Fashion’s Microplastics Problem Is a Design Challenge

Every year, more than half a million metric tons of tiny plastic fibres leach from our clothes into the environment. They shed mostly in the wash, creating a plastic soup in the oceans and clogging soil. They’ve been found in the food we eat, and even human bloodstreams.

Big brands have responded with a range of products that promise to reduce the problem when consumers wash their favourite yoga pants, fluffy fleeces or woolly jumpers.