Microfibres, usually made of plastic, are microscopic particles that shed from clothing during manufacturing, wear and laundering. Once released into the environment, they are extremely difficult to remove.
Earth Action highlights that industry collaboration, including wastewater treatment, controlled sludge disposal and cleaner manufacturing could reduce microfibre leakage in textile production by 95% by 2032.
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Titled From Shedding to Solutions, the report claims to include the first global system-level baseline of microfibre losses and leakage during textile manufacturing. This maps the full path from fibre production through to wastewater treatment and sludge disposal.
Sarah Perreard, co-founder at Earth Action, told Just Style: “This is the first time the full system has been mapped at this scale, and it won’t be the last. Each new phase will sharpen the picture further. But the evidence is already strong enough to act on now.
“Much of the conversation on microfibre pollution to date has focused on what happens after consumers buy the clothes, regulation on washing machine filters being one example. Yet around half of microfibre pollution occurs during production and that is where change is most achievable.
“Addressing a concentrated number of mills and treatment facilities is far more tractable than reaching millions of individual households.”
Wastewater treatment and sludge management
Total microfibre losses across the world are concentrated into major textile-producing nations such as Bangladesh (25%), Pakistan (17%) and China (12%) – although high losses do not necessarily translate into the highest levels of environmental leakage.
Once wastewater treatment and sludge management are considered, China overtakes Pakistan as the second-largest polluter.
Wastewater treatment is highly effective at reducing microfibre pollution, achieving 82% reduction alongside other water quality improvements.
Earth Action says it is important that wastewater treatment and sludge management are used together, otherwise microfibres are simply relocated from water to land.
Perreard added: “Capture is not containment. Wastewater treatment removes 82% of fibres from water where it’s deployed, but unless the resulting sludge is properly managed, those fibres are simply moved from water to land. Treatment and sludge disposal are two halves of one system.”
The charity adds that relatively small adjustments in textile manufacturing – including yarn construction, fabric density and finishing treatments – can deliver huge changes in microfibre shedding.
By optimising manufacturing processes, expanding wastewater treatment in under-served areas and ensuring controlled containment of sludge, Earth Action says microfibre shedding can be reduced by 60-90%.
‘Coordinated action is required’
“This report reinforces that the industry has reached an inflection point – measurement alone is no longer sufficient,” comments Kyle Blakely, senior vice president of innovation, design studio, development & testing at Under Armour.
“No single brand can solve this alone. Coordinated action across the value chain is essential to achieving the reductions the science demands, and Under Armour is committed to contributing its data, methodology and experience to that collective effort.”
Matt Dwyer, vice president global product footprint at Patagonia, added: “Microfibre shedding is a pervasive issue of pollution, spanning industries and occurring throughout the entire product lifecycle.
“Solving complicated, broad problems like microfibre pollution requires partnership and an acknowledgement that, while we don’t have all the answers today, we can move faster as a collective.”
‘None of this work happens in isolation’
Perreard added: “Responsibility is shared across that system. Shedding is largely determined at the design stage, which sits with brands and mills but sludge governance sits with regulators, and without it, even the best industry efforts hit a ceiling. And none of this work happens in isolation.
“This baseline exists because brands, mills and researchers were willing to share data and learnings, and refining it will depend on the same openness. Our door remains open to anyone across the value chain who wants to be part of that.
“Microfibres don’t stay where they’re shed. They travel into the food we eat and, increasingly, into our own bodies. The will to act on what we already know is what matters now.”
