#plasticfree: Microplastics are in style

Polly likes clothes and is fascinated by fashion. But Polly also wants to protect the environment. Polly’s shoe size is 41, yet her carbon footprint is to be kept to much less. Hence, #slowfashion has caught Pollys’ attention on Instagram. Not long ago, she came across the story of a woman that wears the same outfit to work every day. In this story, the woman reported to have started cherishing the content of her wardrobe much more ever since she started doing so, which decreased her wish to buy more things. Another blogger wrote that has consciously decided not to buy new clothing for three years. Polly also enjoys looking at the outfits of two Instagramers who put together their outfits from pieces found in give-away boxes.

Polly likes to buy second-hand clothing in stores or at flea markets or online on sites such as eBay, the second-hand clothing exchange “Kleiderkreisel und Co”. Recently, she also attended a clothing-exchange party, where she got to swap five unloved pieces of clothing for five new favourite pieces. It was a nice feeling to be able to buy new clothes without spending money.

The other day, she overheard a conversation between two women on the tram. One of them - seemingly confronted with the problem for the first time - asked: "But what can I do if I want to avoid microplastic in my clothes? Buy cotton?" The other, apparently better informed, replied: "No! Cotton is a huge water-eater when it comes to production. The only thing you can do is buy less." These words struck a chord with Polly and gave her the final push to become better informed on the subject.

1. The problem: Microplastic abrasion from clothing

Synthetic clothing is one of the main sources of microplastics released into the environment according to a study by the Fraunhofer Institute UMSICHT. Synthetic textiles such as polyester have become a synonym for waste-intensive mass consumption of fashionable clothing, especially through it being available in abundance at low prices. Aside from them standing for prosperity and comfort, its consumption entails a certain carelessness about the environmental impact of clothing.

Each person in Germany releases about 77 grams of microfibres per year. This quantity currently enters the wastewater through fibre abrasion during textile washing. Additionally, there is an unknown number of plastic fragments that detach from clothing during use, e.g. buttons, glitter, membranes and coatings.

Production

The production of synthetic fibres and the manufacture of clothing already produces a great deal of fibre abrasion in the form of dust. This often still sticks to new garments when we buy them.

Usage

Microplastic particles are released from the textile into the environment during the normal use of the clothing due to abrasion whilst washing, drying and wearing. During each washing process, millions of microfibre fragments are dissolved from the fabric and thus end up in the wastewater. The release of microfibres from brand-new textiles is thereby much higher than that from long-worn clothing.

Old clothes

Our old clothes can also find their way into the environment when they are exported abroad as second-hand goods. After their second use in countries without an orderly waste disposal system, they often end up in disorderly dumps. From there, fragments of clothing containing plastic end up in nature. Collecting used old clothes therefore does not help to prevent microfibres entering the environment.

Functional clothing made from synthetic material

Especially during sports and leisure time, many people like using clothes made of synthetic fibres because they dry quickly and are breathable. Functional clothing made of synthetic textiles has many advantages over natural fibres. Many people have reservations towards natural fibres such as merino wool or down due to them having been obtained through animal raw materials. In contrast, synthetic fibres can be produced for the mass market without such disadvantages.

Above all, price remains the decisive factor in the mass consumption of synthetic textiles. Synthetic fibres are produced from inexpensive raw materials, enabling customers to purchase textiles cheaply in the price-sensitive market. Hence synthetic fibres are a basis for low-priced mass products, which cannot necessarily be strongly applied to the market segments of sports and functional clothing due to the functional properties being more important than the material costs in this case. Furthermore, the fibres are often processed with cotton for economic reasons, producing blended fabrics for everyday textiles. Favourable store prices and discounts lead to higher demand and increased consumption. Fashionable and seasonal designs of clothing are the main reasons for the usually very short period of use.

Meta-functions of clothing

Branded clothing serves as a status symbol and as a sign of belonging to certain social groups. Many people satisfy their need for social recognition, individuality and for separation from the masses through clothing. For many, shopping has taken on the function of a leisure activity.

