From Laundry to the Lake: How Fashion Feeds Microplastic Pollution
- The Cleanup Team
- 42 minutes ago
- 5 min read
By Isabella Hamilton, Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup Community Engagement Coordinator for Barrie-Innisfil
The Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup (GLPC) recognizes the Williams Treaties First Nations, including the Alderville First Nation, Chippewas of Beausoleil First Nation, Chippewas of Georgian Island First Nation, Chippewas of Rama First Nation, Curve Lake First Nation, Hiawatha First Nation, and the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation, as well as the Huron Wendat and the Metis Nation of Ontario - Region 7 and acknowledges their historic and current connection and stewardship for the Lake Simcoe region.
What are our clothes made of? It’s a question we rarely consider as we get dressed each day, yet it’s a powerful reminder of the far-reaching impact our clothing choices have on the environment. Behind the glamour of the fashion industry lies a system that contributes significantly to the global waste problem. While the majority of clothing waste is visible in rivers such as the Buriganga in Bangladesh and the Citarum in Indonesia, there is a microscopic player right here at home in our Great Lakes.
The Hidden Cost of Clothing
The fashion industry is the second-largest consumer of water and contributes to roughly 10% of global carbon emissions. It draws more freshwater from natural sources than almost any other sector, tapping heavily into rivers, lakes, and underground aquifers. Producing just one cotton t-shirt requires about 2,500 litres of water, while a single pair of jeans needs around 7,600 litres. Despite this massive use of natural resources, 85% of textiles end up in landfills, creating a huge waste problem even before factoring in the environmental cost of making them. Every year, an estimated 453 million pounds of microfibres, which is equivalent to 50 billion plastic bottles, flows into waterways, polluting and harming ecosystems.
Synthetic microfibers, threadlike pieces of plastic less than 5 millimeters (0.2 inches)
Credit: Vancouver Aquarium
Microplastics as a Growing Threat
The 1980s saw a boom in synthetic fibre use, a shift closely linked to the birth of “fast fashion.” Fast fashion is defined as “inexpensive clothing produced rapidly by mass-market retailers in response to the latest trends.” Polyester, nylon, and acrylic do not easily biodegrade. Clothing composed of these materials can shed microfibres when washed, ending up in our water where they can disrupt ecosystems, marine wildlife, and even human health. A single load of laundry can release around 700,000 microfibres, which can bypass wastewater treatment facilities due to their size, ending up in freshwater systems, such as our Great Lakes.
Microfibres are a type of microplastic, plastic particles that are smaller than 5mm, which can bioaccumulate in animals if ingested, leading to disruptions in food chains and decreasing the biodiversity necessary to sustain ecosystems. The effects of these microplastics on human health have become increasingly evident, associated with issues such as neurotoxicity, endocrine system disruption, cancer, and metabolic changes. Microplastics can enter the body through ingestion, skin absorption, or by inhaling or coming into contact with particles released as larger plastics break down.
Microplastics and fibres found at the City of Barrie Marina using a Seabin (left) and at Sibbald Point Provincial Park using a BeBot (right).
Local Solutions
The Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup deploys plastic capture technologies such as Seabins, PixieDrones, LittaTraps, BeBots, and Gutter Bins to remove plastic pollution, including microplastics, from lakes, nearshore environments, beaches, and storm drains. Since 2020, the initiative has recovered hundreds of thousands of pieces of plastic, including fibres, microplastic fragments, and pre-production plastic pellets. Our detailed waste characterizations show that small hard plastic fragments consistently rank among the top three items collected each year.
Georgian Bay Forever, an environmental organization working to protect Georgian Bay, undertook a pilot study in collaboration with researchers from the University of Toronto from 2019 to 2023 and found that:
Microfibre laundry filters with 100 μm pores captured 89% of microplastics;
Front-load washers shed fewer fibres than top-load models, suggesting better retrofitting opportunities;
2.25 billion to 34 billion microfibres were diverted through the installation of laundry filters across 97 households.with functional art designs to build awareness for watershed protection and restoration.
