What's Hiding in Your Closet?
- Viroqua Plastic Free
- Jul 31
- 3 min read
The first 100% manmade fabric was introduced to the public with great fanfare by the DuPont Corporation at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. It was called “nylon” and was touted as a revolutionary replacement for silk in women’s stockings. When nylon stockings were made available to the public at Wilmington, Delaware in October 1939, the first 4,000 pairs sold out in three hours. Demand for this remarkable product increased after nylon stockings became available nationwide in May 1940. But nylon stockings were pulled from the market in February 1942 as DuPont focused its nylon production on military needs such as parachutes.
After the end of WWII, DuPont refocused on consumer items and in short order acrylic, polyester and spandex entered the market. These new synthetic fabrics offered options never before seen in the fashion industry – colors impossible to create with natural fibers, wrinkle-resistance, durability, permanent creases, heat-set pleats, color fastness and affordability. Before long “wash and wear” clothing came on the scene. Between 1950 and 1956, washing machine sales more than tripled as the labor-saving qualities of these new fabrics gained popularity.
What no one was talking about in this postwar revolution brought about by the alliance between the chemical industry and the fashion industry is that synthetic fabrics are made from plastic. They don’t decompose like natural products do. They break down into smaller and smaller pieces that we have come to know as microplastics and nanoplastics.
Back in the day of hanging wash out to dry on clothes lines, washing machines had “lint filters” which caught fiber fragments during the wash and rinse cycles. With the introduction of clothes dryers with filters, washing machine filters became less common. Nowadays a single load of laundry can release several million microplastic fibers. Microplastics shed in the washing machine are discarded in the rinse water. Those shed in the dryer may be caught in the filter although many may be blown out through the dryer vent.
Being diligent about purchasing natural fiber clothing helps reduce your family’s exposure to microplastics. But be sure to look for Global Organic Textile Standard or OEKO-TEX third-party certifications to be confident your “natural fibers” do not contain the same harmful chemicals that are added to synthetic clothing to make the fabric softer, stretchy or water resistant.
Here are suggestions from the Environmental Working Group about how to release fewer fragments from your laundry load.
Wash in cold water. Quicker cycles in cold water help reduce microfiber generation significantly.
Fill the machine. A fuller load means less friction, which is easier on the fabric.
Skip the extra rinse cycle. The use of more water has been shown to increase the release of fiber fragments.
Wash less often. Less frequent laundering will not only extend the lifetime of your clothing but also shed less microplastic.
Consider hang-drying clothes. Drying your clothes this way is much gentler than tumble drying and generates fewer fiber fragments. It also saves electricity.
Buy secondhand. Pre-washed and worn clothes shed far fewer fibers.
Look into products that help collect fibers. Washing bags, filters, and other products are designed to collect fibers from inside the washer or dryer.
Invest in an air purifier. An air purifier can help reduce fibers and microplastics in household air.
Natural fibers are made from plants (cotton, linen) or animals (wool, silk).
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