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Microplastics on Human Health – Part 3: Impact in Fashion

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Microplastics and fashion – Challenges & solutions


This post, the third and final instalment of a three-part series, delves into the impact of microplastics in the fashion industry, exploring both the challenges and potential solutions. It builds on insights from the November 2024 scientific outreach event, Microplastics and Human Health, where experts highlighted the pervasive presence of microplastics and their escalating threat to human health. Cultural Project by Natasha Calandrino Van Kleef; Scientific Direction by Claudio Fenizia. Promoted by the University of Milan and the Municipality of Milan.

You can read the first and second instalments [here] and [here]. Additionally, you can watch the panel discussions [here] and [here].

Now let’s step into our field, fashion.

The impact of microplastics in fashion


Dalia Benefatto from Devalia presented a compelling case on “The Impact of Microplastics in Fashion: Challenges and Solutions.” She advocated for a scientific approach to the circular economy.

The story of synthetic materials began in 1873 when New Yorker John Wesley Hyatt patented celluloid, the first artificial polymer, which revolutionised industries like motion pictures. Without plastic, our world would look vastly different. However, once plastics enter the ocean, they undergo fragmentation, breaking down into increasingly smaller particles that are impossible to recover. These particles eventually become microplastics. Specifically, it is a process that all textile and clothing materials made of synthetic fibres are subjected to.

Today, 85% of textiles and clothing are made from synthetic fibres, with polyester being the most widely used due to its low cost. While fast fashion is often singled out as the primary culprit, the entire fashion industry bears significant responsibility for global microplastic pollution. In fact, polyester is used transversally. 

Polyester, washing clothes, and microplastic shedding


Fast fashion is particularly problematic due to its unsustainable business model, which continuously floods the market with new garments made from synthetic materials. These fabrics shed microplastics in the form of fibres, known as fibrils, which are less than 5mm in size and represent a significant contributor to the global crisis of microplastic pollution.

Every year, over half a million tonnes of fibrils are released into the oceans, primarily during domestic washing. The amount of fibrils released depends on the fabric composition; the higher the synthetic content, the greater the release. A single wash load can disperse hundreds of millions of fibrils into waterways, adding to those released during garment production.

For example, jeans—arguably the most ubiquitous garment—undergo aggressive treatments such as sanding, brushing, and washing with pumice stones. These processes exacerbate the release of fibrils and toxic substances, further intensifying the environmental impact.

Circular economy and behavioural change


To address this crisis, a systemic shift towards a circular economy is urgently needed. It is essential to start new behavioral habits, to prolong the life of materials. This would replace the current disposable model of “extract, produce, and discard” with one that prioritises sharing, repairing, recycling, lending, reusing, reconditioning and renting. However, this transition must be grounded in science.

Scientific knowledge, data, and analysis are essential to creating a virtuous cycle. Starting a common knowledge will also help fight greenwashing—a practice that undermines genuine sustainability efforts. Benefatto emphasises the importance of responsibility over mere sustainability, advocating for measurable actions rather than vague claims.

For instance, a 2018 study revealed that a single wash of synthetic garments can release between 700,000 and 1.5 million plastic fibrils. Scientific bodies have also compared two types of polyester fabrics: one made from continuous filament fibres (with fibres up to 1,000 metres long) and another made from shorter fibres (around 10cm long). The former sheds six times fewer fibrils than the latter, highlighting the importance of structural composition in reducing microplastic pollution.

Practical steps: washing machine filters, fabric choices, and reducing fast fashion’s impact


Consumers can take practical steps to mitigate the impact of microplastics. For example:

  • Washing machine filters: These can capture up to 90% of fibrils, preventing them from entering waterways.
  • Special washing bags: Designed to contain synthetic garments, these bags reduce fibril release during washing.
  • Fabric choices: Opting for natural or cellulose fibres, such as cotton, wool, or lyocell, can significantly reduce microplastic shedding.

Innovative materials like PLA (polylactic acid) fibre, derived from renewable resources such as corn starch or sugarcane, offer biodegradable alternatives. Similarly, biochar, a by-product of biomass, can be used to produce filter fabrics with natural antimicrobial properties.

In the design phase, prioritising durability, recyclability, and compostability is crucial. A cultural shift towards valuing quality over quantity is essential to limit fibril pollution. Ultimately, the market adapts to consumer demand, giving us the power to drive change.

The impact of microplastics in fashion – Final thoughts


Dalia Benefatto’s insights on the impact of microplastics on fashion resonated deeply, shedding light on both the harmful effects of fast fashion and the potential for positive change. Her emphasis on creating a shared scientific knowledge base to combat greenwashing was particularly inspiring.

