Hello readers! Hope you’ve had a wonderful and productive recess week.
Today’s post will cover the topic of microplastic pollution by clothing.
Microplastics are non-biodegradable. However, since they are extremely small particles, they are easily swallowed by marine life. Plastic microbeads found in beauty products also contribute to these occurrences, as they are commonly mistaken for floating pieces of food by fishes due to their size and roundness. Therefore, microplastics have been commonly found in the internal organs of fish. As a result, these microplastics are able to work their way up the food chain to larger marine predators, and even human beings. When food is replaced with plastic, animals gain less nutrition and are less likely to survive and reproduce. This eventually leads to ecosystem collapse if the habitat is no longer sustainable for survival.
Microplastics are released into our waters all the time, through basic activities such as washing our clothes. With the increased use of plastic-blend textiles such as polyester, microfibres ― a type of plastic ― are shed by these materials during washing and released into our oceans. A typical load of polyester fabrics weighing 5 kg release approximately 6 million microfibres, depending on the type of detergent used. It was found that using powder detergent, washing at a higher temperature, higher water hardness and mechanical action resulted in the greatest microplastic release. A significant amount of these fibres would reach the marine environment, harming our marine wildlife.
With the omnipresence of fast fashion, people are conditioned to go through their clothes rapidly, resulting in more clothes being purchased and eventually washed. Fashion companies could switch to cotton, but that brings about another set of problems regarding how ethical and fair it is for farmers. Therefore, it is unsurprising that microfibres are the most commonly found plastic in our ecosystem.
I hope this post inspires you to take a closer look at the clothes in your closet and inspect the small tag showing its fabric composition. How much of your clothes are made from synthetic materials? Don’t be surprised to find that your cosy “wooly” cardigan has barely any wool in it!
♡, Qystina
Sources:
Carrington, D. (2019). Microplastic pollution revealed ‘absolutely everywhere’ by new research. The Guardian. Retrieved September 17, 2020, from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/mar/07/microplastic-pollution-revealed-absolutely-everywhere-by-new-research
Chang, A. (2019). Tiny plastic particles found in air, food and water, wwf study finds. The Straits Times. Retrieved September 17, 2020, from https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/people-could-be-ingesting-5g-of-plastic-a-week
Cirino, E. (2019). Something fishy: toxic plastic pollution is traveling up the food chain. The Revelator. Retrieved September 17, 2020, from https://therevelator.org/toxic-plastic-pollution-food-chain/
Falco, F. D., Gullo, M. P., Gentile, G., Pace, E. D., Cocca, M., Gelabert, L., Brouta-Agnesa, M., Rovira, A., Escudero, R., Villalba, R., Mossotti, R., Montarsolo, A., Gavignano, S., Tonin, C., & Avella, M. (2017). Evaluation of microplastic release caused by textile washing processes of synthetic fabrics. Environmental Pollution, 236, 916-925.