Most of us wear synthetic fabrics like polyester every day. Our dress shirts, yoga pants, fleeces, and even underwear are all increasingly made of synthetic materials — plastic, in fact. But these synthetic fabrics, from which 60% of all clothing on earth is made, have a big hidden problem: when they’re washed, they release tiny plastic bits — called microfibers — that flow down our drains, through water treatment plants, and out into our rivers, lakes and oceans by the billions.

Go deeper:

• Microfibers Solutions: How Do You Solve a Problem Like Microfiber Pollution?
• The Problem: Microfibers: Small Plastics, Big Problem
• Press Release: The Story of Stuff Rings Alarm About New Pollution Threat
• Take Action on Microfibers

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