Sleeper Pollution Problem Could Hit Garment Industry

The problem of plastic pollution in the oceans, from micro-particles to plastic bags on up, has been well documented and publicized. But another kind of pollution, even more insidious and possibly more dangerous, is the subject of an op-ed piece from a researcher in Australia. It’s now been recognized that washing clothes – cotton and other natural fibers as well as manufactured fabrics – results in microscopic particles entering the waste water, and much of that pollution ends up in the ocean. The interactions and the precise nature of the toxic load are just beginning to be studied, and the health effects on sea life as well as humans are not well understood, but there is little doubt they are significant. Some industry players have begun to take notice and are working with academic researchers to figure out ways of addressing the issue.