However, the lack of an overall perspective that connects the dots across various sectors remains a challenge. For instance, Carlo Covini from Lenzing highlighted the confusion surrounding sustainable fabrics. While facing many options, consumers often struggle to identify the best choices. Imagine if clothing were limited to cotton and wool—global resources would quickly deplete. In fact, true sustainability lies in diversifying fabrics and materials, ensuring a balance between innovation and environmental responsibility. It’s not just one fabric.

In conclusion, the fight against microplastic pollution requires collective action, from scientific research to consumer behaviour. By making informed choices and advocating for systemic change, we can reduce the fashion industry’s impact on our planet and our health.

We hope you enjoyed our three-part series—comment below!

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Native American Heritage Month: The Appropriation and Impact on Indigenous Fashion

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Fashion colonialism and the ongoing struggle for cultural recognition and economic equity


Each year in the United States, the month of November marks the Native American Heritage Month. A day that honors the Indigenous members of the nation. Also, it provides a platform for their culture and traditions, as well as spotlighting social issues their community currently faces. 

Thanksgiving origins: a false history


The month coincides with the holiday of Thanksgiving, a widely celebrated holiday. It commemorates a joint feast held with the newly arrived English Pilgrims and native Wampanoag tribe, who had helped them with their harvest in 1620. The story paints a picture of friendship and peacefulness. The good-hearted Pilgrims paying gratitude to their Native neighbors. And the two parties getting along and allowing the English settlement to flourish. In homage to this, on the last Thursday of every November, millions of Americans sit down with their families and make a traditional Thanksgiving feast. So they practice gratitude and thankfulness.

Thanksgiving and Native American Heritage: representation vs reality


However, the real story paints a much darker picture. For many Native Americans, the holiday is a painful reminder of the lives, cultures, land, traditions lost to settler invasion. And genocide, imposed by settlers and colonizers, occurring for hundreds of years. The day itself is known as the National Day of Mourning for Native Americans, who instead of celebrating use it as a day of remembrance for what their ancestors have suffered through. As well as continuing to acknowledge the suffering that still endures because of colonialism hundreds of years ago. 

Fashion colonialism and its impact on Native American Heritage

Nowadays, the Native American population experiences a type of colonialism not unlike the kind they faced 200 years ago.  Colonialism, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is the “domination of a people or area by a foreign state or nation: the practice of extending and maintaining a nation’s political and economic control over another people or area”. Even though colonialism seems a practice that ended largely in the last millennium, it persists in different forms. Much like the experiences of the Native American population, colonialism hasn’t gone away or fundamentally changed.

Nowadays, a prevalent form of colonialism takes place within the fashion industry. In 2022, Ralph Lauren, an American luxury brand apologized after the wife of Mexico’s then-president Beatriz Gutierrez accused them of culturally appropriating indigenous designs. The item, a cardigan patterned with colorful Indigenous motifs, was being sold online for hundreds of dollars, according to Reuters. Other companies, such as Zara, Urban Outfitters and Asos have been accused of similarly profiting off of Native American cultural designs. Meanwhile, the proceeds collected by the indigenous themselves pale in comparison. An Australia’s Productivity Commission report shows that while $250 million of Indigenous art was sold in 2019-2020, only around one in three items sold were made by an Indigenous artist or business. 

Fashion colonialism not only takes away from the ability to earn their rightful place economically in the fashion world. But also, continues the cycle of removing and commodifying their own culture and heritage. The fashion industry must confront its role in continuing actions of colonialism. In that, they must make ethical collaborations, fair compensation and recognition of Indigenous artists as part of an industry-wide practice. 

Decolonizing Thanksgiving


As the demand for fast fashion grows, consumers who buy inexpensive products from major corporations participate in a form of global colonialism: fashion colonialism. While not as overt as the actions of Pilgrims who took over land and resources from Native Americans centuries ago, its impact is just as profound. Ultimately, the fashion industry must come to terms with the fact that it plays a key part in stripping away identity. And it obstructs Indigenous communities around the world from gaining control of how their culture is perceived and expressed in a post-imperial era. 

✍️ Post written by Rachel Jacob, a scholar from Chicago / USA, studying Business Management at Cattolica University in Milan. Currently interning with suite123.

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The Environmental Economic Principles Illustrated by Fast Fashion

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Reading Time: 4 minutes

Delving into environmental economics related to the most polluting segment of the fashion industry


This post examines how environmental economic principles manifest in the practices and consequences of the fast fashion industry.

