Microplastics in Fashion

Microplastics are small plastic particles in the environment smaller than 1 mm pertaining to their microscopic size range. Microplastics have become a major concern because evidence showed that it was making its way into the food chain.

“A 2011 study — ‘Accumulation of Microplastic on Shorelines Woldwide: Sources and Sinks‘ — showed that concentrations of microplastic in the marine environment, which were traced mostly from synthetic clothes, could be eaten by animals and enter the food chain. The researchers took samples from 18 beaches around the world in order to identify how widespread the presence of microplastic was on shorelines and they found out that there was no sample that did not contain pieces of microplastic. Some polyester garments released more than 1,900 fibers per garment, per wash. Those tiny plastic bits are making their way into the ocean.”

International Business Times