Science

“I am indebted to the scientists and organisations I work with, who allow me to pass on their research and information - to give science a ‘visual voice’ in order to raise further awareness. Below I share some of that information about the issue of clothing and fast fashion, synthetic textiles and microfibres, and the science that reinforces it”.

“Every year, the fashion industry is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than all international flights and container ships combined”

International Energy Agency, Energy, climate change and environment: 2016 insights (2016), p. 113.

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Please click on the bold titles below to read more about the research, organisations, and science, surrounding the issue of synthetic clothing, fast fashion, and microfibres;

The Hidden Plastic in our Clothes - and how to avoid them.
The Guardian 12 February 2024.

Chile’s Atacama Desert: Where Fast Fashion Goes to Die.
Eco Watch 15 November 2021.

The Royal Society.
Sustainable fashion: transdisciplinary approaches to innovation.
Conference report 23 May 2023.

The Or Foundation.
Too Much Clothing. Not Enough Justice.

5 Gyres Awareness Campaign. Do Less for the Planet.
Buy Less – Wash Less – Waste Less. March 2024.

Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Redesigning the future of fashion.
‘Our vision for a circular fashion industry’. 

University of Plymouth Washing clothes releases thousands of synthetic micro fibres. YouTube animation, 8 December 2016

WASTELAND: The Dirty Truth About What We Throw Away, Where It Goes, and Why It Matters. by Oliver Franklin-Wallis. Book, Podcast, Audio-book. Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK June 22, 2023.

Academic Scientific Research Papers:

Professor Richard Thompson OBE FRS – Director of the Marine Institute, School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth.
Release of synthetic microplastic fibres from domestic washing machines: Effects of fabric type and washing conditions. Marine Pollution Bulletin 26 September 2016, Imogen E. Napper, Richard C. Thompson.

Professor Kate Spencer, Professor of Environmental Geochemistry, Queen Mary, University of London.
Potential contamination of the coastal zone by eroding historic landfills. “…textiles are also potentially hazardous and may be sources and sinks for contaminants in the waste stream…”. Marine Pollution Bulletin Vol. 146, September 2019, James H Brand, Kate L. Spencer.

The Widespread Environmental Footprint of Indigo Denim Microfibers from Blue Jeans. ACS Publications 2 September 2020. Samantha N. Athey, Jennifer K. Adams, Lisa M. Erdle, Liisa M Jantunen, Paul A. Helm, Sarah A. Finkelstein and Miriam L Diamond.

Are We Underestimating Anthropogenic Microfiber Pollution? A Critical Review of Occurrence, Methods, and Reporting. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Samantha N. Athey, Lisa M. Erdle, 21 July 2021.