Microfibers — tiny threads shed from our clothing, many of which are plastic — have quietly become one of the most pervasive forms of pollution in the world. They drift through the air, wash into waterways, settle into soils, and accumulate in wildlife and human tissues. Yet many people have never heard of them, and until recently, even scientists struggled to detect them.

5 Gyres is helping shift that landscape. Through new research, public engagement, and policy advocacy, the organization is uncovering how microfibers move through the environment and identifying solutions — both large and small — that can meaningfully reduce their impact.

To learn more about what the science is showing and what comes next, we spoke with Dr. Lisa Erdle, who leads 5 Gyres’ microfiber research, and Andra Janieks, who translates that science into action-oriented communication.

Understanding the Problem

Bioneers: Why is the microfiber issue so urgent and also so under the radar compared to other plastics?

Dr. Lisa Erdle: Microfibers have flown under the radar mostly because we literally couldn’t see them for a long time. Early methods for studying microplastics used mesh sizes that were just too coarse — these tiny fibers simply slipped through. It wasn’t until around 2010 that researchers in the UK examined smaller size fractions near a sewage outflow and suddenly found mostly microfibers. And the plastics they found matched the plastics in our clothing: polyester, nylon, all these textile fibers.

Now that our methods have improved, we’re finding fibers everywhere — sediment, fish, water, air. And also in us. They’re incredibly lightweight, so they travel huge distances through the atmosphere. That’s likely why they’re showing up in remote places like the Arctic, the Antarctic, and even on the top of Mount Everest.

Andra Janieks: On the consumer side, I think microfibers have stayed under the radar because people don’t associate clothing with plastic. When most folks think of plastic pollution, they picture bottles, straws, all the obvious stuff. But things like nylon and spandex are plastic, and most people don’t realize that more than 60% of our clothing today is made from plastic fibers.

Bioneers: How does this issue compare to some of the plastic pollutants, like plastic bottles, that consumers tend to be more aware of?

Lisa: The big difference is exposure. Our latest research — and work from other scientists — shows that we’re exposed to far more microplastics through the air we breathe than through the food we eat or the water we drink. One study found that during a 30-minute meal, more than ten times as many airborne microplastics settled on a plate than were present in the seafood itself.

When we do air sampling, we’re finding that a huge portion of what’s floating around is microfibers. They settle into city dust, wash into waterways, or we inhale them directly.

Those fibers can get into our lungs, our blood, even the olfactory bulb — the channels connecting our noses to our brain. So our exposure from the air is much higher than the microplastics from bottled water or food. It’s a completely different scale.

Bioneers: Your research has already identified key pollution pathways, such as washing, drying, and wearing textiles. What new or unexpected pathways are emerging? Which ones worry you most?

Lisa: One of the most surprising findings has been just how many microfibers are in the air — far more than we previously understood. We’ve known for years that washing a single load of laundry can release millions of fibers. Those go to wastewater treatment plants, where some are trapped in sludge and end up in agricultural soils, and some go straight into waterways.

But newer research shows that stormwater, rain gardens, and especially city dust are full of microfibers. And that led us to dryers. When we dry our clothes, dryers emit large amounts of microfibers directly into the atmosphere. This is still a very new area of research, but it’s becoming clear that dryers are a major source of airborne microfibers, at least in regions where dryers are commonly used.

Everyday wear is also a significant pathway; friction and movement cause fabrics to shed constantly. So it’s not just washing. It’s washing and drying and simply living in our clothes. All of that sheds fibers into the air, where they travel, settle out as dust, and eventually enter ecosystems or our bodies.

What We Know — and Don’t Yet Know — About Microfiber Health Risks

Bioneers: What do we know so far about the potential impacts of microfibers on human health and ecosystems?

Lisa: We know the most about how microfibers affect ecosystems, because that’s where the earliest research has been focused. When microfibers enter wildlife, they can trigger a wide range of negative effects: changes in feeding behavior, reduced growth, lower survival, and signs of stress in different organs. The chemicals associated with microfibers can also be endocrine disruptors, so we see things like oxidative stress or changes in the hepato-somatic index — essentially, the size of an animal’s liver relative to its body, which is a clear indicator that something is wrong.

When it comes to human health, the research is newer, but the exposure pathways are becoming clearer. We’re now finding microfibers in many different human tissues: placenta, liver, kidneys, lungs, and even parts of the brain. These fibers are so small that they can move between tissues, and their shape means they can become entangled and harder for the body to clear.

So while we know a lot about ecological impacts, the human health side is still developing — and frankly, that’s what concerns me most. We’re seeing fibers in places they shouldn’t be, and early lab experiments show a range of harmful effects on cells and organisms. The big questions now are: how much are we being exposed to, how long do these fibers stay in the body, and what the long-term consequences might be. There’s still a lot we don’t know, but what we’re already seeing is enough to pay close attention.

Connecting Science to People

Bioneers: Andra, your role focuses on turning complicated science, such as this microfiber research, into something people can act on. What’s your approach to helping people feel empowered rather than overwhelmed?

Andra: There’s so much doom and gloom in the environmental space. When people hear that microfibers are in our lungs or even our brains, it’s easy to feel powerless. So we try to focus on solutions-based messaging wherever possible. Earlier this year, we ran a national poll on attitudes toward microplastic pollution, and what really stood out was how positively people responded when we paired problems with specific solutions. Across age ranges and regions, support was consistently high — around 80% — for every solution we presented.

