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Are you worried about microplastics?
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this post was submitted on 14 Mar 2024
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Yes. Almost half of all microplastic particles are fibers from synthetic clothing. So I avoid buying clothes that are not made with natural materials. I also avoid single use plaatics as much as I can and recycle as much as I can.
I keep hearing random statistics about sources of microplastics and have no idea what to believe at this point. Just yesterday I saw something saying that 78% of microplastics come from tires.
That’s why this is such an issue, that’s 128% microplastic, just between those two things!
Well tires and textiles are the two main culprits.
Same. I reduce usage when I can. If not, then I try to at least reuse it (such as a plastic bag). Last resort is to recycle.
Unfortunately, plastic recycling seems to largely be a scam (in that it doesn't actually get recycled)
Yeah, very little plastic actually gets recycled but its better than none of it.
I think the issue is that people feel empowered to use plastic because they think it ultimately will be recycled.
NPR has done various reporting on this, but essentially the players in the plastic industry have long known that plastic recycling did not work but they actively promoted it (knowing that it would increase plastic usage)
The producers should also be made to collect their waste, or pay for the waste produced so it will be processed properly.
Which they would undoubtedly let the customer pay for when buying their clothes
Yes, so the prices should reflect their actual cost. More natural products would then be cheaper.
Refuse, reuse, recycle is exactly the mantra you've unwittingly mentioned. We should be refusing things where possible, it does need legislation to prevent the production of harmful materials in the first place though.
I found a source that supports your "almost half" number for microplastics contribution from synthetic clothing.
Source
The source is a little lacking in that they don't have real numbers for synthetic textile contribution to microplastics, just the overall contribution of textiles to micropolution, but they do talk about the relationships between the two.