Lifecycle of Clothing and Microplastics
Filtering water after washing clothes can help prevent harmful plastic microfibers from polluted oceans and shorelines.
Everyone wears clothes, no matter their socioeconomic background, age or culture. In this workshop, participants learn about the lifecycle of clothing, the impact that microplastics have on the marine ecosystems and design a filter to remove microplastics from water. This workshop is an adaptation of an activity part of The Clothing4Climate project.
This workshop discusses topics, which can lead to feelings of eco-anxiety among volunteers, educators and youth if not presented in a thoughtful manner. The most important things to remember are to be honest, hopeful, developmentally appropriate, and action oriented. This workshop was created with these guidelines in mind. For more details, refer to the volunteer resource, Being Conscious of Eco-Anxiety.
What You Need
Physical requirements
- Access to the internet for each participant
- Access to a computer with a projector and speakers (if doing the workshop in person) for the presentation
- Recommended: participants have access to a sink for easy clean-up and disposal of filtered water.
Introduction
- Lifecycle of Clothing and Microplastics - Presentation
- Lifecycle of Clothing Presentation (embedded in the main presentation)
- The Fall of Dr. Mike Roe Plastic Comic (embedded in the main presentation)
Activity: Design and Build a Microplastic Filter (materials per participant)
- Paper and pencil
- Recycled materials (plastic water bottles or containers)
- Filter fabrics (gauze, coffee filters, paper towel, old nylons)
- Sand, gravel, pebbles
- Tape or glue
- Scissors
- Internet access for research
Safety Notes
It is also a good idea to have plenty of supplies available to clean up any spills. The testing of the microplastic filters should be done away from electronic devices.
What To Do
Introduction
Refer to the presentation notes for tips on how to present this workshop virtually.
Clothing Reflection
- Begin by having participants think about the following questions/scenarios to get them to reflect about how our society uses and disposes of clothing [slides 4 - 8] of the Lifecycle of Clothing and Microplastics - Presentation.
- Think about all of the processes that need to happen to your clothing before it gets to you. List the locations of some of these processes.
- How do you think people decide what clothing to wear?
- What are some of the factors that might affect people's clothing choices?
- Where do you think clothing goes after people are done using it?
- Do you think how people wash and care for their clothing impacts how long it lasts? Why or why not?
- Do you think the way that people buy, wear and dispose of clothing impacts the environment?
The Lifecycle of Clothing
- Display slide 9 with a link to the Lifecycle of Clothing Presentation which outlines the steps of producing, using and disposing of clothing, including:
- Getting raw materials
- Making yarn
- Making fabric
- Dyeing and finishing the fabric
- Creating a design
- Making the garment
- Transporting the garment
- Storing the garment
- Selling the garment
- Using the garment
- Disposing the garment (landfills or burning)
- After the presentation, have participants try to write down all of the steps in the lifecycle of clothing in order.
- Next, go through slides 10 - 17, which compare the environmental impact of different types of fabric. Have participants tally which fabric wins each stage for having less of an impact on the environment.
- Discuss the following questions [slides 18 - 20]:
- Which of the two had the least impact during its life cycle?
- Why did the organic cotton t-shirt score higher?
- Does the life cycle have to be linear? How can we close the loop?
- Explain the difference between a liner economy and circular economy [slide 21 - 22].
- What are some things we can do to extend the life of our clothing or rethink what happens when we no longer need it?
The Fall of Dr. Mike Roe Plastic
- Share the link to the comic: The Fall of Dr. Mike Roe Plastic [slide 24] and ask the group the following questions [slides 25 - 27]:
- What were some of the ways that students addressed microplastic pollution?
- Fluffy polyester fleece fabrics shed more microplastics than any other fabrics. What can you do to reduce pollution from these fabrics?
- What did you like about learning about microplastics through this comic? Is there anything you didn't like?
Activity: Design and Build a Microplastic Filter
- For this challenge, participants are asked to think about how they would design and build a microplastic filter. Some things that they could consider are:
- Where will it be used?
- Who will be using it?
- How will it catch microplastics?
- How long will it last?
- How could you test it out?
- Participants can begin by writing their ideas down on a piece of paper and/or draw their product.
- They will use the materials available to build a prototype of their product.
- They will have approximately 20 minutes to complete this challenge.
Discovery
Clothing doesn't just show up in our closets, it has a history and whole life cycle- similar to living things on Earth. A lot of energy, time and resources are used in the manufacturing, distribution and disposal of clothing. These processes have a negative impact on the environment around us.
The way that we currently make and use products follows a take-make-waste system. This is also known as a linear economy. The lifecycle of clothing does not have to be linear.
A circular economy reimages these steps. The goal of a circular economy is to reduce waste. Materials are recycled instead of sent to the landfill. In a circular economy, products are made with sustainable materials that are easy to recycle and renewable sources of energy. In a circular economy, we:
- Use the fewest raw materials possible and regenerate natural resources.
- Use materials as long as possible.
- Reduce waste through design and recycling.
Microplastics are released into our water sources when we produce and wash clothing. Certain types of fabric (like fluffy polyester) release more microplastics than others. Marine wildlife, like fish, end up eating the microplastics. These microplastics can last for thousands of years in the environment and make their way through the food chain, which can lead to health problems.
By closing the life cycle of clothing loop, we reduce the amount of energy and resources that we are using overall. This helps decrease the amount of greenhouse gases that are emitted into the atmosphere (a cause of climate change) and the amount of microplastics that are released into our aquatic ecosystems.
Extend your learning with the Clothing4Climate Project!
Lifecycle of Clothing and Microplastics - Presentation
Lifecycle of Clothing Presentation (embedded in the main presentation)
The Fall of Dr. Mike Roe Plastic Comic (embedded in the main presentation)
What's Happening?
Clothing doesn't just show up in our closets, it has a history and whole life cycle- similar to living things on Earth. A lot of energy, time and resources are used in the manufacturing, distribution and disposal of clothing. These processes have a negative impact on the environment around us.
The way that we currently make and use products follows a take-make-waste system. This is also known as a linear economy. The lifecycle of clothing does not have to be linear.
A circular economy reimages these steps. The goal of a circular economy is to reduce waste. Materials are recycled instead of sent to the landfill. In a circular economy, products are made with sustainable materials that are easy to recycle and renewable sources of energy. In a circular economy, we:
- Use the fewest raw materials possible and regenerate natural resources.
- Use materials as long as possible.
- Reduce waste through design and recycling.
Why Does It Matter?
Microplastics are released into our water sources when we produce and wash clothing. Certain types of fabric (like fluffy polyester) release more microplastics than others. Marine wildlife, like fish, end up eating the microplastics. These microplastics can last for thousands of years in the environment and make their way through the food chain, which can lead to health problems.
By closing the life cycle of clothing loop, we reduce the amount of energy and resources that we are using overall. This helps decrease the amount of greenhouse gases that are emitted into the atmosphere (a cause of climate change) and the amount of microplastics that are released into our aquatic ecosystems.
Resources
Lifecycle of Clothing and Microplastics - Presentation
Lifecycle of Clothing Presentation (embedded in the main presentation)
The Fall of Dr. Mike Roe Plastic Comic (embedded in the main presentation)