That reinforces what we see anecdotally: When people understand both the issue and what they can do about it, they feel more hopeful and more willing to engage. So whenever we share research, we also try to offer a practical action, a better material choice, or a way to support policy. It’s about giving people a pathway forward, not just telling them all the ways the problem is getting worse.

Last year, we created the “Do Less for the Planet” campaign because we knew we’d be sharing a lot of new research on microfiber pollution, and we didn’t want people to feel overwhelmed by bad news. The question we always get is, “What can I do about it?” And the science showed something surprisingly simple: one of the most effective things individuals can do is actually to do less — buy less, wash less, waste less.

Those became our three pillars:

• Buy Less: Keep clothing in circulation longer through secondhand, swaps, and repairs.
• Wash Less: Washing and drying are major sources of microfiber emissions, and most of us wash far more often than necessary.
• Waste Less: Repairing and caring for what we have reduces the need for new clothing and the shedding that comes with it.

We paired the campaign with practical tools — workshops, mending tutorials, and downloadable guides — and people responded really positively. These are low-cost, accessible actions that actually make a difference.

Lisa: From the science side, it was a great way to share research in a way people could immediately apply. For example, most shedding happens in the first few washes, so secondhand clothing emits far fewer fibers. The campaign made those kinds of insights feel tangible and doable. We’re all going to keep wearing clothes. “Do Less” helps people understand what’s realistic and what really matters.

Real Action

Bioneers: For someone who wants to reduce microfiber pollution from home, which actions truly make the biggest difference?

Andra: The simplest actions are often the most powerful, which is where our “Do Less” framing comes from. Buying less, washing less, and wasting less all make a measurable difference — and they’re free.

Lisa: Another meaningful option, if someone has the ability, is installing a washing machine filter. They can capture up to 90% of microfibers from a single load. They’re not accessible for everyone yet — cost and installation can be barriers — but they’re a powerful tool if it’s an option.

In terms of actions that matter less, sometimes people get very focused on things that don’t change much, like switching from one type of synthetic garment to another. Those choices can help, but they’re not as impactful as reducing the amount of washing, line drying, or simply consuming less overall.

Systems Change

Bioneers: How do you think about balancing individual actions with the larger systemic changes needed from industry and policymakers?

Andra: For us, it’s never an either/or; both levels of action matter, and they resonate with different people. Some folks love simple, everyday steps like washing less or shopping secondhand. Others want to plug into policy efforts or support filtration requirements on washing machines. We try to meet people wherever they are by offering both.

And the truth is, individual and systemic actions reinforce each other. When people learn about an issue and start taking small steps, they also become more likely to sign a petition, call an elected official, or support a brand that’s trying to change its practices. Policymakers and businesses pay attention to that — they listen to their stakeholders. Consumer awareness and pressure can absolutely help drive bigger, upstream changes.

Lisa: Exactly. The consumer and industry solutions actually dovetail. For instance, washing machine filters work incredibly well, but they’re expensive. That’s why the next logical step is requiring manufacturers to build filtration into machines by default.

The evidence from household trials helps lay the groundwork for policy and industry action. It shows that people will use these tools correctly and that the technology meaningfully reduces microfiber emissions. And the same pattern holds across the supply chain: Consumer-level insights often help make the case for industry-level solutions.

Bioneers: Where in the textile supply chain are the most promising solutions emerging right now?

Lisa: We’re seeing progress across the whole supply chain, which is encouraging. Downstream solutions like washing machine and dryer filters are advancing quickly. But solutions are also moving farther upstream, into the design and manufacturing stages, which is where emissions can be reduced most significantly.

During textile production, clothing sheds a huge amount of microfibers, especially when fabrics are dyed at high temperatures or washed repeatedly during processing. Many consumers never see this stage because it happens behind the scenes, often overseas, but it’s a major source of pollution. That’s why we just published an Industry Playbook outlining best practices — from choosing materials that shed less, to manufacturing processes that reduce fiber release, to filtration systems in textile mills.

These interventions can dramatically lower emissions long before a garment ever reaches someone’s home.

Andra: On the innovation front, more brands are experimenting with new, nature-based fibers or re-thinking durability so clothing lasts longer and sheds less. Each of these pieces is part of a much bigger shift, and even if they’re not widespread yet, they show what’s possible when companies start investing in R&D.

The Hopeful Horizon

Bioneers: What gives each of you hope right now when you look at the future of textiles, innovation, and microfiber solutions?

Lisa: I’m really encouraged by how quickly the cycle of problem → solution → innovation is tightening. Once we understood the scale of microfiber emissions from washing machines, it didn’t take long for filtration technology to follow and to prove incredibly effective. The same thing is now happening with dryers: The research is only a couple of years old, and we already have emerging solutions that can capture airborne fibers before they escape into the environment.

What excites me most is that these solutions are moving farther upstream. Textile manufacturers are starting to look seriously at durability, shedding rates, and ways to reduce fiber loss during production. That stage of the supply chain has enormous potential, and we’re seeing more companies engage with the science and invest in improvements. The pace of innovation is accelerating, and that gives me a lot of hope.

Andra: I get excited when I see brands experimenting with entirely new kinds of fibers — especially ones derived from nature-based materials. Some companies are exploring seaweed-based fibers, for example. They’re still in early stages, and we’ll need solid research to understand their full impacts, but it’s inspiring to see real investment in rethinking what textiles can be.

These innovations won’t solve everything overnight, and some will hit roadblocks. But the fact that companies are pouring resources into R&D and trying bold new ideas is energizing. It shows that people are taking the problem seriously and looking for long-term, systemic solutions.