Danger Ahead: How Microfibers Are Affecting Your Health
With so much emphasis on organics and sustainability, it’s odd that more press isn’t being given to the dangers of microfibers. Sure, they add a level of softness to the clothes we wear and the sheets we sleep on, but they are also creating a great deal of havoc to the natural environment. While they may be cheaper alternatives to high thread count organic materials, they are also creating many hazards to our health above and beyond what most people recognize. For anyone with an interest in saving the planet for future generations, as well as in preventing many health-related issues today, it would pay to learn about how microfibers are affecting the earth and your health.
Bedding Among the Most Common Source of Microfibers
Microfibers are tiny synthetic fibers that were originally added to fabrics because they can add a level of thickness and softness to materials which would take a higher thread count in fabrics such as cotton. With the feel and appearance of brushed cotton, microfibers have invaded the bedding and linens industry. While it would never be possible to create the same level of luxury as you’d find in bedding provided by SOL Organics, you ‘could’ get sheets that would resemble, to some extent, a high-quality fabric manufactured with organic materials such as silk or Egyptian cotton.
Global Scientists Are Finding Microfibers in Drinking Water!
Here is where you’ll begin to see just how important it is to avoid any product whatsoever manufactured with these tiny synthetic fibers. Scientists around the world have begun an awareness campaign directed at governments, especially the US federal government. In a study conducted by Orb Media and released last year to The Guardian in the UK, at least 94 percent of the drinking water tested in the United States had been polluted with microfibers. In second place came India. The UK and the EU tested much better, but even with a 72 percent contamination rate, those levels are deadly. They are also avoidable if we stop producing and selling fabrics made from microfibers. The impact on health is yet to be determined, but make no mistake, microfibers are not safe for our health.
How Do They Infiltrate Our Drinking Water?
Are you at least a little bit curious how these toxic fibers are entering our drinking water? What that last round of research found is that doing our laundry is the real culprit. As the water is emptied into the sewer system, it is recycled for use back into the reservoirs. Clothing and linens are washed and, in the process, shed fibers that go down the drain. Be aware of the fact that microfibers are not biodegradable and so the best, and the only solution, is to stop using these materials in favor of organic materials.
How long it will take to rid our reservoirs of microfibers is anyone’s guess, even if they were outlawed around the globe. Since synthetics are not biodegradable and will be here for tens of thousands of years, it may be too late to reduce the damage. However, what we can do is prevent them from being used through legislation. That will take a huge effort on the part of concerned citizens. Are you ready to do your part? Contact your legislators and boycott products made with microfibers. If everyone joined the effort, the planet just might stand a chance.