Oregon Sea Grant

Chapter 4: Clothes encounters of the microfiber kind: the effects of natural and synthetic textiles on organisms

This chapter is in the book Polluting Textiles the Problem with Microfibers. The book examines the critical issue of environmental pollutants produced by the textile industry.

Comprised of contributions from environmental scientists and materials and textiles scientists, this edited volume addresses the environmental impact of microplastics, with a particular focus on microfibres released by textiles into marine and freshwater environments. The chapters in Part I offer environmental perspectives focusing on the measurement of microplastics in the environment, their ingestion by small plankton and larger filter feeders, the effects of consuming microplastics, and the role of microplastics as a vector for transferring toxic contaminants in food webs. Written by environmental and material scientists, the chapters in Part II present potential solutions to the problem of microplastics released from textiles, discussing parameters of influence, water treatment, degradation in aquatic environments, textile end-of-life management, textile manufacturing and laundry, and possible policy measures. This is a much-needed volume that brings together in one place environmental research with technical solutions in order to provide a cohesive and practical approach to mitigating and preventing environmental pollution from the textiles industry going forward.

Authors: Granek, Elise F.; Traylor, Summer D.; Tissot, Alexandra G.; Hurst, Paul T.; Wood, Rosemary S.; Brander, Susanne M.