A recent study found an alarming trend: microplastics, which are tiny pieces made when plastic goods break down, are showing up more and more in brain tissue. This scary finding has a lot of effects, especially on the clothing and accessories industry, which uses a lot of synthetic fibers that are known to pollute the environment in a big way. As more proof comes in, the business needs to act quickly to lessen its impact on this growing health and environmental problem.
How to Understand the Microplastics Crisis
Microplastics are very small pieces of plastic, usually less than five millimeters long, that come from bigger pieces of plastic that break down over time. They are in everything around us, including the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe. A study released in May 2024 looked at brain tissue taken at autopsies and found that the amount of microplastics had grown by about 50% compared to samples taken in 2016. In people between the ages of 45 and 50, researchers found an average of 4,800 milligrams of plastic per gram of brain matter, which is about 0.5% of the total weight.
This finding has very important effects. It’s possible that microplastics in the brain could mess up the way neurons work, but the exact health effects are still unknown. But one thing is for sure: the growing amounts of microplastics in human cells make it clear that everyone needs to act right away, especially those businesses that pollute the environment with plastic in big ways.
What Synthetic Fibers Have to Do with Microplastic Pollution
A lot of microplastics end up in the environment because the T&A business uses a lot of synthetic fibers like polyester, nylon and acrylic. These materials come from petrochemicals and release microplastics when they are made and when clothes are worn and washed. A study by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) found that 35% of the microplastics that end up in the seas come from manmade textiles.
Synthetic fibers release microfibers when they are washed. Microfibers are very small plastic strands that can’t be caught by wastewater treatment plants. Microfibers end up in rivers, lakes, and the ocean, where marine life eats them and they become part of the food chain. A study in the journal Environmental Science & Technology found that doing one load of laundry can send up to 700,000 microplastic fibers into the air and water.
The demand for cheap, long-lasting, and flexible materials has been slowly driving up the production of synthetic fibers around the world. Over 52% of all fibers made in the world in 2020 were polyester, which made up over 60 million tons of fibers every year. It is becoming more and more harmful to the environment, especially when it comes to microplastic waste, as production keeps going up.
Need for Industry-Wide Action Right Away
As manufactured fabrics are a major cause of the microplastics disaster, the textile and clothing business needs to take action to fix the problem. The industry should think about these important steps:
Invest in alternatives that will last:
The business world needs to switch to long-lasting products that are better for the earth. Synthetic fibers can’t break down, but natural fibers like organic cotton, hemp and wool can. These products may cause problems for the environment, but they don’t add to microplastic waste. It is also very important to put money into research and development of new materials, like recyclable synthetic fibers or clothes made from recovered materials.
Make washing technologies better:
The cleaning process is one of the main ways that microplastics get into clothes. The business community should work with device makers to make washing machines with screens that catch microfibers before they get into the water system. Several companies have already started working on these kinds of technologies, but they need to be widely used in order to have a big effect.
Improve the way things are made:
Another important thing to work on is reducing the amount of microfibers that are shed during the making process. This can be done by making fake fibers better and looking into new ways to make things that don’t break the fibers as much. Also, textile companies should have strict rules about how they handle trash to keep microplastics from getting into the world while they’re making clothes.
Educating and speaking up for consumers:
It is very important to teach people about how man-made fibers hurt the earth and why they should choose sustainable options. Brands can do a lot to help by running campaigns to raise awareness and giving tips on how to cut down on microfiber pollution, like using special laundry bags or cleaning clothes less often. Aside from that, the business should push for stricter rules on microplastics and back efforts to lower plastic waste.
Collaboration and New Ideas:
The whole supply chain needs to work together to solve the microplastics problem, from the people who make fibers to the people who make clothes, sell them, and buy them. People with a stake in the industry should work together to share the best ways to do things, fund study, and come up with answers that can be used by many. Partnerships between the government and the business sector and working together with environmental groups can also speed up progress.
A Way Forward for the Clothing and Textile Industry
The textile and clothing business needs to pay attention to what the 2024 study found. The fact that microplastics are found in brains and are getting more concentrated makes it clear that something needs to be done right away. In the past few years, the industry has taken steps toward being more environmentally friendly, but a lot more needs to be done to deal with the problem of microplastic waste.
