Experts says our laundry’s responsible for the toxic, microfibres in our air and water
They’re tiny, toxic and imperceptible — and they’re all around us.
As you read this story, you’re likely breathing in countless invisible, synthetic fibres shed from your clothing, carpets, furniture and more. These “microfibres” — tiny, toxic strands often made of plastic — have also infiltrated our tap water and food supplies, research shows.
According to experts and previous studies, the vast majority of microfibres are released through the washing of synthetic fabrics like polyester and nylon. Reports estimate household and industrial laundries emit around 2.2 million tons of microfibres each year — comprising 35 per cent of all microplastics in our oceans.
Meanwhile, the growing popularity of fast fashion and its love of cheap synthetic fabrics is only exacerbating the problem, experts tell the Star. Here’s a closer look at how plastic is all around — and inside — us.
What are microfibres?
Broadly, microfibres are any fibres measuring less than five millimetres in length. Experts like Matthew Ross, an associate professor of physical chemistry at Edmonton’s MacEwan University, however, are mostly concerned about their synthetic variety.
On top of containing potentially toxic additives, “synthetic fibres don’t tend to break down in the environment at all,” Ross told the Star. This allows the plastics to build up not just in the ecosystem, but also inside our bodies as we breathe, drink and eat.
When they eventually start breaking down, microfibres can become even more dangerous, said Roxana Suehring, an assistant professor of analytical environmental chemistry at Toronto Metropolitan University. Smaller fibres are better at slipping between our body’s membranes, potentially leading to plastics sliding between our cells and invading our bloodstreams and vital organs.
Studies show these fibres are commonly made of polyester, polyethylene, acrylic or elastane. Other “semi-synthetic” microfibres like rayon might come from natural sources, Ross added, but are made to behave like plastics through a refining process.
Unfortunately, the pollutants are hard to avoid as we’re constantly surrounded by microfibre producers — but there are options.
Where do microfibres come from?
The vast majority of microfibres are released by our synthetic clothes and fabrics tumbling in the wash, according to Suehring, Ross and backed up by numerous studies. They say the grinding motion of the washing machine, combined with a ride in the dryer, serves to knock countless strands loose.
Unfortunately, unless you’re buying clothes made of pure cotton, wool or other natural fibres, the majority of our outfits contain at least a mix of synthetic ingredients, Suehring explained. Even seemingly all-natural fabrics may be modified.
“For example, jeans fibres are often very chemically modified to make the jeans more stable,” she said. “And so, this so-called modified cotton is actually one of the fibres we find very commonly in the environment, including all the way in the Canadian Arctic.”
When imagining microfibres, you might also think of microfibre cloths — the reusable cleaning supplies often marketed as “environmentally friendly.” As the name implies, these cloths are made of microfibres packed tightly together to compose one fabric, Suehring explained, and can release the particles during use or when being cleaned.
Ross added that lesser microfibre emitters are all around us, as synthetic fibres make up our “upholstery, like couches, chairs and carpet,” as well as our face-masks, cigarette filters and more. “But I think, by and large, the biggest sources would be from clothing,” he said.
Unfortunately, fibres are far better at spreading through the air than other forms of microplastics, Suehring said, enabling them to travel vast distances — and into our lungs.
Are microfibres dangerous for my health?
At the moment, we know little about the health impacts of microfibres and microplastics in general. But while no studies have been published on their long-term health impacts, research has shown microplastics can damage and kill isolated human cells.
Disconcertingly, recent research has discovered microplastics and synthetic fibres deep inside the lungs, blood, placentas, livers and other organs of living humans. Without long-term studies, however, experts can only speculate as to the impacts of this.
“If you think back on asbestos, which are also microfibres, they can obviously do quite a bit of damage,” Suehring said. “This is one of our worries with microfibres, is that it’ll cause similar inflammatory processes when it gets into the lungs.”
This inflammation may then lead to cancer, she continued. The asbestos theory has been proposed and is currently being researched, Suehring said; we’re still waiting on results.
Meanwhile, research has shown microfibres and plastics to “cause toxic effects on a variety of different organisms all the way from subcellular affects, all the way up to disrupting entire communities,” Ross added.
Additionally, fibre-shaped microplastics may prove more dangerous than other shapes, with animal studies finding microfibres more harmful than microplastic beads.
“I think there’s still a lot of question marks about what happens when we get exposed to microplastics, which is concerning to me,” Ross said.
How can I avoid microfibres?
Perhaps the most important thing you can do is install filters over the outlets of your washing machine and dryer, which release large amounts of microfibres into wastewater and the atmosphere, respectively. If your machines came with filters, make sure they’re being cleaned and maintained regularly, Ross and Suehring said.
Otherwise, there are various microfibre catchers available for sale. These little balls go in with the laundry and help to catch stray through the wash cycles, Suehring added.
The experts also recommend sticking with durable, natural fabrics for your clothing, which shed fewer microfibres and can be worn for longer. Stay away from synthetic-heavy clothes and the trends that make use of them, like fast fashion, Ross said.
These cheap, on-demand industries rely on the speed and affordability of synthetic fabrics to keep up with trends and a tremendous consumer appetite. Compared to growing cotton, it’s “frankly cheaper to make tons and tons of plastic,” Suehring said.
While it’s not feasible to entirely avoid microfibres in your life, these methods can at least limit your exposure and personal emissions. As the market drives us toward further development of synthetic fibres however, it seems we’re stepping into an increasingly plastic-filled future.
This article was reported by The Star
