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The fashion industry is one of the world’s leading polluters and it has potential far-reaching health impacts on humans, according to new research by environmental non-profit organisation, Plastic Soup Foundation.
The report – Do clothes make us sick? Fashion, Fibres and Human Health – states that there is a clear relationship between high exposure to microplastic fibres and disease severity of two types of bowel diseases.
Exposure to these synthetic fibres can also cause chronic inflammation in the lungs, which is known to be a major cause of diseases such as cancer, heart disease, asthma and diabetes.
If inhaled, it could also potentially reach the liver, heart, kidneys, brain and even the foetus.
Prof. Dr. Barbro Melgert, one of the report’s referees, warns that high exposure to inhalable synthetic fibres may make it more difficult for the lungs to recover from damage.
Dr Melgert’s adds that this has also ‘inhibited’ the development of young lung cells in children.
A 2021 study found that children inhale twice as many plastic fibres as adults and are most likely to be at risk from adverse effects to their systems developing.
Microplastic fibres can be transported through the atmosphere to some of the remotest parts of the world.
This is a major concern as the cause of disease attributed to air pollution is now estimated to be on par with other major global health risks, such as unhealthy diets and tobacco smoking.
Furthermore, 99% of the world’s population currently inhales air with pollution levels, which includes plastic particles, that exceed World Health Organization limits.
While there have been over 400 publications on ‘microplastic’ and ‘health’ in the past two years, Plastic Soup Foundation is calling on the European Commission to take drastic steps in addressing this issue.
The organisation launched the Plastic Fashion campaign on 01 November 2022, which calls on the fashion industry to produce products that shed 50% less plastic fibres in five years.
‘This report must be met with serious change in the fashion industry, as well as government action.
‘Since the first edition of the Plastic Health Summit in 2019, the significance of microplastics and health gained traction. We now know that microplastic fibres can cause potentially serious impacts to our health.’
‘Plastic Soup Foundation welcomes the European Commission’s ambition to make the textile industry significantly more sustainable by 2030. We now want to see our seven recommendations considered by the Commission in their proposal for legislation and for the fashion industry to action our five recommendations.’
MARIA WESTERBOS
Founder and director at Plastic Soup Foundation
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