You may be surprised to learn that you’re wearing plastic clothing.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, your clothing could be causing plastic pollution in the oceans and even in your own body! Your clothing contributes to marine pollution, according to a new report commissioned by Friends of the Earth and Eunomia, an environmental research group. Find out more and get advice on how to declutter your closet by reading on.

Plastics like polyester, nylon, acrylic, and poly-amide are found in many of our clothing items. Plastic is in fact the most common material in new fabrics, accounting for up to 64% of the total.

The problem is that these materials shed millions of micro fibers every time they are washed. We wash our clothes with threads so small that they can drain into the ocean without going through any sort of treatment process.
It only gets worse. After entering our oceans, they are capable of absorbing harmful pollutants. Unfortunately, marine life is consuming these harmful fibers, which means they could be made available further up the food chain. They’ve been found in mussels and other shellfish in some studies.
If you don’t like the idea of eating your own clothes, we need to find alternatives to using plastic.
In order to be clear, we don’t have all the answers yet, and we’re not requesting that retailers press a magic button. However, we want them to look into removing the most polluting products from our shelves as soon as possible. The fact that you’ve taken the time to sign our petition means something. The fashion for polluting our oceans and harming our wildlife should never be acceptable.

So, what can we do?

1. Use a low-temperature wash cycle

For this reason, a lower-temperature wash will be less likely to remove plastic fibers.

2.A special bag should be used for all of your laundry

In the washing machine, use a Guppy Bag . Microfibers shed from your clothes during washing are said to be collected by these devices, according to their inventors.

3.Washing machine must be filled

In other words, they don’t rub against each other as much when the washing machine is full.

4. Reduce the speed of rotation

More plastic shedding is a risk when clothes are spun faster, but this is offset by faster drying times.

5. Instead of using a dryer, opt for air drying

Because of the greater force applied by tumble driers, more plastic fibers may be ejected from your clothing during drying.

6. Make use of a front-loading washer

Top-loading washers, according to research, likely release more plastic fibers.

7. Purchase fewer fleeces

It is possible that polyester fleece is one of the biggest microfiber emitters. You may want to look into purchasing a woolen fleece.

8. Keep your clothes for a longer time

The first few washes of your clothes are likely to shed more plastic, so changing your wardrobe frequently will likely increase the amount of plastic you’re releasing into the environment. Invest in long-lasting clothing of higher quality.

Referenced: article by “Friends of the Earth”

Iruka Akash
Faculty of Technology
Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka