Fibres & Fabrics

Fashion's Impact On The World's Oceans

The fashion industry is a major contributor to microplastic pollution of the ocean. What do you need to know and what can you do about it?

Over a third (35 percent) of all microplastics released into the world's oceans are from synthetic textiles.1

Between half million and a million tons of plastic microfibres are discharged into wastewater each year from the washing of synthetic clothes.2

Polyester, the major synthetic fibre, now commands a 62 percent market share and sheds on average six times more microplastic fibres than nylon.3

Source: Textile Exchange Preferred Fiber and Materials Market Report 2021

Microplastics are pla…

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26 November 2021
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Author
Clare Lissaman

Head of Oxfam Advisory Services at Oxfam and 3 others