In the world of fashion, the functionality of clothing is perceived as secondary. The lack of importance put on functionality usually leads to a shorter period of use. Many items of clothing are replaced by new ones for fashion reasons and disposed of, although they could still be used.

2. Solution: Buy less!

The key to solving the environmental impact of microplastics from synthetic textiles is to buy less! Because even clothes made of cotton are water thieves - one kilo needs the content of 200 bathtubs for irrigation during production. In the long term, a complete renunciation of polyester and co. could relieve the environment of billions of tiny plastic fibres. The use of plastic-free clothing is therefore an effective contribution to the long-term solution of the global microplastics problem.

Functional clothing from synthetic-free materials

Many of the outstanding properties of modern textiles are dispensable in everyday life. For most fashion items, functional performance is of secondary importance anyway. Only rainwear, for example, really makes it necessary.

In a plastic-free world, properties of clothing – being light, water-repellent, quick-drying - can be achieved with biologically compatible textiles. Fashion suppliers are striving to avoid toxic and environmentally harmful clothing additives such as for outdoor clothing, where some brand suppliers have decided to renounce fluorine-containing coatings completely. Such chemicals have a much more harmful effect on the environment than untreated man-made fibres. Instead, biologically compatible waxes can be technologically further developed as textile coatings.

Some manufacturers are using new cellulose-based fibre materials such as Lyocell or Tencel for truly indispensable functions. These fibres originate from eucalyptus wood. The very fine and at the same time robust Lyocell textiles are biodegradable and cause less environmental pollution in their production than cotton. Other synthetic-free fibres from organic production such as merino wool and silk also have outstanding properties and can replace a certain proportion of chemical fibres.

Nonetheless, these materials come at a cost. The success of alternative textile materials and clothing without toxic chemicals in the market is therefore decided upon at the checkout. Consumers can familiarize themselves with textile eco-labels and ask themselves whether high-tech functions are necessary in everyday clothing.

Instead of changing clothing, we should change our attitude

Alternative materials only make sense if they are in use for a long time. Normally, this should not present a problem for the technicality and functionality of clothing. Nonetheless, a cultural change is still needed in order for people to start appreciating clothes with a long and visible history of use again: a high-quality rain jacket serves its purpose of providing satisfactory protection against the wet and cold over a longer period of time if it is cared for properly and mended if need be.

3. Tips

According to the current state of the art, the microfibre problem cannot be solved by technical solutions alone. Additionally, it requires a reorientation of consumer habits: away from fast fashion and towards a fashion that values durable and mended clothing. Simply replacing chemical fibres with cotton is not an ecologically sensible strategy.

1. Evoking the feeling of getting a bargain through alternative stimuli

   Consumption and buying are known to give people a short-term reward feeling and can therefore also become an addiction. Who can resist the satisfaction of getting a good deal? A few tricks might help in eradicating this incentive to buy: One possibility is to channel consumer desires into other non-material channels. Instead of the latest fashions, you could buy idea-based or virtual things. Having got used to it, one could more pleased about beautiful music or a geocaching hideaway than about a bargain.The renunciation of cheap synthetic fibres increases the price of clothes. Better quality with less fibre abrasion will not come at good bargain prices. However, higher quality clothes do not need to be constantly renewed. Consumers can therefore count on long-term cost savings. As for many other spheres than only clothing, the old wisdom: "If you buy cheap, you pay twice", can be applied.

2. Use clothing for longer periods of time and repairing it.

   Repair and reuse are other very effective ways of reducing the environmental impact of synthetic fibres. Of course, a hole or torn button can also be annoying if it causes the wind to blow into the jacket. In such cases a new piece of clothing, however, does not need to be bought, it can also simply be repaired. The possibility of getting clothes repaired has been around for a very long time and secured a large number of jobs in the past. Further integration of reparations is something to which we could all contribute, with the aim of creating a modern and socially just repair economy. Many cities have already laid the foundations for this with do-it-yourself communities, repair cafés and neighbourhood help. Larger repairs can be given to professional tailors.

