Evidence on textile-derived microfibres

20 December 2019

WRAP published a scoping study (“Textile-derived microfibre release: Investigating the current evidence base”) to share existing evidence on the extent of microfibre shedding from UK clothing over the life cycle.

Textiles-derived microfibres are defined as all fibres of textile origin less than 5mm in their longest axis which are formed and shed during production, processing, use and disposal of textiles. Microfibres include much shorter fibres, down to <100nm in size (i.e. 50,000 times shorter).

The WRAP report:

  • estimates the scale of microfibre formation and shedding;
  • reviews current mitigation actions; and
  • identifies key evidence gaps in studies conducted so far.

The report was written by Natalie Welden from the University of Glasgow and our team at Resource Futures, with input from Prof. Richard Thompson, University of Plymouth and Dr Mark Sumner, University of Leeds.

The summary report can be downloaded from the WRAP website: Summary note: Investigating the current evidence base on the formation and mitigation of textile– derived microfibres.