Plastics and microfibers in the environment

Plastic pollution has been a growing concern recently as it is found everywhere, impacting all forms of life, including humans. While many studies have investigated the extent of plastic pollution in aquatic environments and wildlife, very few studies have looked at synthetic microfibers, which are ubiquitous in the environment, including in the oceans and the atmosphere. Microfibers are invisible to the naked eye given their small size, and thus we breathe, eat and drink them without being aware of it.

Here, we propose a quick overview of the effect of plastic in our environment with a special emphasis on microfibers. In collaboration with the company Lenzing, a world-producer of nature-based fibers, we present ongoing experiments to assess the degradability of microfibers in the environment at the sea surface and at the seafloor level at the pier of Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) in San Diego, California, USA. The long-term experiments of 161 days covers different types of non-woven materials, all representing the basis for potentially making garments; nature-based ones (cotton and cellulose-based), synthetic ones (polyester and polypropylene), blend ones (cellulose-based and polyester and cellulose-based and polypropylene) and also bio-based polymers such as polyactic acid (PLA). The data suggest that nature-based materials are disintegrating at a much faster rate than man-made fibers including bio-based polymers. This type of research emphases the need to work more closely with the industry and across disciplines to find more sustainable solutions in the field of textile and fashion industry that appears to be a major plastic polluter for the environment.