Fashion industry accounts for more than a third of ocean microplastics, report warns

clock • 3 min read

Washing an item of closing made of synthetic textile can release up to 700,000 microscopic fibres in the water

More than a third of all microplastics released into the oceans are from synthetic textiles used in the fashion industry, according to a new report. Each time an item of clothing is washed, up to 700,000...

To continue reading this article...

Join BusinessGreen

In just a few clicks you can start your free BusinessGreen Lite membership for 12 months, providing you access to:

  • Three complimentary articles per month covering the latest real-time news, analysis, and opinion from Europe’s leading source of information on the Green economy and business
  • Receive important and breaking news stories via our daily news alert
  • Our weekly newsletter with the best of the week’s green business news and analysis

Join now

 

Already a BusinessGreen member?

Login

More on Waste

How the Great Bubble Barrier is intercepting river plastic before it reaches the ocean

How the Great Bubble Barrier is intercepting river plastic before it reaches the ocean

Philip Ehrhorn, co-founder and chief business development officer at The Great Bubble Barrier, discusses how the technology stops plastics from entering oceans

Stuart Stone
clock 29 September 2025 • 4 min read
How aerospace software is helping L'Oréal design sustainable shampoo bottles

How aerospace software is helping L'Oréal design sustainable shampoo bottles

Jacques Playe unpacks how L’Oréal is mixing marketers, material science, consumer insights, and modelling software used by the aerospace industry to make its packaging more sustainable

Stuart Stone
clock 25 September 2025 • 10 min read
'A game-changing moment for recycling': All toothpaste tubes sold in the UK now fully recyclable

'A game-changing moment for recycling': All toothpaste tubes sold in the UK now fully recyclable

WRAP claims tubes made from same material as milk bottles can now be recycled into garden furniture, plastic piping, and bleach bottles

Stuart Stone
clock 22 September 2025 • 3 min read