The Nature of Impact
Words by Edzard Van Der Wyck
They're in our oceans.
They're in our food.
They're in us.
The invisible consequence of synthetic clothing isn't just waste. It's residue.
What Are Microplastics?
Tiny plastic particles — less than 5mm in length. Too small to filter. Too stubborn to disappear. Every time synthetic clothes are washed, they shed microfibres that flow into natural waterways.
microplastic fibres released per wash load
Environmental Science & Technology, 2016
of ocean primary microplastics estimated to come from the fashion industry
IUCN, 2017 (modelled estimate)
Where They End Up
In short: everywhere.
Embedded in sediments at the deepest known point on Earth.
Royal Society Open Science, 2019
Acting as a reservoir for global plastic pollution, trapped in frozen layers.
Marine Pollution Bulletin, 2019
Ingested by fish, molluscs, and plankton — moving up the food chain to your plate.
Environmental Science & Technology, 2015
Found embedded in lung tissue samples from surgical patients.
The Lancet Planetary Health, 2022
Detected in human blood for the first time — circulating through our bodies.
Environment International, 2022
Microplastic particles crossing the placental barrier — reaching the unborn.
Environment International, 2021
Present in human breast milk, passed from mother to child.
Ragusa et al., Polymers, 2022
And increasingly: in us.
Microplastics have been found in human lungs, bloodstreams, placentas, and breast milk.
Invisible to the naked eye
But they're there.
The Synthetic Cycle
What begins as plastic bottles or fossil fuels becomes fabric. That fabric becomes fast fashion. That fashion becomes landfill — or dust. And that dust never really leaves.
Even recycled polyester, often touted as a sustainable solution, continues to shed plastic particles. There is no such thing as clean plastic clothing.
Why Natural Matters
Natural fibres biodegrade. They don't linger in the lungs. Or wash into oceans. That doesn't make them perfect. But it makes them less permanent.
Time to biodegrade
Out of sight is not out of body
We can't see them.
But they're there.
In the air. In the sea. In our blood. Tiny. Persistent. Unavoidable.
Reducing microplastics starts at the source. And what we wear is part of that.
The solution isn't downstream. It's upstream.
In design. In materials. In choices.
No plastic threads.
No invisible legacy.
