Textiles are responsible for “between 16-35% of ocean microplastic pollution” (Cernasky, 2023), and communities in the Global South are having to deal with excessive amounts of microfibre pollution due to the amount of clothing that we are dumping in landfill there (Cernasky, 2023).  hAll fabric types shed microfibres during manufacture and consumer wash and wear due to a range of factors including “fibres and yarn type, fabric structure, colouration, and both chemical and mechanical finishing” (The Microfibre Consortium, 2022).

Research is being carried out into the specific amounts of microfibre release by different materials. What we do know is that fabrics made of staple fibre (short filaments under 27cm) release “on average 50% more fibre fragments than those made of filaments” (over 27cm), weft (normal) knit fabrics also shed “twice as many fibre fragments as woven fabrics,” and mechanical fabric finishes also increasing the amount of fibre being released (The Microfibre Consortium, 2022). A 2020 study found that both synthetic and natural fibres “may UV-degrade and release a complex mixture of additive chemicals” contributing to ocean pollution, and that polyester and wool fibres break down “in less than 2 months” (Sørensen et al., 2020).

All microfibres are problematic; the common narrative that natural materials biodegrade and therefore don’t cause any environmental harm isn’t backed by evidence. The Microfibre consortium found that in warm, lab-controlled conditions virgin natural materials will biodegrade, however in a cold, saltwater marine environment fibre degradation is drastically slower. Other factors, like chemical dyes and finishes can also “significantly inhibit fibre biodegradation.” For example, the most commonly used black dye in garment production “cross links the cellulose fibres making biodegradation much slower” (The Microfibre Consortium, 2022).

A study conducted in 2021 on plankton compared the toxicity of natural and synthetic microfibers using lyocell (made from wood pulp), polyester and polypropylene (commonly used plastic based fabrics). They found that both natural and synthetic microfibers “can have adverse effects on aquatic organisms,” but more specifically that lyocell stayed in the planktons’ gut for the least amount of time, whereas polypropylene stayed the longest. Having said that, lyocell had the most immobilising effect on plankton, and in terms of mortality rates caused by fabric type, the most plankton survived the longest on polypropylene, followed by lyocell then polyester.

Using recycled plastic in garment manufacture keeps plastic out of landfills and cuts down petroleum usage. Although it can be hard to use this material again in garment remanufacture due to material quality, not to mention that these garments release microplastics when they are washed (up to 700,000 per load) which eventually ends up in the ocean(Humann, 2022). Fibre catching washing bags and machine solutions are also not a long-term fix, and even recycled plastic garments may end up in landfill. There is also the argument that plastic based fabrics are more likely to put toxic chemicals on our skin than their natural counterparts – but there is currently no evidence to support this. It is true however, that the chemicals released during material recycling and reuse are polluting to the environment (this can be said of both natural and synthetic materials).

We know that natural materials are less toxic to the environment overall and biodegrade at their end of life. But is it better long term to focus on durability, and instead invest in new technology so that we are using plastic based materials that are already in the waste stream?

We asked seven experts in the circular and sustainable fashion field to weigh in on the debate:

Natalie Binns

Sustainable Fashion Consultant & Freelance Head of Buying

I was reading an article about microfibres from the Microfiber Consortium, and they were saying that biodegradability isn't the answer to Microfibres because…the way that we use natural fibres now – they are not in their natural state anymore…We automatically just think “oh, well if I make it in cotton, it is better” because it will biodegrade. But actually, if you look at the data, some of the some of the statistics were quite scary, actually…It’s made me think…a little bit less kind of black and white synthetics versus natural. Because I think when it comes to natural fibres, you've got to think about what you're actually doing with them and I don't think that we know enough about how all of the things we're doing - dyeing, printing - we don't know enough about how that affects the natural properties of natural fibres. My stance has always been natural over synthetic, unless you really need the synthetic…synthetics have their uses in certain garments like swimwear. But I just think the whole discussion is nuanced, so it's very difficult…certainly with natural fibres we have to think about using them as close to their natural state as possible for it actually to be making the difference that we think it's making.

