Clothing Items Dispense Miniscule Plastic Fragments. Here's the Response Strategies on This Earth Day Regarding the Issue.
🧑🤝🧑 Wearing Your Impact: Clothing's Plastic Problem and Sustainable Solutions
From bottles and bags, wrappers, and straws, to clothes and accessories, you'd be stunned to know just how much plastic seeps into your everyday wardrobe! Polyester, acrylic, nylon, and stretchy socks are all part of the problem. When we launder our garments, they shed plastic fiber fragments, with a single load of laundry potentially releasing millions of these microplastics.
These microplastics are so tiny that wastewater treatment plants can't capture them all, and they quickly make their way into our local waterways and eventually the ocean. Marine animals unknowingly ingest these harmful microplastics, passing them up the food chain to larger animals—including humans.
Even when we opt for natural fabrics, they too shed fibers and release chemicals harmful to our environment. polyester, however, remains the most widely used fiber on Earth, accounting for about two-thirds of production worldwide.
What's the solution? As we celebrate Earth Day, let's take a moment to consider our actions and embrace sustainable changes in our clothing choices.
Embrace the Hippie Lifestyle 👉 Wash Less: Less washing means less friction that breaks fibers apart, thereby reducing microfiber shedding. according to Anja Brandon, director of plastics policy at Ocean Conservancy, "They get tumbled and tossed around with a bunch of soaps, really designed to shake things up to get out dirt and stains."
🖤 Simple changes like using cold water and washing full loads can make a significant difference. The less chemicals and heat you subject your fabrics to, the less they'll shed.
🌱Inspired by the way coral filters the ocean, Rachael Z. Miller of Vermont-based Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean, invented the Cora Ball, a laundry ball that traps microplastics and stops clothes from banging against one another during wash cycles.
🚫Or pop your synthetic fabrics in a washing bag that captures fibers. When examining your clothes for shedding, press a strip of clear packing tape to a garment, then stick it to white paper to check for fibers. Garments that are loosely knit or woven tend to shed more, such as fleece.
🛒That's not to say you have to throw away your favorite fleece jackets—just wear them indoors only or with a layer on top, and think twice before acquiring more garments like that.
💡More efforts are being made to create filters for washers that capture microfibers—Samsung Electronics has teamed up with Patagonia and the global conservation organization Ocean Wise to launch one in 2023. France was the first to adopt a law mandating new washing machines sold in the country have a microfiber filter, though implementation has been delayed.
But filters aren't the only solution—it's crucial that textiles are produced and used in a more sustainable way. The UN Environment Programme stresses designing clothes that shed fewer microfibers and are high-quality to last longer.
And it's not just about the fashion industry—consumers need to be aware and educated about their impact. By voicing our concerns, promoting sustainable fashion practices, and being mindful of our clothing choices, we can contribute to a healthier planet.
- Seattle, home to various philanthropies, is currently grappling with the issue of microplastics in textiles, a problem that originates from everyday clothing.
- In the environmental-science community, McDermott has highlighted the dire consequences of climate-change, particularly its impact on the increase of microplastics in our marine ecosystems.
- A significant number of jobs in Seattle's business sector are centered around finding sustainable solutions to combat the influx of microplastics in the clothing industry.
- The technology sector is also making strides in this field, with Samsung Electronics partnering with Patagonia and Ocean Wise to develop a microfiber filter for washing machines, expected to launch in 2023.
- Among other initiatives, the Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean, based in Vermont, has introduced the Cora Ball - a laundry ball designed to trap microplastics and prevent clothes from banging against each other during wash cycles.
- Climate-change and environmental-science enthusiasts in Seattle are pushing for more eco-friendly lifestyles, urging citizens to wash less, use cold water, and wash full loads to minimize microfiber shedding.
- Home-and-garden stores in Seattle are even stocking washing bags that capture fibers, providing consumers with a practical solution to reduce microfibers entering the waterways and oceans.
- As we move towards a more sustainable future, it's essential for Seattle's climate-change advocates and philanthropies to collaborate with the fashion industry, promoting climate-change awareness and encouraging consumers to make conscious, eco-friendly choices when it comes to their clothing.