Fast fashion is known for its rapid turnover of trendy clothing at very low prices and has been incorporated more and more in our day-to-day clothing. However, behind the illusion of trendy and cheap pieces, this pressure to minimise costs and speed up production leads to a complex range of environmental and economic implications.

Some of the reasons fast fashion is becoming a progressively bigger issue for the environment include its use of toxic and heap textile dyes, polluting waterways as well as the amount of landfill waste generated by the industry. According to Ting and Stagner (2023), the life cycle of clothing has been constantly shorter, starting from the 1980s. This means that we are using and disposing of clothes faster and faster. As this analysis explores, most of the unused or unwanted pieces end up in a landfill or burned, contributing to climate change. Otherwise, research shows that about 450,000 tonnes of clothes exported from the United States become part of a second-hand clothing trade. That impacts low and middle-income countries.

Fast fashion’s environmental economic principles (full analysis)

Fast_Fashion_by_Gabriela_Almeida_Prehus-Download

Inefficiency of resource extraction

This concept relates to the long and complex supply chain of the market. Starting from agriculture and petrochemical production (for synthetic fibre production, such as the famous polyester) to manufacturing, logistics and retail. Each step of the production of the garments has an impact on the environment due to chemical, energy, material and water use.
In fact, research shows that approximately 60% of clothing is made from petroleum and 30% from cotton. Thus having a large impact on the environment. Additionally, many of these chemicals used in the production of textiles are harmful to both the factory workers, the environment as well as the end consumers ( Niinimäki et al., 2020).
Even though consumers are now aware of the environmental and personal impact of those chemicals, why do they keep on buying these products?

Fast-fashion marketing


Marketing becomes an even stronger tool when brainwashing consumers with the famous concept of “Green Washing.”Greenwashing explains the behaviour of firms when engaging in misleading marketing strategies/ information about their environmental performance or the environmental benefits of a product (Delmas & Burbano, 2011).

Pollution as a negative externality


A negative externality is the imposition of a cost by one party (in this example, a fast fashion firm) onto another. The process of manufacturing the clothes involved in producing the fast fashion items generates significant pollution. This includes air pollution when producing textiles, water pollution from dyeing fabrics and waste generation from packaging. Additionally, the growth of textile fibres, manufacturing and clothing assembly tends to take place in countries with cheaper labour, such as China and Bangladesh. According to Ting and Stagner (2023), there has been such an enormous increase in fast fashion during the past 10 years that firms had to increase supply, increasing the risk of slavery-like working conditions in those middle/low-income countries.

Waste generated


One of the pillars of the increase in fast fashion is the rise in consumerism in society. A world with a culture of over-consumption and rapid disposal of goods will consequently have problems with excessive waste in landfills. When it comes to the textile industry, it is challenging to recycle or biodegrade due to the complex nature of synthetic fibres which are the base for most fast fashion garments. The business model of fast fashion is designed to be unsustainable and by definition. It is “a fast-response system that encourages disposability” (Ting & Stagner, 2023).

Conclusion


In conclusion, all consumers share responsibility for this waste crisis that the fast fashion industry has created. The rapid pursuit of economies of scale in this industry leads to the expense of sustainability, as mass production and global supply chains also allow fashion brands to keep their unsustainable business model. This practice leads to several environmental economic principles, such as negative externalities, resource extraction and depletion, waste disposal and labour exploitation.

In order to address this issue, there is a need for a multifaceted approach that considers all factors such as social, economic and environmental. For instance, sustainable alternatives, circular economy models, ethical fashion practices, and consumer awareness campaigns are essential to mitigate the negative effects of fast fashion on the environment and the people.

References


ABC News In-Depth. (2021, August 12). The environmental disaster fuelled by used clothes and fast fashion | Foreign Correspondent. 

Barnosky, A. Matzke, N., … Tomiya, S. (2011). Has the Earth’s sixth mass extinction already arrived? Nature, (471), 51-57.

CBC News. (2023, October 28). Exposing the secrets of sustainable fashion (Marketplace). 

Niinimäki, K., Peters, G., Dahlbo, H. et al. The environmental price of fast fashion. Nat Rev Earth Environ 1, 189–200 (2020).

Kitson, J. C., & Moller, H. (2008). Looking after your ground: Resource management practice by Rakiura Maori Titi Harvesters. Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania, 161-176.

The Economist. (2018, November 30). The true cost of fast fashion. 

