Plastics - Did we dig our own grave by inventing it?

The problem within our Clothes 

_____________________________________

Image source: The story of stuff project

It’s a widely known truth that most of the plastic products that we consume today end up in our water bodies. In the era of washing machines, much little is known or paid attention to about the problems created due to it. That our clothes are one of the major contributors to the plastic problem is not known to all and in this blog, I share some facts on the microfibers that come out of our clothes every time we wash and what can we do at an individual level to reduce the impact.

********

Plastic pollution is a major global phenomenon that has overshadowed every other problem humans have ever seen. With our lackadaisical approach towards usage of plastic and waste management, plastic waste travels long distances across oceans, land and is omnipresent today from the polar to the equator. A less spoken thing, microplastics are spreading like a plague and contaminating every inch of our planet, ecosystems including our food and water. According to the study conducted by the University of New Castle, Australia an average person could be ingesting a quantity equivalent to a credit card’s worth (5 gm) of microplastics every week.

Water remains to be the primary source of microplastic ingestion today with presence seen in groundwater, surface water, tap water and bottled water across the world. A recent study throws light on the regional variations of the presence of microplastics in water with twice as much microplastics found per 500ml in Indian or American water as in Indonesian or European tap water (fig 1).

Fig 1: Map of the average percentage of tap water sample containing microfibers and average number of microfibers per 500ml

Where do these Microplastics come from?

Presence of microplastics in waste water can be broadly attributed to two sources – consumer products and clothes. Plastics are used in consumer products like gels, creams, toothpaste to give a mechanical cleaning effect and microfibers are washed out during the process of washing clothes, draining out into oceans and rivers via the wastewater. They also come from the floating plastic waste upon prolonged exposure to harsh weather conditions. Microfibers constitute around 35% of all the microplastic pollution.

Every time we do laundry, our clothes shed thousands of microfibers that are too small to be captured by the filters present inside the machine and go down the drains of our machines into our watwaterwayss microfibers eventually end up in our rivers and oceans, they easily enter our food chains through marine animals and has the potential to cause issues in the long run especially genetic related disorders.

Fig 2: The vicious chain of microplastics

Textile characteristics such as type of fibers used for the yarns and the manner they are twisted influence the amount of microfibers released in every wash. Microfibers detach from our clothes mainly due to the mechanical stresses they undergo during the washing cycles and the kind of water conditions they are subjected to in this process.

Synthetic fibers, polyesters, nylon and acrylic-based forms of plastic make about 60 percent of the material that is used for clothes worldwide. Owing to their cheap prices, versatility and ability to provide sturdiness and required warmth make them the natural choice. All these materials either in natural forms or blends leach loads of microfibers every time they are washed. 

According to a research study by Plymouth University, UK acrylic-based clothes release the highest amount of tiny synthetic microfibers which is also five times to that of released by polyester-cotton blend based fabrics (fig 3). Today, microfibers comprise around 85% of the man-made debris on coastlines around the world and are being ingested by all sorts of marine life and even us. Though we haven’t completely understood the impact of microfibers and microplastics on our health they can build up in digestive tracts across the food chain and reduce the ability to absorb energy from foods. 

What Can We Do?

The solution to the problem of our clothes shredding microfibers is not known as one can’t stop wearing or washing clothes. We also can’t insist everyone stop using affordable clothing made from synthetic and wear only organic cotton, wool or clothes made using natural fabrics. Such ideas are not accessible to the common man and are definitely not workable.

Based on several experiments conducted to understand the release of microfibers from our clothes, following are some of the things which we can do:

• Reduce the frequency of washing synthetic clothes and preferably for a shorter duration.

•  Avoid washing in smaller loads to reduce the friction generated between the clothes. Always wash in full loads
•  Switch to liquid laundry detergent as studies have shown that they result in the release of lesser microfibers when compared to the use of laundry powder

• Always use normal or cold wash setting as higher temperatures not only damage the clothes but also, release a greater amount of fibers 

• Avoid dry spinning clothes and let clothes dry by the natural way as spinning increases the friction between the clothes and result in the higher release of microfibers 

• Opt for clothes made using cotton, linen, wool, etc. as these natural fibers can break down in the environment 

• Avoid using delicate/sensitive wash cycles as they result in the release of twice the quantity of microfibers to that of a standard wash cycle

• Avoid using products which contain microbeads 

• Consider using an additional filter for your washing machine at the end of the drain pipe

Though we can’t attribute the impact of ingesting microfibers on our health, it is our duty to minimize the exposure and protect the marine environment, ecosystems and contribute to fulfilling sustainable development goals. 

The issue of microplastics is a global one and even if countries focus on safeguarding their backyard, they are not shielded as these particles can enter from multiple sources. Every individual is part of this pollution and this costs every living being on land and water.

These tiny particles are just the tip of the iceberg of the estimated eight million metric tons of plastic that enter our seas and oceans every year. Governments, companies and most importantly all of us need to change how we think about plastic. 

**********

Thanks a lot for sparing your time.