It may not seem like it, but our clothes are increasingly becoming more... plastic.60% of the clothing in the world are made of Polyester, nylon, acrylic or other form of synthetic fibers.These 'plastic fabrics' are great for their intented purpose and much cheaper to manufacture.But whenever they are washed, parts of these fibers end up in our ocean and water supply as microfibers. What isn't common knowledge is that even when we are walking, these microfibers also fall from our clothing.
These microplastics find their way back to haunt us. When they enter the ocean, they are eaten by deep sea creatures some of which end up in our dinner tables. Plastics are unnatural and should not be making their way into the human body. The longer we don't do anything about it, the more plastics the next generation ingests.
But what we can do as average people to reduce it? It can be summed up with one word: minimize. Minimize the number of clothes we purchase especially fabrics that are acrylic and polyester. Although organic, natural fabrics contain much less microplastics, they also use a lot of water and resources to produce. This is also a burden to our planet. Polyester cotton blend have the lesser amount of microfabrics released after wash. Speaking about wash, a study found that top load washer release 7 times more than front loading ones. Also, washing when necessary is also a way of minimizing.
There is never a perfect solution but contributing to A solution is already a good start. Finding the balance that works for you is key. It may not work for everyone, but as long is it's the best you can do in your situation, it should be enough to continue doing. Keep on going! Your efforts count and they are deeply appreciated.