Ting, T. Z.-T., & Stagner, J. A. (2023). Fast Fashion – wearing out the planet. International Journal of Environmental Studies, 856–866.

✍️ Credit: Post written by Gabriela Preuhs, a Brazilian scholar pursuing studies in economics and psychology at Massey University in Auckland, New Zealand.

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 The Role of Fear in Contemporary Society

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From fast fashion to climate change: challenging the norms for meaningful change


Addressing the role of fear in contemporary society is crucial if we want to make meaningful change. Fear resides at the core of our society, holding such influence over our lifestyles that change cannot occur. We are afraid to be the first ones to say something, always looking to others for direction instead of following our own path. Because most of the population supports fast fashion brands like Zara, H&M, or Shein, cultural acceptance is created, and the devastating impact of fast fashion becomes insignificant. 

Accepting the norms vs. making progress


Although we may have an idea of the harms of fast fashion, the widespread acceptance of brands like Zara, H&M and Shein makes us feel that our choices are justified. If others accept them, we can accept them too. So, this societal acceptance pushes us to continue supporting these brands. But how can change ever occur if this cycle continues? 

In fact, a new marketing technique in the fashion industry aims to make customers feel safe. However, we are not meant to feel safe; we are meant to be challenged and encouraged to ask questions. Indeed, this is the idea – brands like Zara do not want you to ask questions. They want you to be a robot or a follower so that they can increase their profits. 

But the right brands will help you find meaning and encourage individuality and change. This is our mission.

Questioning authority: power, knowledge and profit


Power does not always correlate with knowledge; it often has more to do with profit. Our society frequently succumbs to the influence exerted by the relationship between power and knowledge. When fear arises, we look to those in power for safety. However, we should not rely on power for safety and awareness since we can be led falsely. It’s important to form our own opinions and analyze information before accepting it. 

For example, climate change is a great fear at the moment. Corporations and government leaders tell us that they’re working on improvements to stop the crisis, but, in reality, they’re the root of the problem. In fact, leaders take private jets to attend climate conferences, completely counteracting the point of a climate conference. At the 2021 COP26 climate summit, 118 private jets for the attendees emitted 1,400 tons of carbon. This demonstrates that much of what we see is a facade.

Taking control of our future 


In examining the dynamics of fear in contemporary society, it becomes evident that our collective hesitance to challenge the status quo extends beyond consumer habits. From the acceptance of fast fashion giants to the alarming complacency regarding climate change, fear hinders our potential for meaningful change. We find ourselves entrusting our future to those who may not have our best interests at heart. 

Yet, amidst this landscape of apprehension, there emerges a call to action — a call to break free from fear and societal norms and take control of our destinies.

✍️ Credit: Post written by Joelle Elliott, an American scholar pursuing studies in Fashion at Cattolica University in Milan; currently interning with suite123

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How To Cut Fashion Waste

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Reuse and repair in the era of fast fashion


In order to cut fashion waste, the French government will pay a repair bonus to help people with their damaged clothes and shoes. An amount from 6€ to 25€ will cover the repairing cost of garments in workshops or cobblers who will be part of the scheme.

Indeed, an alarming amount of clothes end up in landfills. Since fashion brands keep putting out new garments in huge quantities, governments must find solutions.

The point on fashion waste


The news sounds really great. But let’s consider a few things:

Would anyone throw away clothes of value? Of course, not. Or, at least, it is extremely rare. The garments ending up in the garbage bin aren’t pieces made to last but clothing intentionally made for that purpose. Buy, wear and toss. That is mass production: low prices, poor quality and slaves for manufacturing (individuals no one cares about because if they did, they would stop buying certain products).

In fact, over the last twenty years, purchasing fast-fashion clothing and shoes has become popular. Rich and poor people enjoy it. For the rich is a whim, and for the low-income a necessity. But both love purchasing products that last like a bag of chips.

Product longevity is one of the principles that attests to sustainability. What demonstrates product longevity?
1- Good design
2- Quality materials
3- Skilled craftsmanship

What if the repair cost is higher than the average price tag?


Now, it makes sense to put a patch on the bleeding, but common sense should guide human choices. Therefore, can we cut fashion waste without stopping fast fashion? It doesn’t seem likely. In fact, curing the illness without eliminating the cause isn’t a good strategy.

Here comes the second point, if the French government wants to fight fashion waste, why did they allow the Shein runway in Paris? It may sound like a joke, but in the case of ultra-fast fashion, the repair costs would be higher than the price tag! Does it make any sense?

On how to cut fashion waste, there’s no easy solution. But for sure, we need a more radical approach.

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