to school in 1969. In relation, Lake(2015) claimed that around four million workers walked to get to work. From hisdata, it can be observed that a fair number of people walk or ride a bike inorder to get to their destinations. Despiteseveral studies showing an increase in the number of people who walk to andfrom their destinations, other studies claim the opposite. The Pedestrian andBike Information Center (n.
d.) claims that the decline in walking and bicyclingto destinations is seen, in whatever perspective you view it. Although theNational Center for Safe Routes to School (2011) stated that 48% of childrenusually walked or bicycled to school in 1969, this was shown to have decreased,as only 13% of children within the same age range are found to usually walk orride a bicycle to school in 2009. In addition to this, Kalinowsky and Rushowy(2016) claimed that the number of 11-to-17-year-olds who walked or rode a biketo school decreased by 12.9% while the number of people who rode a carincreased from 14% to 33% in between 1986 and 2011. Ham, Martin, and Kohl(2008) also stated that the number of students who walked or biked went from42% to 16.
2%. These studies contradict the previous students that werementioned, as they show that there was a decline in the number of people whowalked or bicycled. Thepeople who walk or bike to their destinations are often affected by theweather, such as rainstorms. In order to protect themselves, they must use anumbrella, or a raincoat for full- body protection.
Each raincoat is usuallymade with different materials. Some of these raincoats have good build qualitywhile others don’t. In order for a raincoat to have a good build quality, itmust be made out of certain materials. Unfortunately, these materials areeither hard to find, very expensive, or both.
But nevertheless, they areusually worth it considering the durability of the output.Severalresearchers have studied on different materials and have determined whichmaterials would create a highly durable raincoat. According to Herald (2017),there are three basic types of children’s raincoats in the market.
Theseraincoats are made of either water-repellant material, coated in vinyl, or madeentirely from vinyl. Herald (2017) also claimed that if one wants a raincoatthat is effective in protection against the rain, raincoats coated in vinyl andmade of fabric would be best. This type of raincoat is usually made of tightlywoven fabric, which is usually nylon, polyester, or rayon). Toronto (2009)stated that there are certain materials that make new coats have an impermeablequality. These materials include cotton, polyester, and even silk fabricsbacked with polyurethane and sometimes threads wound with rubber. Whilethere are raincoats that are made out of the best materials available, thereare also raincoats that aren’t. One cannot just buy any kind of raincoat. Onemust make sure that the raincoat is made up of the best possible materials withconsideration of the price of the product.
For some reason however, there aresome people who are not aware of what certain materials’ effects are, whetherit be to the user or to the raincoat itself.Thereare a few materials out there that must not be used to make a raincoat. Webster(2015) emphasized that there must be greater examination as well as nationaland international controls when it comes to what materials are used in order tocreate certain products such as raincoats. This pushes people to avoid productscontaining PFAS’s which are used to create various products such as raincoatsand furniture. Targeted News Service (2013) then stated that materials can havecertain chemicals that can permanently disrupt the brain. According to them,70% of the raingear that they tested contained high levels of cadmian. Cadmian,according to Merriam Webster dictionary, is a toxic bluish-white malleableductile divalent metallic element used in batteries, pigments, and protectiveplatings.
Despite several studies claiming thatraincoats coated in or made of vinyl are usually the best in terms of quality,other studies have shown that vinyl has a number of harmful effects. Accordingto Vancouver (1992), vinyl garments are notoriously feeble, which makes themprone to creasing. They usually rip easily and deteriorate when dry-cleaned.Escandon (2013) emphasized that vinyl is uniquely toxic due to the highly toxicingredients in it which affects the environment during its production, use, anddisposal. She also stated that vinyl is 57% chlorine, which is a toxicsubstance that generates a huge amount of pollution.
Fromthe sources above, one can observe that they mostly focused on the number ofpeople who walk to and from their destination in general. They also focused onwhich materials can and cannot be used to create raincoats. The focus of thisstudy and product is on the number of people who walk to and from theirdestination, who also carry bags with them. As one may know, the Philippinesusually has unexpected rainfall from time to time. With the product createdfrom this study, people will be able to safely walk under the rain withouttheir items getting wet, and without having to sacrifice their bags’ space justto carry protection against the rain.Whilethere are studies that point out which materials must and must not be used inorder to create an attachable raincoat with good quality, there is still acertain question that can be brought up.
This question would be; would theraincoat be feasible and practical enough to warrant its use? Because of this,additional studies and research must be made and done in order to assure theresearchers that the product will succeed.Thepurpose of this paper is to study about different raw materials that can beused in the production of a raincoat. The researchers aim to find the best and most ideal materials that couldpossibly used to create a raincoat that can be attached to any kind ofbackpack.
The raincoat will be attachable with the help of Velcro straps, whichcan then be used by people who usually walk to get to their destinations duringrainy seasons.Thisresearch studies about the best possible materials that can be used to createraincoats. These raincoats can be attached to any kind of backpack, which meansthe user can wear his or her backpack over the raincoat, while also protectingthe backpack itself. This raincoat will beattachable with the use of Velcro straps for easy access and comfortability.This attachable raincoat can be used by any person, especially those whousually walk to get to their destinations, and most especially those who walkduring rainy seasons.