While removing waste from our environment is essential, to create lasting change, we must also tackle the problem at its source, which means rethinking and reforming the systems that contribute to waste in the first place. This is where the principles of a circular economy come in: designing products for durability, repair, and reuse; shifting business models away from single-use convenience; keeping materials in circulation for as long as possible; holding producers accountable for end-of-life impacts; and promoting policies that prevent pollution before it happens.
Youth Leadership & Consumer Action: Threading Change
Threading Change is the world’s largest youth-led ethical fashion NGO, envisioning a future where fashion is ethical and circular, rooted in justice with climate, gender, labour, and racial equity at the forefront. Working at the intersection of consumer education and industry transformation, Threading Change combines education, innovation, and consultation to improve the state of the fashion industry for everyone, from workers to consumers. From Fair Fashion Festivals, where they host speakers, changemakers, and local citizens, to high school workshops, there are infinite ways to get involved! Learn more about Threading Change here: https://www.threadingchange.org/
Threading Change’s Fair Fashion Festival in York Region, 2025
How to take action!
You can help prevent microfibres from entering our Great Lakes through simple, everyday actions!
Before you purchase new clothing, check the composition tag. Opt for natural textiles, such as linen, wool, silk, and hemp, which do not contain plastic and are biodegradable.
Purchase a laundry filter, which will prevent microfibres from entering our wastewater treatment facilities.
Handwash or wash your clothes in cold water. This has been shown to reduce shedding, as they are gentler processes that minimize the breakdown of synthetic fibres when compared to machine washing, and they save energy!
Limit your detergent use. Detergent also increases microfibre release!
What we wear matters, not just for our wardrobes, but to the health of our waterways, wildlife, and ourselves.
References
Carrubba, A. (2020, November 2). Rotten river: Life on one of the world’s most polluted waterways – photo essay. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/nov/02/rotten-river-life-on-one-of-the-worlds-most-polluted-waterways-photo-essay
Engel, E. (2022, May 13). The big read: Saving the great lakes, one laundry load at a time. CollingwoodToday.ca. https://www.collingwoodtoday.ca/the-big-read/the-big-read-saving-the-great-lakes-one-laundry-load-at-a-time-5360801?utm_source=orilliamatters.com&utm_campaign=orilliamatters.com%3A+outbound&utm_medium=referral
Fashion, N. meanings, etymology and more | oxford english dictionary. Oxford Dictionary. (n.d.). https://www.oed.com/dictionary/fashion_n
Hossain, M. (2023, April 19). Living along a “dead” river in Bangladesh. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/earth-day-bangladesh-river/
Kumar, M., Chaudhary, V., Kumar, R., Chaudhary, V., & Srivastav, A. L. (2025). Microplastics, their effects on ecosystems, and general strategies for mitigation of Microplastics: A review of recent developments, challenges, and future prospects. Environmental Pollution and Management, 2, 87–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epm.2025.03.001
Maiti, R. (2025, January 20). Fast fashion: Its detrimental effect on the environment. Earth.Org. https://earth.org/fast-fashions-detrimental-effect-on-the-environment/
Reduce microplastics pollution from your laundry. PSF Marine Science Program. (2023, September 13). https://marinescience.psf.ca/resource/reduce-microplastics-pollution-from-your-laundry/
Textiles Tuesday - Circular Economy Month. Waste Reduction Week. (2024, October 20). https://circulareconomymonth.ca/themes/waste-reduction-week/
Isabella is a recent Life Sciences graduate from Queen’s University and an incoming Master’s student in Biotechnology at McGill University. She is passionate about the intersection of science, innovation, and sustainability, with a focus on reducing plastic pollution, advancing sustainable materials, and addressing textile waste through circular economy models. Motivated by the environmental impacts of our current consumption systems, Isabella has pursued research and projects centred on ecological solutions. She looks forward to deepening her expertise and contributing to scalable, biotech-driven innovations that promote long-term environmental resilience.
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