Our Clothes Are Trashing the Oceans. Here's What We Can Do About It

Ever heard there might soon be more plastic than fish in the sea? Yeah, sadly it’s down to us humans again.

Does this shock you? Same here.

So, Asphalte's part of a global industry that's trashing our oceans. According to a 2023 report dropped on the European Commission's desk, a whopping 35% of ocean-bound microplastics come from textiles. Wrap your head around that for a moment. It's more than the tyre industry. More than all the microplastic “dust” produced in cities around the world combined. How can that be?

Here's the kicker: the biggest culprit in this mess is something most folks don't even know about: our laundry habits.

When we talk about how dirty the textile industry is, we usually focus on raw materials and manufacturing. But guess what? Wearing, washing, and disposing of clothes is just as dirty as making them.

As you can see from the ADEME infographic —each step in a garment's life cycle leaves its mark. Sure, a 100% organic cotton tee from Portugal isn't the same as a polyester jacket from Bangladesh, but they both leave a footprint.

And here's the plot twist: domestic washing is one of the worst offenders in this cycle. Yeah, that moment when you chuck your dirty laundry in the machine? Not as innocuous as you might think.

Besides guzzling drinking water, it also releases a huge volume of "microplastics".

Here's the lowdown: Chemical raw materials now account for 70% of the world's textile fibre production. In 2021, we pumped out a whopping 60.5 million tonnes of polyester, compared to 24.7 million tonnes of cotton. Now, whenever you toss your laundry in, those microfibres slip down the drain. No biggie for natural stuff, but a total bummer for chemical junk like polyester, polyamide, elastane, acrylic—you name it.

For your typical 6 kg laundry load of synthetics, about 700,000 microplastics journey down the wastewater. And since they're smaller than 5 mm, they breeze right through sewage plants. Guess where they end up? Yep, the big blue—500,000 tonnes worth every year. Stack them all up and it’s 50 times taller than the Eiffel Tower. Nice going.

That’s the big picture for you: The more we wash our synthetics, the dirtier the planet gets.

To top it off, these micro-plastics don't vanish—they just break into bits and scatter everywhere:

• Fish eat them.
• They are dispersed as snow and rain.
• On beaches? Yep, they're there too.
• They contaminate soil.
• Even end up in cattle food as meal. So in your hamburger.

They're literally everywhere—on our plates, above our heads, under our feet.

Whining about it isn't going to get us anywhere. We need to roll up our sleeves and get practical about it.

If we managed to spread plastic all the way to the lowest ocean floor, the Marianas Trench, and up to the peak of Mount Everest, we can surely be expected to clean up after ourselves right?

Here's how we can chip in and make a big difference and fast:

• Check those labels to see what your clothes are really made of and follow the care guides.
• Opt for natural, biodegradable materials—organic cotton, linen, hemp, certified wool. It might work out a little more expensive than polyester, but your skin and the planet will thank you.
• Invest in a good laundry bag or treat the planet to a washing machine with a microfibre filter. (these will be compulsory in France from 1 January 2025).
• Ease up on the laundry—go for fewer washes, and when you do opt for a max 30°C setting.
• Swap out chemical detergents for natural ones. Some brands offer nice, clean detergents. Alternatively, you can just as easily make your own at home with a good old YouTube tutorial.
• Spread the word—share this article far and wide.

The game plan ain't exactly revolutionary—just the old "Think, reduce, reuse, recycle" mantra. In other words, do less but do it better.

Yeah, the sight of 171,000 billion micro-particles swarming the planet is chilling, but we need to focus on solutions.

The big picture might seem overwhelming, but we can make a change by simply adjusting our habits, opting for quality, making our clothes last longer, and not washing them every time someone breathes on them.

Are you in?

Asphalte