7 Things to Know About Microplastics From Textiles

Microplastics – pieces of plastic less than 5 millimetres long – made up 13% of global plastic pollution in 2025, and that figure is set to grow significantly over the next 15 years if nothing is done. Microplastics have been found almost everywhere on Earth, including the air, soil and water, as well as in people’s bodies, and have been linked to digestive, reproductive and cognitive health concerns.

But all is not lost. The European Union (EU) has committed to a 30% reduction in microplastic pollution by 2030. To reach this goal, it must tackle microplastics from textiles, an often overlooked but significant source of plastic pollution. Here are some things you might not realise about your favourite jumper or t-shirt:

1. Textiles are the fourth-largest source of microplastic pollution in the EU.

Clothing is a major contributor to microplastic pollution. Roughly 60% of fibres used in clothing come from plastic-based materials, and every time an article of synthetic clothing is manufactured, worn or washed, microfibres are shed into the environment. These textile emissions are the EU’s fourth-largest source of microplastic pollution, behind only paint, tyres and plastic pellets.

2. Microplastic pollution is bad news for people and the planet.

The dangers from synthetic microfibres have been well documented. They include harm to the growth and health of marine life; widespread contamination of agricultural land, potentially compromising crops and livestock; and risks to human health through ingestion and inhalation, such as gastrointestinal inflammation and, among factory workers and others at risk of high exposure, serious respiratory disease.

3. The problem of microplastics from clothing is only going to get worse.

In 2018, textile manufacturers made 66.6 million tonnes of synthetic fibres. And with global demand for clothing projected to increase, new fabric made from synthetic fibres will account for 73% of total fibre production worldwide, adding up to 61,000 tonnes of microfibres to the environment in Europe alone each year.

4. The making, washing, wearing and disposing of clothes all release microplastics.

One gram of synthetic fabric can contain 3.7 million fibres, and throughout its life cycle, a piece of clothing continually sheds microplastic, including up to 70% of its lifetime emissions in the first five washes. Textile manufacturing, meanwhile, releases 120,000 metric tonnes per year of microfibres into the environment, accounting for nearly half of all emissions globally. The equivalent of one t-shirt is lost as microfibre pollution for every 500 made.

In addition, EU consumers discard roughly 5.8 million tonnes of textiles annually – about 11 kg per person – of which approximately two-thirds are synthetic. And very little of that plastic material is recycled, with most ending up incinerated or in landfills, polluting the air and soil. And what is recycled continues to release microfibres during the process.

5. The shape of microfibres makes them especially toxic to animals.

Plastic microfibres have an elongated shape that makes them more harmful to aquatic life than microplastic spheres or fragments. Studies on shrimp and freshwater plankton show that they experienced more negative impacts – such as development of deformities or an increase in death –after being exposed to plastic microfibres rather than microbeads.

6. Microplastic pollution from fabrics can be cut by 85% by 2040 with comprehensive action.

Despite their clear contribution to environmental pollution, microplastic emissions from the textile production sector are largely unregulated. But the good news is that with comprehensive efforts at every stage of the textile life cycle, it’s possible to eliminate 85% of that pollution by 2040 using solutions that already exist. These include targeting emissions during clothing production, reducing shedding rates through better clothing design and improving the capture of microfibres from household washing and drying machines and wastewater treatment plants.

7. New EU policies could reduce textile microplastic pollution.

The EU’s policy framework, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), entered into force in 2024 and applies to nearly all goods in the EU market. The ESPR can become a cornerstone policy for the EU to reduce microplastic pollution and its impacts on the environment and human health.

Discussions on a delegated act for textiles within the ESPR are taking place, with adoption expected by 2027, and, if it is robust enough, the act could effectively reduce microplastic pollution from textiles. The Pew Charitable Trusts has provided three key recommendations for the textiles delegated act.

Improve product design

Redesigning fabrics to shed fewer fibres during wear and washing, among other changes, can dramatically reduce air and water microfibre pollution and, according to Pew’s research, could be the single most effective action, accounting for 52% of cuts in microplastic pollution from textiles by 2040. The delegated act should require that:

• Textile products be subject to an aligned testing standard.
• Maximum shedding thresholds be introduced that will prohibit – and lead to the phasing out of – the highest-emitting products.
• Textile manufacturers use low-shedding synthetic fabrics or specific techniques, such as tightly woven fabrics with high yarn twist and continuous filaments, to limit microplastic emissions.

Minimise microplastic pollution during manufacturing

Textile manufacturing generates a significant amount of microplastic pollution, but adding controls during production can reduce pollution at the source. The ESPR should require that:

• Garments be pre-washed in the factory using a filtration process to contain and properly dispose of any microfibres shed.
• All textile manufacturing sites operate advanced effluent treatment systems that remove pollutants – including nearly all the microfibres released during production – from the industrial wastewater.

Establish labelling requirements

Under the ESPR, the Digital Product Passport will become the standard by which businesses and consumers find sustainability information about a product. Information on microplastic emissions should be included.

Urgent action is needed

To curb the harm to the environment and human health caused by microplastics from textiles – and to prevent their projected increase – the EU must act now. Consumers are more aware than ever of the environmental impacts caused by the textiles industry and are demanding greater accountability from clothing brands. An ambitious ESPR delegated act on textiles not only will help the EU reach its 2030 microplastics reduction targets but also will pave the way for a more sustainable future.

Sarah Baulch works on The Pew Charitable Trusts’ preventing plastic pollution project.