Nancy If there is a dress that can make up the gap between the land and the ocean, it is a cheap swimming suit. Every time our clothes are washed, tiny plastic fibers are put into the water. Although some washing machine wastewater treatment can filter out most of the plastic, when we wear a swimmer, a superfine fiber bomb, go to the beach?
The plastic goes directly into the water and is consumed by the marine life, and eventually disappears on our plate. Help keep our people outside, not our stomach, and more importantly, to know how to take care of them, recycle, and keep a sustainable swimsuit.
The world produces 2015, 530 thousand tons of clothing fiber. More than 97% of them come from new materials, about 2/3 of them are plastic.
In Australia, the annual market for swimsuits is expected to reach 2 million 100 thousand, up to 2021. This figure accounts for only 0.1% of the national clothing market, but it points to the huge potential source of marine plastics.
Most of us know that plastic means bad news for the environment. We saw a picture of the turtles. They were too close to the plastic bag. The albatross’s stomach was filled with lighter and cap.
What is not visible is the “micro plastic” – a trend of great influence on small waste plastics.
Micro plastic, as the name implies, less than five millimeters. But like large pieces of plastic, they resist the destruction of the environment. They float in the water, and their small size means that they can treat the filter through water. For many marine species, they are a perfect small mouth food, they may transport harmful pollutants, and these pollutants will eventually appear in our seafood.
The greatest contribution to micro pollution from the laundry basket beachone is to wash clothes. The rolling and grinding machine causes the fracture of the clothing fiber.
This means that when washing clothes, it is estimated that as many as one million tons of fiber is released every year – this is a really worrying figure. Although treatment can remove 98% of these fibers, tens of millions of people pass through a plant every day.
Every time you wash your clothes, thousands of micro plastics are released to the drainage system and waste water for treatment.
The washing process recommended in the swimsuit is not as tough as the other clothes in our wardrobe. However, the extension of the swimming pool or beach will lead to a direct introduction of the microfiber into the water.
The ordinary swimsuit contains a mixture of artificial fibers. Unless you are a super sports technology suit, you can expect a mixture of nylon (polyamide) and elastic fiber, spandex, Lycra (polyurethane) outside, with polyamide or polyester lining. Use synthetic fibers, especially polyurethane, to give your clothes the most need to stretch to your body’s outline.
The sun is a problem, too. Ultraviolet light destroys the structure of the plastic, making the fiber more brittle and easy to break.
Whether exposure to the beach or sandwiched in your Boardies, athletes are weakened and worn in each use. If you swim, canoe and enjoy surfing, sooner or later your trunk or TANKINI becomes part of the problem. I should know – my kayak and the pre – competitive athletes, and studied the impact of the micro plastic seafood for six years. Hold up my hand and I’m on the same boat (and the swimming pool).
So, what can you do for green, clean clothes?
Well, if you have a standard cheap swimming suits, I suggest you gently rinse it after each use and dry it. Removal of chlorine and salt is essential for maintaining the strength of the fiber and reducing the fracture. But avoid scrubbing – you don’t want to add any more problems.
If you are looking for a new market, like Luz and light beach brand, it recruits cannabis enthusiasts to combine natural fiber with suitable mindset and polyurethane peace, and reduce your guilt by 97% of clothing. Though the resistance to chlorine is low and the life span may be shorter, these alternatives may be perfect for less active swimming pools and beach fans.
If you need synthetic durability, then turn to the support of the circular economy. A brand, Odina and ecological tour use recycled fiber. Econyl, recycled nylon, also used by big brands such as Speedo. The bomb bay sustainable swimwear, fahertyand corru swimsuit even is recovered by ocean plastic.
Although these methods can not completely prevent plastics from being released into the water (and ultimately affect the environment), they will greatly reduce the speed of fiber shedding and the volume of plastic manufacturing.
At the end of lifecurrently, about 73% of our clothes were buried or burned. However, as the reliable source of recyclable materials is used, more companies can use recycled fibers. This helps us to increase the amount of recycled fibers in textile production from poor 2% to a more sustainable level.
Remember, give your swimsuit (clothes, etc.) at the end of its life – the elasticity is already in a different food bag.
Recycling instead of sending, superfine fiber bomb landfill. Some brands, such as H, M, will take back the clothes you don’t want. Otherwise, you can pay attention to the nearby recycling points and help others into the green pool.