Natascha Radclyffe-Thomas

Professor of Marketing & Sustainable Business at British School of Fashion

I think one of the main things is we just can't keep having so much of anything, whatever fibre it is. And I think unfortunately, we are a long way away from really understanding what's the best to use for what purpose…all the synthetics are so massively subsidised that they appear to be a better choice in terms of cost because we know we're not really paying what they cost because they're a by-product of petrochemicals. I would say there's a space for synthetics and manmades when you're using them for the qualities of that textile, not because you're using them because they're cheap…it's so complex as well, because obviously a lot of processes on textiles were introduced to make them more easy care…to make things to be laundered more easily and less ironing…And we didn't really understand at the time what impacts they were going to have later. [From] what I've spoken to experts on this…in some cases synthetics will be the most appropriate textile if it means something's going to actually be functional and long lasting. So, if you're having performance sportswear or something, then maybe that's the place for that. But I think for the majority of clothing that isn't actually ultra-high performance, then there's no need to be having those ultra-high tech materials.

I think in a sense we've all got a bit spoilt by just having cheap availability of textiles because they're so mass produced and so subsidised in ways that don't really reflect their cost and that impact. I think the main thing really is to make producers more accountable for what happens to their materials after life. And then we would see people investing in processes and materials that were less damaging… even if you have something that could biodegrade in principle…has it been processed in a way that's going to prevent that or is there a facility to do that? Is there somewhere to collect it? Is that actually going to happen? And the fact that it could conceptually be circular, is there actually infrastructure? When I've been looking at stuff around waste management generally, there's just actually very poor infrastructure in terms of collecting and dealing and lots of it is not localised I'd say - people matching local. So, if you then have to ship something for miles and whatever to actually get that done. I think there's so many different sorts of factors that come into that. But I think we've definitely been sold kind of a false narrative about the qualities of different materials in terms of their sort of impacts…there's such a big plastics lobby and I think it's also got a bit confused recently around the idea of vegan textiles as well, which has sort of promoted a bit more plastics use. It's definitely a complex area that needs a lot of unpacking.

Rachel Sheila Kan

Fashion Circularity Specialist (Author & Troubleshooter at Circular Earth, Ecosystem Architect at The Ecosystem Incubator)

I think you've got the two sides, synthetic and natural and synthetic…You’ve got to see that anything that we do in the synthetic and the natural is going to have an impact on each other. What we need to go forward with is creating processionary beneficial. Opportunities with anything we do, whether it's synthetic or whether it's natural. That we're creating beneficial benefits, not reductionary things…anything that we can create could be created in a processionary way. For instance, when we're walking with our shoes, it's wearing down the heels and then the soles. Could it be that that wear becomes a benefit to the environment? Could seeds come out of that and go and plant themselves all over the place? We can more easily do that in the natural because that is from the natural world. But there's no reason why we can't do that in synthetic as well.

I agree with the point on Microfibers. It's not just microfibers on plastic products, it's microfibers on organics. Those organics - yeah, they might be organics, but even if they've been chemically processed and they usually have a chemical dye on them - even if they circular water systemed that. Each of those micro-organic fibres still has chemical elements to them and that goes out into the world and is just as non-beneficial as a synthetic microfibre. Anything microfiber, anything that we are going to go out into the world with has to have a beneficial impact.

Jo-Anne Godden

Founder RubyMoon (the world’s only not for profit gym to swimwear company) and Circular Specialist & Mentor: Circular Product & Textiles Development & Design.

I think in terms of microfibres turning off the tap…It's the most important thing because if we stop producing 50% of garments, whatever their material, componentry or makeup, that we stop 50% of textile microfibers…We need to also remember that 55% of microfibers in marine environments are coming from tyres. So, it's not just textiles…there's a lot of false information about Microfibres. And very often it's natural fibres, microfibres that are in greater quantities in marine environments anyway that are destroying marine environments, it's not synthetics…In terms of synthetic versus natural, in terms of fit for purpose, obviously, we're always going to need synthetics. And I would always say in most cases, durability is more important than just than biodegradability. Durability in terms of “let's design textiles that can be recycled over and over again and that are durable in their wear.” That will always succeed biodegradability just because in terms of life cycle analysis and the amount of carbon and resource we're putting into clothing, we need to be really clever about not wasting resource on garments that don't last and any time at all. For example…most recently we put polyester in with cotton in polo shirts for school uniforms and shirts. School uniforms generally does have that polyester element, and that's there for a reason because otherwise the garment doesn't last. Therefore, we do need to think about designing from the get go, how those garments are durable, but then also how do we recycle them and keep them in the loop? So it's not a question of either or, It's actually let's design for durability and recyclability.

