As clothes are washed and worn, tiny fibres below 5mm in length are broken off or released from the fabric itself, which are called microfibres. With increasing concerns over the persistence of this pollution, Libby Allen, Dr Claudia Henninger and Jingyi Li are exploring preventative solutions to reduce pollution released from the laundering of clothes.

• There are increasing concerns over the persistence of microfibre pollution, including environmental impacts, such as aquatic and soil contaminations, and impacts on public health with long-term exposure.
• The continued proliferation of microfibre pollution continues to grow, with a single synthetic garment releasing more than 1,900 microfibers per wash and an estimated 1.4 million trillion microfibres present in the ocean right now.
• Government can reduce microfibre pollution by encouraging more sustainable production and consumption of clothing by implementing mandated first washes within the production factories.

Have you ever seen your clothing bobble after wearing it? Lint from your tumble dryer? Fluff from clothing transfer onto other items? These are all examples of microfibres. These fibres enter our waterways through wastewater pipes from our washing machines and enter the air we breathe every time we walk or move our clothing. Some microfibres are small for us to see (such as the bobbles or fluff we remove to try make the jumper look new again) whilst others are much smaller and invisible to the naked eye.

Microfibres are microscopic in size, persistent in nature, and entering our environment in huge amounts, and the ingestion of these tiny fibres is both unavoidable and a major threat to human health. The fabrics that make our clothing are a toxic cocktail of chemicals including dyes, softeners, anti-wrinkle properties, water resistance and thermal stabilisers.

The first wash: unveiling the surge of microfibres from new clothes

The work undertaken at The University of Manchester focuses on preventative solutions to reduce pollution released from the laundering of clothes. Collaborative projects are taking place addressing the wider issues in microfibre pollution such as consumer behaviour, life cycle assessments, capture, and end-of-life recycling.

One of the findings from this research showed that the amount of microfibres released from the first wash of new fabrics was up to 10x that seen from the fabric after 4 washes.

This suggests that during clothing production, tiny fibres get trapped in the fabric. When the clothes are washed, the force of water and spinning causes these fibres to loosen and be released. Initially, this release is very high, but after four washes, it stabilises to a consistent amount.

This is particularly important when addressing the wider issue of clothing consumption, where on average the amount of clothing we are buying is increasing year on year, meaning more new clothing is being washed and the amount of microfibres being released from these new clothes are at an all-time high. Fabric type significantly influences microfibre shedding, where tightly woven fabrics shed less than loose knits, especially polyester and fleece. Washing clothes exacerbates this, releasing vast quantities of microfibres that heavily contribute to ocean pollution; a single wash of a garment can emit 700,000 fibres, making synthetic textiles a key source of marine microplastic pollution.

Attention needs to turn to how the production of clothing can tackle the release of microfibres from the source, such as implementing mandated washes within the factory, where pollution levels of microfibres can be monitored and the fibres can be removed from the wastewater before entering marine ecosystems. Increasing the consumers’ awareness of this flood of fibres released in the first wash of new clothing can alert the public to the importance of buying clothing in a conscious manner.

Attempts to tackle microfibre pollution

The European Commission identified the textiles supply chain as a key priority within the 2020 EU circular economy action plan – reiterated in European Environment Agency 2023 Report and the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles – yet there are currently very few policies to target the textile industry and products at EU level, and no policies implemented in the UK. In France, new legislation states that every new washing machine must have a filter by 2025. However, no constraints are in place regarding how effective this filter will be, or how it will be programmed into the machine (i.e., whether water will only be directed through the filter when placed on a synthetic wash, and thus all other wash cycles will still release microfibres).

Policy directions

Without measures to control microfibre release, the UK could face severe marine pollution and disrupted ecosystems, as these persistent fibres enter the food chain and impact both aquatic life and human health. This would lead to long-term environmental damage, including water quality degradation and biodiversity loss.

A collaborative approach, involving both voluntary action and policy change, is essential to address this pollution pathway. The complex network of organisations involved in turning raw materials into finished clothes creates challenges in enforcing policies to reduce pollution from clothing and textiles during customer use. The production, purchase, and use of a single garment involves numerous stakeholders, such as clothing designers, fabric manufacturers, garment producers, marketers, and consumers, who all have a role to play in addressing this issue.

Higher Product Design Standards need to be implemented in supply chains. This could be enacted through implementing a mandatory wash in factories where the discharge is filtered, and pollution captured. The UK Government should legislate for higher production standards which include mandatory ‘first washing’ of textiles before being distributed to consumers. This will allow the UK to showcase leadership standards and become a frontrunner to tackle microfibre pollution.

Eco-modulation policies are in the process of being implemented in several European countries and are designed to mitigate the use of high pollution releasing products through fees varying based on production output and pollution levels. This could be done through employing less hazardous dyes to be used in textile manufacturing, or investing into research and development of products which are less prone to releasing microfibres. If enacted in the UK, these policies would financially incentivise textiles producers and designers who use eco-friendly materials and would become an opportunity to facilitate and finance pollution prevention strategies, whilst reducing microfibre pollution at industry level.

Whilst the UK has implemented some measures to combat plastic pollution broadly, specific strategies targeting microfibres have been less pronounced and it remains unclear how and when the UK plan to match the efforts of our European counterparts. Current EU targets include a 30% reduction of the released synthetic fibres to the environment, as set out in the Zero Pollution Vision for 2050 and upcoming trade regulations such as the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), are currently underway to address all products placed on the EU market.

Better education and dissemination of how consumer involvement can impact microfibre pollution is essential and should emphasise the necessary shift from synthetic to more sustainable alternatives, such as recycled yarn, semi-synthetic or natural fibres. By caring for our clothes and wearing them longer, we can move away from over-consuming new garments. This shift not only eases the demand for new clothing production but also lessens the release of microfibres into the environment.