Microplastics in Our Ocean from Everyday Clothing Awareness.

What are microplastics?

Microplastics are tiny fibers of plastic (smaller then 5 mm), that either break off a larger piece or shed from thinner strands of plastic. Any item made of plastic big or small can decompose and break down over time into smaller pieces.

Why are Microplastics an Issue?

Microplastics are an issue in our ocean because they pollute and destroy ocean life. since microplastics are small enough, it is very common for oceanic life to mistake small amounts of plastic particles for food. This not only is toxic for marine life but can also trick them into thinking their full and lead them to starvation. Going further up the food chain these small microplastics can end up on your dinner plate. As smaller fish consume microplastics, and later humans eat that fish, you now are eating microplastics too. Also, trace amounts of microplastics are found in sea salt according to National geographic (see article here for more information https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/microplastics-found-90-percent-table-salt-sea-salt).

Microplastics in Our Clothing

Around 60% of clothing sold worldwide is made from synthetic materials. Whether this is acrylic, polyester, nylon or any other synthetic material they are all considered plastic. According to an article posted on nature.com they found that “Recent estimations¹ have assessed that synthetic clothes contributes by about 35% to the global release of primary microplastics to the world oceans, thus becoming the main source of microplastics.” (view article here https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-43023-x ). Every time these clothes get washed, they release millions of fibers into the water system. Water treatment plants aren’t made to filter out small particles such as micro plastics. They slip through the system and into our ocean. Millions of pieces every load.

If you answer yes to all these questions you are helping in the fight against synthetic clothing	Is polyester a synthetic fabric?	IS cotton a natural material for clothing?	Will you warn others about synthetic clothing?
Yes
No

Solution, Cancel Plastic

My solution to solve this problem is to just completely stop buying clothes made from synthetic fibers. The next time you go out and buy clothes check the tags and see what the materials are made from. If it says made from polyester, rayon, acrylic, and any other synthetic material just pass on it. Look for clothes made with organic materials such as cotton, wool, linen etc. If enough people get together and boycott synthetic clothing, then suppliers will change for the demand of natural materials. And we can have fewer synthetic fibers on the market.

S.M.A.R.T. Goals

My smart goals are as follows

1. Reduce the amount of microplastic contribution in our ocean from clothing from 35% to 15% by the end of 2025.

2. Reduce the amount of synthetic clothing sold from 60% to 30% by 2025

3. Reach 1000 visitors on this webpage by the end of 2021 to spread awareness.

Joseph Placencia takes full responsibility for the information posted. The information on this page represents that of Joseph Placencia and not that of California State University, Sacramento.