Many of our clothes are plastic. As of 2021, synthetic fibers made up nearly 70% of all materials used in textiles. The more fast fashion—that is, clothing made cheaply to follow ever-quickening trend cycles—catches on, the worse the problem becomes. A 2022 review study noted that synthetics have outpaced cotton as the top textile on the market since 1995.
While most garments today aren’t made to last forever, some of the synthetic fibers like polyester will persist for much longer than we’d like to admit (we’re talking decades or even centuries). “If you pull a sample out of the water, or look at fish tissues or sediments, microfibers are usually the top thing you find,” says Susanne Brander, an ecotoxicologist and associate professor at Oregon State University. Textiles are one of the biggest sources of those contaminants: It’s estimated that domestic washing alone leads to 500,000 metric tons of microfibers seeping into waterways around the world every year.
Clothing of any type of material, even cotton, can shed microfibers when being worn, washed, and dried. These fibers can also include a variety of chemical additives that can ultimately end up contaminating air, land, and water around the world. And every additional polyester shirt or trendy dress also perpetuates the environmental impacts related to an overreliance on petroleum products—often without companies taking responsibility for their products’ carbon footprint.
What are microplastics?
Microplastics are tiny pieces of plastic, 5 millimeters or smaller, that have broken down over time from other, larger plastic products like water bottles or packaging. These minuscule bits make up 92% of the plastic on the ocean surface and have been found across the world in soil, tap water, food, and even our bodies.
There are also nanoplastics. These bits, a subset of microplastic, are smaller than 1 micrometer—or 1/1,000th millimeter. Scientists have been raising the alarm about these microscopic plastics as well: They’re so small they can slip through the tiniest of spaces like blood vessels, fish gills, and even across muscle membranes.
How are microplastics linked to clothing?
All the synthetic materials used to make sportswear, loungewear, pantyhose, dresses, shirts, and everything in between are made from different combinations of polymers (aka plastics). Polyester and nylon are among the most common plastic-derived textiles. When these materials get washed, torn, or chucked, they degrade and release microfibers, which are a form of microplastics.
Polyester is one of the worst offenders. This particular synthetic made up 52% of all global fiber production in 2020, according to an interagency report on microfiber pollution. A single run through the washing machine could emit around 18 million microfibers, one 2020 study found.
Wastewater treatment plants do a decent job of removing microplastics from streams. Many researchers estimate that these plants, which can serve small communities or whole regions, can separate more than 90% of microplastics from the incoming sewer streams. However, nanoplastics can sometimes still pass through.
So what can be done with all the microplastic-riddled waste that treatment plants leave behind? That’s the bigger question. Since that waste, typically known in the industry as “sludge,” is sometimes repurposed as fertilizer, the microplastics that end up being flushed down sinks and toilets may ultimately end up on farm fields. Scientists are studying how this runoff might allow microplastic fibers to reach waterways.
And that’s all before you consider the tens of thousands of chemicals that could be coating those strands. Dyes, perfumes, and other ingredients that help fight stains, mold, sweat, blood, and tears are being studied for their own potentially toxic effects as potential carcinogens and endocrine disruptors. And, of course, these chemicals can also coat natural fibers like cotton, wool, and hemp that are used to make clothing and other textiles like upholstery.
So what can you do to minimize the environmental cost? Boost your knowledge. Here’s what anyone who wears clothes should know about the relationship between plastics and our wardrobes.
Tip 1: Buy less—and choose natural fabrics when possible
The best way to address microplastics in clothing is to avoid buying more clothes—or at least skip synthetic fibers, no matter how good the end-of-season sale might be. The rise of fast fashion has led to upwards of 50 billion garments being disposed of every year, according to a special report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). For synthetics alone, production has increased exponentially from about 25 million metric tons in 2000 to 65 million metric tons in 2018, that same report found.
Ultimately, Brander says responsibly sourced and produced organic cotton and wool products are the top-tier choices for making sure fewer harmful fibers make their way out into the world. For the yoga pants lovers, there’s even a few brands out there that make workout gear minus the polyester. Check the label before purchasing—it’ll say what the contents of the clothing are—and check to see if it’s Global Organic Textile Standard certified.
Tip 2: Wash clothes less
One way to reduce microfiber pollution is to wash your clothes less. Instead, if a top or a pair of pants you wore once starts to get a little stinky, spot clean it by spritzing it with vodka. When it comes to stains, spot cleaning can work between wears as well: this plastic-free goats’ milk soap stick, for example, uses a wool scrubber to get most anything out of clothing. An easy spot cleaner you can DIY is gentle soap and a horsehair brush—just make sure to stick a washcloth underneath the fabric to keep the stain from bleeding onto the opposite side. To lift particularly tricky stains, reach for a spray bottle of vinegar or Zote soap.
Tip 3: Tweak your laundry routine
Let’s be real: It’s not practical to wear only plain, undyed wool all year round, and we all have our favorite polyester shorts or leggings that need a quick spruce between sweaty gym sessions. There are some things that can be done at home to prevent some microfibers from washing into the environment.
There are a few relatively simple and not-too-costly techniques to cut back on the microplastics footprint of washing our duds. One option? Add a filter to your machine, some of which can capture upwards of 78% of microplastics before they reach sewer pipes and public treatment plants. Such gadgets like the LUV-R and Filtrol run $150–$200. Less expensive, and less effective, in-laundry bags and balls can also make a dent.
Researchers have also found that the settings you choose matter. Washing clothes on cold and with less water (i.e., fuller loads) can also make a difference in the amount of fibers released. Higher temperatures also tend to degrade certain types of plastics, and this small shift in laundry habits can also cut down on your electricity usage.
The suds you reach for can make a big difference, too. Detergent pods and dissolvable sheets might eliminate single-use plastic jugs, but there’s a catch: They may also create microplastic waste because many of them are actually bound together with a type of plastic called PVA. (Same goes for dishwasher pods, by the by.) Read the box before you buy: Avoid anything with phthalates or a long list of other chemicals, which often means choosing a powder that comes in a box instead of a big jug of perfumy liquid soap.
And once your duds are ready for the dryer, the best thing you can do is skip it altogether. Air-drying is not only more energy efficient, but researchers estimate that drying clothes mechanically can emit more than 500,000 microfibers into the air every 15 minutes.