India’s efforts to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by 2030 will be in vain unless it can resolve the issue of microfibres, one of the major contributors of microplastic to the marine environment.
We tear our clothing into little pieces when we wash it in the washer. Microfibres are these tiny, invisible, thread-like particles that are typically less than 5 mm in size. They originate from synthetic, natural, and semi-synthetic clothing of all kinds.
Although synthetic microfibres, often known as microplastics, have received a lot of attention, the problem goes beyond them. Due to their propensity to leak a variety of chemicals and colours, natural and semi-synthetic microfibres have lately come to light as equally concerning contaminants.
These undetectable dangers put ecosystems’ capacity for development and reproduction in jeopardy when they enter, and when they unintentionally move up our food chain, they endanger human health.
We dutifully wash our clothing, yet we are unaware of how much pollution is produced by this seemingly little chore.
Microfibers enter aquatic systems and, ultimately, the marine environment directly in emerging nations like India where wastewater treatment systems appear to be insufficient. Even when a fraction of these microfibres are captured by wastewater treatment plants, they nonetheless manage to enter the environment through landfills or sludge applications.
The influence of hand washing, which is common in the Indian culture, is still an unresolved issue with possible repercussions. In emerging economies like India, the fast-growing textile sector and the culture of fast fashion are tightly gripping the younger generation and the unsustainable consumerist society. This “use-and-throw” mentality prioritises quantity above quality, which leads to less expensive textile designs, subpar fabric quality, and excess production. Unsustainability is a result of rapid urbanisation, rising purchasing power, rising GDP, and increased brand penetration in the Indian market.
