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Wash your jeans only once a month
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Your comfortable blue #spijkerbroek may be harmful to our planet. Scientists have found large amounts of blue denim microfibres in water samples taken all over Canada, from Toronto to the North Pole.
Miriam Diamond, environmental chemist at the University of Toronto, and her colleagues discovered that between one in eight and one in four of all microfibres in the water samples were blue denim fabric.
Some of these microfibers were found at a depth of 1,500 meters. According to the researchers, this means that they can travel great distances. The team found the highest concentrations #jeans microfibers in shallow suburban lakes. Although the research was limited to Canada, researchers expect the same results from other places.
“The discovery of fibres in the Arctic is symbolic of the spread of human impacts,” says Diamond.
Natural microfibres
The team also investigated how many microfibres were lost from jeans during an average wash. They discovered that about fifty thousand microfibers of the jeans were released at each wash.
'Unfortunately, the results are not surprising for environmental scientists. Actually, we were expecting it, says environmental engineer Caroline Gauchotte-Lindsay from the University of Glasgow. Yet she finds this research relevant, because it looks at natural microfibres. These researchers previously overlooked in microplastic studies focusing on synthetic materials.
Wash less
According to Diamond and her colleagues, the effect of denim microfibres on the environment is still uncertain. 'Although they are not covered by plastic, they have been modified by humans, 'says marine biologist Samantha Athey of the University of Toronto.
Jeans are chemically treated during production, and denim absorbs the chemicals. 'We still have to answer the question of what impact this chemical modification has, 'says Athey. “But they are so ubiquitous that we have to look at them.” Meanwhile, the researchers advise to wash your jeans less. A jeans company whose products were used in the study proposes to wash your jeans once a month.
Miriam Diamond, environmental chemist at the University of Toronto, and her colleagues discovered that between one in eight and one in four of all microfibres in the water samples were blue denim fabric.
Some of these microfibers were found at a depth of 1,500 meters. According to the researchers, this means that they can travel great distances. The team found the highest concentrations #jeans microfibers in shallow suburban lakes. Although the research was limited to Canada, researchers expect the same results from other places.
“The discovery of fibres in the Arctic is symbolic of the spread of human impacts,” says Diamond.
Natural microfibres
The team also investigated how many microfibres were lost from jeans during an average wash. They discovered that about fifty thousand microfibers of the jeans were released at each wash.
'Unfortunately, the results are not surprising for environmental scientists. Actually, we were expecting it, says environmental engineer Caroline Gauchotte-Lindsay from the University of Glasgow. Yet she finds this research relevant, because it looks at natural microfibres. These researchers previously overlooked in microplastic studies focusing on synthetic materials.
Wash less
According to Diamond and her colleagues, the effect of denim microfibres on the environment is still uncertain. 'Although they are not covered by plastic, they have been modified by humans, 'says marine biologist Samantha Athey of the University of Toronto.
Jeans are chemically treated during production, and denim absorbs the chemicals. 'We still have to answer the question of what impact this chemical modification has, 'says Athey. “But they are so ubiquitous that we have to look at them.” Meanwhile, the researchers advise to wash your jeans less. A jeans company whose products were used in the study proposes to wash your jeans once a month.
Source: NewScientist
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