Plastic Jungle

Plastic Jungle By Agata Nalin

Many of our clothes contain plastics like polyester, nylon, acrylic and polyamide. In fact most new fabrics are made of plastic – up to 64% of them.

Every time we wash these materials they shed millions of plastic microfibres. Threads so small they can drain out of our washing machines and pass straight through wastewater treatment plants into the sea.

Once in our oceans they can absorb nasty chemicals. Disturbingly, sea creatures are eating these toxic fibres, potentially passing them up the food chain. Some studies have found them in seafood like mussels.

Plastic isn’t harmlessly disappearing in the environment. It’s recirculating as small particles and fibres. Microplastic pollution is cropping up all over the world including in extremities like the Arctic and Antarctic.

Some brands market polyester apparel as environmentally friendly because they use recycled plastic bottles to make it. That may sound like a good way to reduce plastic pollution, but we now know that these garments are shedding lots of plastic debris.

Some of the most ecologically friendly fabrics to look out for are: organic cotton, lenzing tence, hemp, linen and silk. Make the right decision for a better world!

Appreciate