What are microfibers? Are they different than microplastics?
Microfibers are a type of microplastics that come specifically from textiles. These tiny fibers are smaller than 5 mm and are known as primary microplastics, which are usually not visible to the naked eye. Primary microplastics are directly released into the environment as such, contrary to secondary microplastics, which mostly come from the degradation of large plastic. Microfibers’ shape might increase their toxicity compared to spherical microplastics, making them more dangerous for humans and animals.
How do microfibers end up in the environment?
Microfibers enter the environment by shedding from textiles and clothes. During the entire life-cycle of clothes, from their manufacturing to when we wear them and wash them. When we dispose of them, millions of microfibers are constantly released into the water and air. All mainly because of friction.
Why are you focusing on fashion?
The fashion industry is one of the biggest polluters globally, and they rely heavily on synthetic (plastic) materials for their products. The use of synthetic materials in fashion, especially polyester, has doubled in the last 20 years. These materials are made of fossil fuels, and clothes made out of synthetic materials release microfibers into the environment.
Why are microfibers bad?
Microfibers are not safe for wildlife, and plastic fibers are found from the highest mountain tops to the deepest ocean floors. They are almost impossible to retrieve, and the pollution rate is accelerating. Our health is also at stake because we are breathing in these fibers. Researchers are increasingly worried about the effects of microplastics on our lungs and even more about the impacts of microfibers on the lung development of young children.
Are microfibers as important as other issues the fashion industry is responsible for? Like human rights, water pollution, or toxic chemicals?
Microfiber pollution from synthetic clothes has been an overlooked issue until a few years ago when researchers started finding these microfibers everywhere in the environment. The fashion industry most certainly has many environmental and social issues to address, and microfiber pollution is the most recent one. Still, it is as essential, particularly considering the potential consequences for human health.
Is fast fashion bad?
Fast fashion has an enormous environmental footprint on how clothes are produced and disposed of. Clothing manufacturing requires a considerable amount of energy and resources. At the same time, it depends on toxic fabric dyes and other chemicals that contaminate fresh water and synthetic materials that originate from fossil fuels.
Fast fashion produces a tenth of the world’s carbon emissions, and their clothes release microplastic fibers when manufactured, worn, and washed. Clothes from fast fashion are made to be thrown away after a few uses. Fast fashion brands have also been linked to violating human rights and forced labor.
What can I do as a consumer?
Consumers deserve to know what the environmental and health impact of their clothes is. The first thing you can do is to inform yourself by reading our guide. Other things you can do:
Unfortunately, it is impossible to know exactly which clothes are sustainably produced at this stage and which brands have minimum plastic fiber shedding, so we can’t give you shopping advice (yet). If you want to join the consumer call to action later this year and demand the industry to #MakeFashionSafe, subscribe to our newsletter and stay tuned.
Should I throw away all my synthetic clothes?
Plastic Soup Foundation is not against plastic for clothing materials, as currently, there is an insufficient supply of sustainable alternatives to meet global demand. Nevertheless, the global use of synthetics, especially polyester, must decrease significantly. Therefore, clothes should be made to last, and better design should be applied so that microfiber release is minimized throughout all life-cycle stages.
Are there any alternatives?
Fortunately, there is more and more research focussing on sustainable alternatives to this big problem. One of the initiatives looking closely at it is the Microfiber Innovation Challenge organized by the Flotilla Foundation, The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, and Conservation X Labs, and supported by Plastic Soup Foundation.
Are there enough resources to stop using plastic in clothes and switch to natural materials?
Natural materials are also resource-intensive (e.g., water used to produce cotton), and often toxic chemicals are used during the production process. The solution with the most significant impact is to drastically decrease the use of synthetic materials for clothing and the overconsumption of clothes. And reuse within the apparel industry should be looked at (fiber-to-fiber recycling). In short, move from the fast fashion business model to a more sustainable one, such as slow fashion. In addition, clothes that are still made out of synthetic materials must be designed so that they release the least number of microfibers possible.
What synthetic materials are the worst?
All synthetic materials release microfibers when manufactured, worn, and washed. Results by the Mermaids Life+ research found that a polyester fleece released 1 million microfibers in one wash, while an acrylic scarf released 300,000, and a pair of nylon socks released 136,000 fibers per wash.