3. Treat textiles in a way that causes as little fibre abrasion as possible.

   Do not wash after each use, but only when dirty, use less abrasive detergent set the machine for the "easy-care" washing programme (short washing is usually sufficient) and optimise the amount of detergent in the washing drums (not too little, not too much).

4. Filter out and burn fibre abrasion in washing machines and dryers In addition to reducing clothing consumption, it would be useful to improve the separation of microfibres from textile wastewater. Therefore, all washing machines should be equipped with microfibre filters as a standard. Such filters have the advantage that they can catch the fibre abrasion directly at its main source before the wastewater mixes with other substances in the sewage system. This makes it much easier to remove the microplastic from the wastewater rather than in the large sewage treatment plants. Permanently installable microfibre filters for washing machines are, however, still under development; washing machine manufacturers need to get these developments fit for the market with some urgency. Microfibers can also be temporarily reduced by household products such as the "Guppyfriend" washing bag. The success of this technology will depend on consumers regularly cleaning the particle filters, on washing machines and on the disposal of the collected fibre abrasion in household waste without it being rinsed back into the wastewater.

5. Substitution of synthetic fibres with biodegradable substances

   The substitution of synthetic textiles should not be at the expense of ecosystems and of the quality of life in other parts of the world where cotton is grown. However, this is precisely what would be feared if synthetic fibres were simply replaced by those made of natural fibres without limiting the consumption of clothing entirely. The reason for this is that the agricultural production of cotton needs to be expanded to meet the additional demand for textile raw materials. Here, the environment would also be damaged by the water consumption, the use of pesticides and fertilisers, and the expansion of agricultural land into natural areas. There is no point in producing textiles from biodegradable fibres if, at the same time, we are sacrificing the last rainforests to the cultivation of cotton in order to produce cheap clothing.

#plasticfree-Facts: What are synthetic fibres

Most synthetic fibres are produced from petroleum-based raw materials. The most commonly used material is polyester. Other well-known materals are polyamides, such as nylon, or polyurethane, also including elastane. Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and polypropylene are also used for textiles.

The substitution of synthetic fibres with natural fibres such as wool, cotton, kenaf, hemp or semi-synthetic fibres such as viscose, triacetate and Tencel would be technically and functionally possible. However, this would massively increase the demand for agricultural products. The consequences: globally rising water consumption, more use of mineral fertilizers and pesticides. In addition to rising greenhouse gas emissions, this would also be harmful to biodiversity. And in the usage phase, natural fibre textiles require more energy for washing, drying and ironing than synthetic ones.

The disadvantage of synthetic textiles compared to natural fibres is that chemical fibres are not biodegradable. They remain, therefore, in the environment for years. Hence, man-made fibres can be found almost everywhere in the world in soils, waters, oceans and even in organisms. Very little information is known about the effects of these fibre residues on individual organisms and entire ecosystems. We do know, however, that synthetic fibres are absorbed by organisms and enriched along the food chain.

A large proportion of the fibre particles released during washing initially enter the wastewater. However, existing wastewater treatment plants cannot eliminate microfibres from the wastewater fully. Consequently, filtered out chemical fibres end up in the sewage sludge. In Germany, almost one third of this sewage sludge is still used as fertiliser for agriculture and landscaping.

Although the vast majority of old clothes in Germany are disposed of as household waste and then thermally treated (whereby chemical fibres are naturally destroyed), the dumping of old clothes constitutes a long-term environmental risk. This applies in particular to the not insignificant share of exported second-hand clothes. Legal regulations on textile recycling or export restrictions do not yet exist. The synthetic used clothing which is exported to other countries is very likely to later be dumped untreated in landfill. Some outdoor outfitters do now offer to take back polyester clothing for recycling.

Dr. Andreas Köhler, Moritz Mottschall and Martin Möller are senior researchers at Oeko-Institut in Freiburg and Berlin. As part of the donation-based project "Living without plastic - but how?", they have been investigating the possibilities and effects of living without plastic. This includes an analysis of the reasons for using plastic, the experiences of consumers in avoiding plastic and alternative materials. The results of the project will be published in the Oeko-Institute blog under #plasticfree.