Emily Sunnucks

Slow Fashion Business Founder & Higher Education Teacher: Specialising in Sustainable Fashion, Clothing and Footwear Design Process.

For me natural always wins. If you can grow a crop and grow it into a fabric…I really think that if something can do a full loop, and old style, go back to where it came from, become the earth, become compost or whatever, then for me that wins, because it’s not going to be around forever, whereas some of the modern limit fabrics – one thing that gets me now as a now footwear lecturer is the word vegan, when its applied to PU, it’s like plastic leather, and how that’s being construed as a better sustainable option, which is absolute rubbish, it is not a sustainable option, it is a much worse sustainable option. Animals aren’t being harmed, but are they? Because a lot of the glues…are actually derived from animals, so other companies that are using PU and pulling it off as vegan leather; are they going the extra mile to check the glues and everything? I think that everything should be considered holistically. The…thing that gets me every time, is that [materials are] being bonded with plastic, so it is then being turned into a non-natural, non-biodegradable fabric…So the same with Piñatex, so many sustainable fabrics are being produced in a way which then means that they can’t be composted…I think that there is a long way to go…the emphasis really, instead of developing textiles and new fabrics with chemistry should be focused on reducing consumption and increasing quality, and that would, in my mind sort the problem, but then, you know, let’s look at everything as a whole. We are now facing a huge economic crisis all over the world, so are people really going to be spending extra money buying quality pieces rather than what they have got on offer – which is cheap stuff that falls apart really quickly and made out of terrible fabric. What can you do really? I think that it is down to personal choice.

Kate Bonhote

Creative Director at Totem Kids & Founder of Beyond The Valley (eco friendly, ethical kids clothing brand)

I did a lot of research into sustainable fabrics…for me it’s more about circular life of a product, so – I mean, I used this wool that was from Italy which I thought was really interesting, where they basically use the fluff…the by product. I think that there is a lot of innovation, which is essentially what fashion is about - innovation, so I think that it’s definitely the right way forward, it’s just if it is affordable and also depends on how much water it uses. I think some of the problems with these environmental solutions is that they solve one problem and create another. A bit like pineapple leather, and things like that. They are not very practical. They are not durable, you know, there’s always pros and cons, but I think it’s all a step in the right direction. I think that we would have to do it by fabric...look at all of the different steps, or what goes into them. I think especially concerning water; that’s one of the biggest problems in fabric manufacturing at the moment.

Manda Epton

Freelance Fashion Designer & Co-Director, Designer of Maud N Lil Organic Cotton Products

They are both right. My comment about recycling is as it stands today…plastic is never, ever going away. So if [brands] can find a way to continue to use it; to keep it in the product cycle…amazing. I’m all for recycling…but it shouldn’t be a band aid for big plastic companies to think “well, we’ll bung it in recycled materials, later” – that’s not the answer…It’s got to be the whole life cycle, and that’s very hard to do. An interesting one for me with soft toys is all…the plush fibres are microplastics. The tiny little hairs that come off the fluff from fluffy toys. First of all, my issue is it going into babies’ lungs, eyes, noses. I’m completely uncomfortable with that, that’s why we’ve developed an organic cotton and bamboo plush. Secondly, when people bung the soft toys into the wash, every time a baby vomits on them, or they get dirty or whatever, they are tiny microplastics, and nobody has joined the dots with soft toys…Everyone’s buying Jellycat like crazy, and Jellycat is one of the worst! That fabric is so minute, and so tiny if you look at it under a microscope, all the fluffy bits are just toxic, they are going in the fish, and the sea, and the water.

So what is our hot take on this at Re:GenZ?

We are partnered with material recycling companies that are focused on the reuse of both natural and synthetic materials. Companies like Renewcell who have created a biodegradable raw material from used cotton and other natural fibres could potentially be bridging the gap between both sides of the argument so that we are reusing all materials. We believe that non-toxic, low water usage processes are the best, but recycled plastics could have a positive impact on our future on the condition that they can be reused over and over. Our focus needs to be on using materials already in existence, producing high quality and timeless pieces, offering rental, repair and resale services, and prioritising consumer and brand education. The best materials for your brand are so dependent on your specific product; at Re:GenZ we conduct expert material assessments, and will put you in contact with the right recycling companies and sustainable material suppliers. Send us a message or come into our office and we can start you on your journey into the circular economy. Be a disruptor in the fashion industry; help us to close the loop.