Our clothing is largely plastic-based, and when we wash it, pieces shed off and end up in our washing machines as microfibers. In fact, a single load of laundry can release up to 18 million microfibers, and these tiny pieces of plastic end up in our ocean, open land, farm fields and rivers.
In California alone, the number of microfibers released into our environment in a single year is greater than all the stars in our galaxy. Imagine how many microfibers the entire United States is collectively dumping into our ocean and on land!
The good news? There are easy and economical ways to help curb this crisis at the source, such as adding microfiber filters to all new washing machines. Take action with Ocean Conservancy and call on your elected leaders to address microfiber pollution now.