The Hidden Harm of Microplastics from sea to grocery shelves

By Jennifer Yin Staff Writer

Microplastics are finding their way into our waterways and even our organ systems, often without us even realizing it. Is this a growing concern that we need to pay attention to?

Envision a Sunday afternoon spent preparing ceviche, a Peruvian delicacy featuring seafood marinated in citrus. The task requires collecting ingredients like onion, jicama, cucumber, serrano chiles, cilantro, avocado, lime juice and, of course, the fish. As the mixture takes shape in a bowl, a crucial element slips the mind – a pinch of microplastic.

The San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) found that storm-driven runoff from major cities such as the Bay Area is a major pathway for microplastics to enter California’s ecosystem. SFEI said, “Plastic products and their breakdown microplastic particles move through the environment, traveling through the air, depositing on the urban landscape, washing into streams, rivers and coastal locations during storm events.”

The impact on human health is due to the direct consumption of seafood that has been exposed to plastic debris, microplastics and synthetic microfibers.

The Ocean Litter Prevention Strategy: Addressing Marine Debris from Source to Sea, published in 2018, highlights that marine litter is a widespread problem that affects local, regional, global communities and has various negative impacts on human health, the environment and the economy.

Health complications regarding ingesting microplastics and synthetic microfibers are currently being researched but a study by the National Institutes of Health based in South Korea have shown the effects of microplastics on marine life. It shows how ultrafine microplastic absorption resulted in toxicity within zebrafish and that microplastics scaling the size of 100 nanometers can reach human organs after entering the body.

Heather Podoll, partnership and advocacy coordinator for Fibershed, a non-profit organization that develops regional fiber systems, said how the majority of microplastics and synthetic microfibers found within our ecosystem derive from synthetic textiles found in our clothing.

“Microfibers do not only come off of our clothes when we wash them but they also come off our clothes when we’re walking around our house, work, or neighborhood. Right now, our textile system, our global fashion and clothing system is offering us 70% synthetic-based fibers and for a lot of people that’s mostly what we have access to.” Podoll said.

San José State University Professor of Meteorology and Climate Science, Eugene Cordero explained that the end-of-life of natural fibers can be composted and within several years the fibers would turn back into soil. However, in regards to synthetic fibers, he mentioned that they may take hundreds of years or may never decompose.

Not only do microplastics and synthetic microfibers affect the health of our ecosystems and marine life, but they also contribute to global emissions and climate change.

“If we said that there were 100 units of carbon going into the atmosphere every year because of human activity then five or 10 of those units are coming to manufacture, to transport, to sell items that we wear,” Cordero said. “We need to look at our whole society and figure out where the low-hanging fruit is because we’re going the other direction and we’re not reducing.”

According to the World Economic Forum, fashion industries alongside electronics are located in areas that have a very high-emission energy mix that is geared more towards the use of hard coal and oil than relying on renewables and natural gasses for manufacturing processes. In the process, the fashion industry contributes to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions annually.

“It’s going to take a lot of political, consumer, public will and energy to start putting enough pressure on both the industry and government regulatory infrastructure to have a stronger effect on changing those actual materials,” Podoll said.

Podoll said that regulating microplastics concerning synthetic fibers is complicated because it is so prevalent and common within the fashion industry. In addition, because of their small stature in size, microplastics are exempted from most regulations.

To address the use of synthetic microfibers in the garment industry, Fibershed has collaborated with Calif. farmers and ranchers to produce natural fibers.

“We’re working with farmers and ranchers who are implementing very comprehensive plans on their farms for land stewardship to maximize carbon drawdown, soil health and biodiversity in the cotton and wool system,” Podoll said. “What we’re trying to do at Fibershed is connect market support so that farmers and ranchers have strong markets for the products that they’re producing.”

So realistically what can consumers do to combat the circulation of microplastics within garments and the ecosystem? Podoll said that the responsibility should not fall back on the consumers rather we should analyze our options outside of synthetic fibers.

Cordero said that the responsibility should fall onto the industry but also for consumers to be mindful of their consumer habits. “The elephant in the room is consumption and the cheap cost of textiles,” he said. “It’s a critique of our capitalist system, we could design a system that doesn’t require us to be so extractive and we could do things that make the biosphere better instead of worse.”

There is no such thing as a perfect product according to Cordero. He suggests that students and consumers should purchase clothing items that can endure for a longer time, adapt to different settings and exhibit durability. Additionally, it is crucial to check if a company’s values align with one’s own before making a purchase.

“I used to shop using websites like Shein since it was affordable and I was a teenager but after their extremely controversial workplace ethics cases came out, I’ve decided to stick to thrifting,” art history and visual culture junior Natalie Martinez said. “Sometimes there are bigger secondhand events where vendors all come together to sell their stuff to the community and there is a monthly or bi-monthly event that goes on at the Berryessa Flea Market.”

Instead of rushing to the nearest Zara or H&M, consider embracing the nostalgic charm of wearing a family member’s vintage clothing or sharing wardrobe staples with friends like in the film, “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.” There are creative alternatives beyond buying synthetic fabrics, but ultimately, the power lies with the individual’s choices and agency.