CALIFORNIA - A new report commissioned by US outdoor brand Patagonia suggests 40 per cent of microfibres which are released from synthetic jackets during laundering end up entering rivers, lakes and oceans. "Microfibres are a pervasive pollutant and could be affecting ecosystems and human health," claim the researchers, who focused their work on synthetic microfibres, a subcategory of microplastics consisting of small fibres shed from clothing or other textiles. The report focused on microfibres from synthetic clothing and textiles, the most prominent of these being polyester, acrylic, nylon, and rayon.
