Microfibers The Real Cost

MICROFIBERS The Real Costs

by Jim Gilliand

Synthetic fabrics make our lives so much more comfortable. If you shudder thinking about downward-facing dogging it without yoga pants, I totally understand. And if you shudder when you think about working out in a sweatshirt that doesn’t wick away all your hard-earned sweat, I get that, too.

But that comfort and convenience come with a price, one that is far too high to pay.

We need to understand what makes those yoga pants so stretchy and those sweatshirts so drying is microfiber, a synthetic thread that is finer than a strand of silk, which, in turn, is finer than a human hair. Microfiber is made from either polyesters or polyamides like Kevlar (which is used in bulletproof vests), or a mixture of the two with polypropylene. Microfiber’s various characteristics — softness and toughness, absorption and water repellency — and its electrostatic and filtering capabilities make it suitable for a variety of purposes. Microfiber is used to make mats, knits, and weaves, which are then made into

18 | Good Fat Life various items of clothing, upholstery for furniture and car interiors, household goods like tablecloths, industrial filters, and cleaning products.

Microfiber has weaved its way into our lives — quite literally: we are drinking and ingesting it.

The Microfiber Pollution & The Apparel Industry project found that “microfibers are prevalent in both aquatic and terrestrial habitats, from the bottom of the Indian Ocean to farmland in the United States.” The project also found that “when synthetic jackets are washed, on average, 1,174 milligrams of microfibers are released from the washing machine. These microfibers then travel to local wastewater treatment plants, where up to 40 percent of them can enter into rivers, lakes, and oceans (depending on local wastewater treatment conditions).”

A 2016 article in The Guardian said “Studies indicate that the microfiber in our clothes could be poisoning our waterways and food chain on a massive scale. Microfiber — tiny threads shed from fabric — have been found in abundance on shorelines where wastewater is released.” A recent study in that article found that microfiber makes up 85 percent of human-made debris on shorelines worldwide.

I predict that microfiber will go the way of microbeads, those little bits of plastic that were used in face scrubs and shampoos that were found to be so hazardous that Congress outlawed them in 2015. If you think you can’t do without your microfiber stuff, remember that we are doing just fine without those microbeads, which were once hailed as essential to personal hygiene.

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up on what many experts recommend can be done today to ensure that less microfiber finds its way into our water systems tomorrow, and we share some of these common-sense, simple tips below.

1. Consider using microfiber catchers. Some products help trap and eliminate microfiber that gets shedded into the washing machine water. You should check into these, buy one or all, and get them working to help eliminate microfiber. The Filtrol (filtrol.net/) is a filter that captures microfibers as they leave the washing machine, and makes it easy to put them into the trash. There are inside-thedrum items like the Cora Ball or Guppyfriend bag that help trap and eliminate shedded microfiber.

2. Wash your clothes only when you HAVE to. You can treat small stains without washing the entire garment. And just think: in addition to releasing less microfiber into the water system, you’ll reduce energy consumption and extend the life of the garment.

3. Consider a front-loading washing machine. Front-loaders cause less microfiber shedding that does toploaders.

4. Be vigilant about lint traps. Clean lint traps after every single load, and be sure to put the lint into the trash can, NOT down the drain.

5. Swear off small loads of wash. Larger loads in the washing machine mean a lower water-to-fabric ratio, which means less water released.

6. Purchase the best-made clothing you can afford. You get what you pay for: better construction means less microfiber release.

7. Swear off fast fashion. Don’t buy cheap, crappy clothing for just a wear, or two. The market has been flooded with fast fashion, which frays more easily and sheds synthetic fibers more readily.