Cotton Incorporated has dropped its top-line report on the global assessment of plastic leakage.
The global apparel market is responsible for 8.3 million metric tons (14 percent) of plastic leakage every year as the fashion industry generates a whopping 8.3 million tons of plastic waste, give or take. For scale, it’s the same weight as if 820 Eiffel Towers were built year after year, the report reads—almost nine times the weight of the Golden Gate Bridge.
“Plastic Leakage Assessment of the Global Apparel Industry” identified improper synthetic garment disposal as the industry’s heaviest driver—with plastic-based textiles causing around 10 times more leakage than their cotton counterparts. That leakage is more likely to occur in destination countries for used clothing, per the report.
Related Stories
While the action-awareness gap isn’t lost on climate crusaders and corporate comptrollers alike, most climate solutions for reduction start with sentience—fashion included, and no, not just in trend forecasting.
Debuted in tandem with the report, the research and marketing company for upland cotton teamed with Grove Collaborative to go “behind the wash” and break free from micro (and macro, mind you) plastics in the fashion industry—starting with sustainability seminars. Held at Launderette NYC in Williamsburg on Oct. 8, the B Corp-certified marketplace for eco-friendly cleaning solutions chatted with Cotton Incorporated on all things microplastics and encouraged consumers to swap plastic with natural alternatives.
Given the fireside was set against the hum of a few dozen of Electrolux Professional’s futuristic Clarus Vibe machines ($3.50 a load, for what it’s worth), the panel began with a simple question: If the act of washing one’s clothing can create microplastics, does that mean there are microplastics in laundromats?
“Yeah,” Grove’s sustainability manager Kaley Cross Warner responded. “I mean, 100 percent.”
While attendees chuckled, both companies’ respective consumer data suggest that the moderator’s question was pretty standard.
Cotton Incorporated’s market research found that, while consumer concern is high, a notable gap exists in understanding the direct link between laundry, synthetic clothing and microplastic shedding. The majority of consumers (62 percent) surveyed believe that microplastics mainly originate from the degradation of larger macroplastics—like water bottles and milk jugs— breaking down into small particles. In contrast, 46 percent of consumers surveyed stated they consider that synthetic fibers detaching from clothing during washing are going out into the wastewater.
Melissa Bastos, director of corporate strategy and Insights at Cotton Incorporated, directly commented on this data, noting that “still less than half of consumers do relate those micro plastics back to their laundry” and that “there’s still a disconnect there” in understanding this as a cause of microplastics.
A study by Grove Collaborative and the 5 Gyres Institute found that 56 percent of consumers didn’t realize that most clothing is made from synthetic (aka plastic-based) materials. General awareness levels are more mixed; 33 percent report being “very aware and know a fair amount,” with 41 percent reporting being “somewhat aware but do not know much.”
“I mean, microplastics are quite literally everywhere now,” Warner said. “From the highest mountains to the bottom of the ocean and then even inside all of our bodies. Their prevalence is quite vast.”
Warren segued into a high-level definition of microplastics, likening the tiny particles to the size of a sesame seed.
Cotton Incorporated’s leakage assessment, meanwhile, defined microplastics as plastic items with a dimension of less than 5 millimeters. Macroplastics are defined as plastic items with a dimension greater than or equal to 5 millimeters. They are “considered to be macroplastics once they are released into the environment,” as based on the Plastic Leak Project (PLP) guidelines.
“It’s crucial to understand that while microplastics receive significant attention, these larger pieces of textile waste are the predominant form of plastic leakage from clothing,” CottonToday reported on macroplastics, emphasizing that all of these bigger, macro-level leakages actually fragment and break down into the more minor, micro-level leaks.
“A majority of the textiles that we wear now are made of synthetic fibers—so polyester, nylon—that shed fibers when we wash our clothes, so those tiny little particles and fibers are getting into the water as you’re washing and get filtered out into our water sources,” Warner said, noting that the process for drying clothes creates airborne microplastics. “Laundry is probably a very large, if not the largest, source of microplastics in our homes.”
Of the 76 million pounds of plastic packaging produced by U.S. companies every single day, per Grove, almost all of it (all of the time) goes to waste as 95 percent cannot be recycled.
Warner said she believes that Grove has responsibility, as a retailer, to educate its shoppers on minimizing plastic consumption—thus reducing their microplastic exposure. The San Francisco-based brand’s Beyond Plastic Program and Beyond Plastic Shop are “really helpful in allowing consumers to see products that are plastic free.”
“It makes it super easy for the consumer to go directly there and find those sustainable swaps that they’re looking for as they’re transitioning, their kitchens and bathrooms to different products in their everyday lives,” she said. Looking forward, there’s growing excitement around innovations like microfiber-catching filters for washing machines as well as for home water and air filtration systems.
“Staying within the microplastic realm of all the benefits of natural ingredients there are, obviously, we do not want to be putting petroleum-based ingredients and materials on our bodies or in our bodies,” Warner said. “Having standards that ensure that there are none of those petroleum-based ingredients in our products—especially like those in laundry care and personal care—that directly come into contact with ourselves on daily basis is really important to us.”
Bastos agreed, identifying key obstacles preventing consumers from taking steps to reduce microplastic pollution.
“We also asked them about barriers; if ‘they feel there are barriers for them not being able to do their part with microplastics?’ About a third tell us yes, they don’t feel there’s enough information out there for them,” Bastos said. “Another third tells us that they just don’t know what to do.”
She said Cotton Incorporated sees about seven out of 10 consumers (68 percent according to one measure) consider microplastics to be a significant concern, mainly due to thinking about them getting into the food they eat and the drinks they drink. Other worries include the impact on marine life and fish (67 percent), beach pollution (63 percent) and the overall impact of microplastics on human health (63 percent).
“Cotton is a plant, not a plastic,” Bastos said. “It comes from the Earth. It blooms, it has flowers, it creates bolls. and in those bolls, there’s cotton fiber and seed—which is important, because all the plant is used. For natural fibers, the bottom line is that if they came from Earth, they can return to Earth. They can biodegrade.”
