Are you SHEDDING microplastics from your recycled fiber clothing?
Every time you wash synthetic clothes -- nylon, polyester, polyester blends, acrylic -- tiny fibers are shed into the water. A single load of polyester laundry can release close to 500,000 plastic microfibers into wastewater.
The problem gets even worse when you use a clothes dryer. The heat and tumbling action break more fibers loose, sending them into the indoor air or venting them directly into your neighborhood.
Sunlight adds another layer of destruction. Ultraviolet radiation degrades the polymer chains in polyester, making the fibers more brittle and prone to shedding. Leaving a polyester garment to dry in the sun accelerates its breakdown, ensuring that more microscopic plastic particles are released with every subsequent wash and wear.
Even the act of wearing the clothing generates friction that releases fibers. This means that the more you wear your 'sustainable' recycled polyester jacket, the more plastic you are spreading into the environment -- and into your own lungs. The entire lifecycle of synthetic clothing is a microplastic factory, and the recycling label does nothing to stop it.