The recent news of microplastics found for the first time in human breast milk through a research in the Universit Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy, raises a serious concern about the ubiquitous presence of microplastics in the environment.

Almost two years back, in 2020, we had news of microplastics found for the first time in the placentas of unborn babies. Most of us think thatnothing is an emergency until we ourselves feel the burn, or see the red lights. But, whether we see it or not, the truth is that the danger of contamination of the human body by the microplastic is a massive danger that is going to affect the mankind for generations to an unimaginable extent.

Plastic waste and microplastic pollution are chocking our planet by e ntering in the entire ecosystem from ocean, to rivers, mountains, cities and villages in animals and humans alike. According to UNEP, an estimated 11 million metric tons of plastic enters the ocean annually, making a massive impact on our environment and the entire eco-system as a whole including our life and livelihood. But the greatest concern today is that of the invisible microplastics-tiny plastic particlesless than five millimeters in diameter, posing biggest danger both in the ocean and on the land. While visible pieces of plastics choke marine habitats like fish, tortoise, sea mammals and birds, microplastics cause more hazardous damage as this is ingested by all types animals and living bodies and ultimately get into human bodies through the food chain.

Another dangerous aspect ofmicroplasticsis that it can also act like a sponge, soaking up other toxins in the water which are also ingestedby all sorts of marine wildlife and accumulate in the food chain.The biggest concern is that there is no way available to remove the microplastics from the ocean and the environment as a whole.According to a study around 73 percent of fish caught at mid-ocean depths in the North-west Atlantic had microplastic in their stomachs.

One of the major sources of microplastic pollution in our oceans, about 35 percent, come only from synthetic textiles. Most of these microplastics enter the sea while washing our textiles and clothing both at home and in the factories, posing a major challenge to the environment. Today, approximately 65% of our textiles are made from synthetic fibres and in the last 30 years synthetic fibreuse by textile industry has increased by more than 500 per cent reaching to almost 80 million tons. There is no doubt that synthetic fibres have brought us a great degree of comfort because of their functional properties and uses in numerous products in the fashion industry. But, as a consequence of large-scale use of synthetic fibre, the industry has become the largest contributor to the microplastics pollution in the ocean today. Fast fashion is said to be the biggest culprits here, because they use low quality materials that can easily shred microplastics during the first few washes. But it is not just about fast fashion, today most our garments viz. home furnishing, upholstery are made of plastic in the name of polyester, nylon, acrylic, spandex and many more. Just washing them can pollute the oceans.

The scale of the problem is huge, and there seems to be no quick solution to it. We need a radical approach if we are really concerned about the planet and people.

International agencies, research institutions, universities and countries are busy doing research and innovation in order to address this ever growing challenge. France has made microplastic filters mandatory to be fitted in all the washing machines both domestic and industrial, from 2023, and the EU is considering a similar rule. The UK has also brought in a similar legislation of making mandatory use of mircoplastic filters in all the washing machines from 2025 to stop the microplastics reaching our water channels, particularly the oceans. But there is an obvious question about what do you do with the filtered microplastics recovered from the washing machines?

While introducing measures, microplastic filters may be a good idea to begin with. But, we must understand that out of 7.5 billion people in the world, more than 5 billion do not have access to a washing machine. In India only around 13 percent of the households do have a washing machine. A vast majority of the people worldwide still washes their clothes by hand. Now the question is how to stop microplastics released through washing clothes by hand? No answers so far.So what do we do then? Therefore, until we find a full proof solution, emphasis should be on the reduction of plastic-based fibre use in the textiles and apparel industry by systematically replacing use of natural fibres. Designers can also play a very critical role in deciding the manufacturing of the fabric made-ups and garments that shred less microplastics during washing or drying. On the consumer side, we can always think of buying less of synthetic-based textiles and apparel, washing our clothes only when necessary and also switching over to natural fibre-based garments. We need urgent measures and if no radical initiatives are taken to reduce microplastics pollution, it will further damage the entire ecosystem, aggravate climate change and lead to genetic disorder of humankind and health hazards beyond imagination.

(Dr Jena is a professor in the area of sustainable fashion at National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and chairman, Textiles Association of India, Odisha unit, Email:binayajena@gmail.com)

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Microplastic pollution: One of biggest threats to ecosystem - Daily Pioneer