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Micro-Plastics Are Everywhere, What Can We Do?




What Are Micro-plastics?

Micro-plastics are tiny particles of plastic, less than five millimetres long.

There are 2 categories of micro-plastics

  1. Primary These are the micro-plastics that are directly released into the environment as small particles.

  2. Secondary These come from larger plastics, things such as water bottles, bags, fishing nets, plastic storage containers, where the plastic breaks off into smaller pieces over time.


"Because of their chemical structure, micro-plastics attach easily to known endocrine-disrupting chemicals—including dioxins, pesticides (like DDT), brominated flame retardants, phthalates, and bisphenol A (BPA)—in the environment.

That means that the endocrine disruptors go everywhere that micro-plastics do: domestic water systems, rivers, lakes, oceans, and the air.

Eventually they make their way into our bodies


Some of the same harmful chemicals that attach to microplastics from the environment, like BPA, are also found in clothes that are made from synthetic materials..." (source: goop.com)


Textiles are the largest source of primary micro-plastics accounting for 34.8% of global micro-plastic pollution. When clothes made from materials such as polyester, acrylic, nylon and polyamide are washed with your laundry, worn or dried they release these tiny plastic fibres in the water and air


The research team demonstrated in a study published last year, that chemicals were leached from micro-plastics into human sweat. New research now shows that those chemicals can also be absorbed from sweat across the skin barrier into the body.


Whats The Impact of Micro-plastics?

Microscopic plastic pieces are in the food we eat, the air we breathe and the water we drink

Chemicals like BPA, phthalates and PFAS can mimic human hormones, the body’s chemical messengers controlling processes like reproduction, growth and metabolism. Exposure to these substances has been shown to increase the risk of everything from infertility to poorer fetal development and cancer.


Micro-plastic pollution may be having a profound impact on people’s hormones, affecting blood pressure, fertility, immune systems and causing multiple diseases including cancer.

Dr. Ivone Mirpuri, a leading hormone specialist, says that through her research and observations, chemicals in plastic have triggered rising levels of abnormal development and illnesses over the past five decades, ranging from stunted fertility and male/female sex malformations to obesity, diabetes, cancer, heart attacks and cognitive, behavioural and other brain-related problems such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity (ADH).

‘There is now solid scientific evidence that so-called endocrine disrupting chemicals, or EDC’s, now commonplace in the natural environment as a result of plastic pollution, are blocking the natural function of hormones,’ she said.

Dr. Mirpuri described EDC’s as the ‘No1 threat’ to humankind and she believes that humankind could be wiped out within 200 years unless urgent action is taken to reduce plastic pollution.


This all paints a very grim picture for our future so what can we do?


"Removing micro-plastics from your body is not easy and its a continuous effort, It requires commitment to limit our exposure to the best of our ability and focus on a healthy lifestyle. This can aid the bodies' natural detoxification processes."


Here's some simple and easy lifestyle changes to help with reducing micro-plastics in your life.


  1. Buy Organic Natural Clothing

In their untreated state fabrics like cotton, silk, linen, wool, hemp, viscose, modal, and TENCEL are not made from oil and do not shed micro-plastics.

All types of material are going to produce some level of microfibres, but the micro-fibres from natural material, like cotton, tend to stay larger than those from synthetic materials. That’s because cotton fibres frequently become tangled, creating bigger pieces of lint that are not readily released into the air.


2. Change How You Do Laundry

  • only wash full loads of laundry as this reduces friction leading to less shedding of fibres.

  • Wash less often

  • Wash on a cold cycle for a shorter time and

  • if possible use a front loading washing machine, as research as shown top loader washing machines shed more micro-plastics than front loaders. (Source: nps.gov)

3. Avoid Single use plastics.

Be mindful of using single use plastics such as take away food containers, coffee cups, cutlery, plates, straws, stirrers and plastic bags


4. Buy Plastic-Free Cosmetics

Micro-beads can show up in a variety of cosmetic and household products. Read labels carefully, looking for words that indicate the use of micro-beads.

Avoid products with ingredients such as:

  • Polyethylene, abbreviated PE

  • Polypropylene, abbreviated PP

  • Polyethylene terephthalate, a form of polyester abbreviated PET or PETE

  • Poly-methyl methacrylate, abbreviated PMMA

  • Nylon

Opt for sustainable cosmetics and household products that offer alternative ingredients, often listed as “natural alternatives” to micro-beads.


5. Regularly Dust and Vacuum

A notable 39% of dust particles around the home is made up of micro-plastics.

You can reduce that amount by keeping your home as fresh and clean as possible. Do this by:

Reduce Single use plastics plastic bags, eating utensils, food containers,


5. Don't Microwave In Plastic.

Heat makes plastic release harmful chemicals like BPA so if you are going to microwave your foods always microwave in ceramic or glass

Source: ucsf.edu)


6. Buy Organic Foods As Much As Possible To Reduce Your Exposure To Pesticides.

Source: ucsf.edu)


7. Avoid Micro-plastics In Your Household Cleaning Products

Instead try this simple, natural and easy mix that performs equally as well as products you'd buy at the supermarket:


one part vinegar to one part water with a dash of baking soda.


8. Share This Information With Friends and Family

Having conscious informed conversations around the topic of micro-plastics and endocrine disrupting chemicals will go a long way in educating our loved ones so that they too can make positive changes to their lifestyle and daily habits.

Together we can make a positive impactful difference in this beautiful world we live in.



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