How do I know if microfibers are harmful to me? What are the consequences of buying and wearing these clothes?
Plastic microfibers are not just found in outdoor air; they can also be found inside buildings and, in particular, in the dust on the floor. Of all the floating dust in a household, 36% of it is microplastics from textiles. There is enough reason for concern, considering that these fibers might be settling on the food we eat, creating a new source of ingestion of microplastics. Research found that the ingestion of household fibers per person per year can amount to between 14.000 and 68.000 particles.
We can’t say exactly how harmful it is, but it is hypothesized that the inhalation of plastic fibers may cause issues in the lungs. Clothing fibers such as nylon and polyester have the potential to hinder the recovery and development of our lungs. Research in the United States also just showed for the first time that the smallest plastic particles in pregnant rats could get elsewhere in the body. They were found not only in the lungs and heart of the pregnant rat but also in the liver, lungs, heart, kidneys, and brain of the fetus. According to the researchers, this possibly happens to humans as well.
Textile workers who process, among others, polyester and nylon fibers experienced coughing, breathlessness, and reduced lung capacity.
Is it bad that I breathe in microfibers compared to other issues (like air pollution)?
Air pollution is a mixture of pollutants, of which plastic is one of the pollutants. WHO has stated that each year seven million people die globally due to air pollution. It is yet to be determined to what extent plastic contributes to these deaths, but scientists started looking into this.
Is it more dangerous for children?
Children’s lungs are still developing, so more vulnerable, and more research is urgently needed to assess the health risk of microfibres to children. Recent research has shown that children inhale six times more microfibres than adults.
Are the microfibers in the air making people sick?
Microplastics were already found in lung tissue 30 years ago. Textile workers who process, among others, polyester and nylon fibers have experienced coughing, breathlessness, and reduced lung capacity.
Should I stop buying clothes from fast fashion brands?
We deserve to buy clothes that last longer than a few months, and clothes should be designed in that way. They should be durable and not harm the environment as well as our health. As consumers, you have the right to demand fashion brands to make safe clothes for us and the next generation.
What are big (fast) fashion brands doing about microfiber pollution?
Some fashion brands have public claims on their websites and sustainability strategies acknowledging the problem of microfiber pollution. Unfortunately, not many of them are actively implementing solutions or planning on reducing the use of synthetic materials in their clothing lines.
What should the (fast) fashion industry do?
Fashion brands need to take responsibility for the environmental and human health impacts during the whole life-cycle of their textile products. They need to make clothes that are safe for the environment and our health. To do that, they need to actively work on and implement solutions so that their clothes do not release microfibers into the environment at every step of the life of a garment: production, consumption, and end-of-life.
Is rPET a good alternative to virgin plastic used in clothes?
Plastic Soup Foundation is not against rPET but, rather than using it as an alternative in the fashion industry, we advocate that PET bottles are made into PET bottles again. In other words, Plastic Soup Foundation is against the down-cycling of PET and encourages closed-loop recycling. Plastic Soup Foundation is not against all synthetic clothing but is committed to preventing fiber loss. This can be done by bettering the design of the threads and textiles (e.g., longer threads, better weaving patterns).
What does Plastic Soup Foundation do?
We engage with fashion brands to discuss solutions for minimizing plastic fiber release. In the first place, companies should test how much fibers are released for different garments. For this purpose, we have co-developed the WOMA quality mark.
We also advocate for capturing fibers in the washing machine through the mandatory installment of filters. In the longer term, we see a better design as a solution to change the clothing market and prevent fiber loss. We advocate with companies and governments to speed up solutions.
What should/can governments do about it?
Binding regulations are vital in tackling microfiber pollution. Brands should be held accountable for their contribution to global plastic pollution. Legislators should set measures and maximum thresholds for the number of microplastics released during production, the use phase, and the end-of-life phase.
A standard which indicates maximum allowed amounts of microfiber release in combination with better clothes design should be a high priority for policymakers.
We also suggest exploring rules on industrial pre-washing and waste-water filtering. Furthermore, measures related to sectors involved in the use phase, such as regulations on washing machine filters, should also be considered.
Finally, clothes made of synthetic fibers or recycled synthetic fibers mustn’t be categorized as ‘sustainable’ if microfiber release of these items has not been prevented.
