Papers

20 results
|
Article Tier 2

Psychological outcomes from a citizen science study on microplastics from household clothes washing

Researchers reported on the psychological outcomes for participants in a citizen science project studying household microplastic sources, finding that engagement with microplastic research increased environmental awareness and motivated behavior change around plastic use.

2025
Article Tier 2

Psychological outcomes from a citizen science study on microplastics from household clothes washing

Researchers conducted a pre-registered three-month citizen science study in the Netherlands where participants used microfiber-capturing laundry bags and completed pre/post surveys on environmental concern, perceived responsibility, and washing behavior. High baseline environmental concern was found but did not strongly predict behavior change, suggesting psychological interventions beyond awareness are needed to reduce laundry microfiber emissions.

2025
Article Tier 2

Psychological outcomes from a citizen science study on microplastics from household clothes washing

A three-month citizen science project in the Netherlands studied how participating in microfiber laundry bag monitoring influenced residents' environmental awareness and washing behaviors, finding that hands-on engagement with pollution measurement can shift consumer attitudes.

2025 Environmental Science Advances
Article Tier 2

Science in and with society: insights into synthetic microfibre emissions from textiles with citizen scientists

Researchers engaged citizen scientists in a large-scale study of synthetic microfibre emissions from household textile washing, collecting real-world data on how fabric properties and washing conditions influence microfibre release rates while also investigating individual willingness to adopt pollution-reducing laundry practices.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Science in and with society: insights into synthetic microfibre emissions from textiles with citizen scientists

Researchers partnered with citizen scientists to study synthetic microfibre emissions from washing textiles at scale, generating broad real-world datasets on how washing conditions and fabric properties drive microfibre release and assessing public attitudes toward adopting microfibre reduction behaviors.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

REMEDIES Citizen Science Protocol for the Recovery and Quantification of Microplastics

This citizen science protocol equips everyday volunteers to collect and quantify microplastic fibers released from synthetic fabrics during home laundering. Standardizing community-based sampling methods is critical for scaling up environmental monitoring and building the large datasets needed to understand how washing clothes contributes to microplastic pollution.

2026 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

REMEDIES Citizen Science Protocol for the Recovery and Quantification of Microplastics

This citizen science protocol equips everyday volunteers to collect and quantify microplastic fibers released from synthetic fabrics during home laundering. Standardizing community-based sampling methods is critical for scaling up environmental monitoring and building the large datasets needed to understand how washing clothes contributes to microplastic pollution.

2026 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Embedding citizens within airborne microplastic and microfibre research

A citizen science study investigated airborne microplastics and microfibres in home environments, which are likely major sources of indoor plastic emissions given the volume of plastics and textiles stored and used there. Involving residents in sampling improved spatial coverage and community awareness of microplastic exposure in everyday settings.

2023 Cambridge Prisms Plastics 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Washing machine filters to mitigate microplastics release: Citizen science study to estimate microfibers capture potential and assess their social acceptability

Researchers enrolled citizen volunteers to test whether filters installed in home washing machines could capture microfibers released during laundry, finding that filters trapped an average of about 4.6 mg of synthetic microfibers per liter of wash water — but over two-thirds of participants found installation difficult. The study validates filters as a practical microplastic source-control strategy while flagging that ease of installation must improve for widespread adoption.

2024 Environmental Challenges 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Release from Domestic Washing

Researchers measured microfiber release from domestic washing of textile materials across five washing cycles, finding that the amount of microplastic fiber shed varied significantly with washing conditions and fiber type, contributing to aquatic microplastic pollution.

2021 European Journal of Science and Technology 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Students’ attitudes towards the environment and marine litter in the context of a coastal water quality educational citizen science project

Middle school students who participated in a citizen science project monitoring coastal water quality and microplastic pollution showed significantly more positive environmental attitudes afterward compared to a control group. The study suggests that hands-on engagement with real microplastic research can be an effective way to build environmental awareness in young people.

2023 Australian Journal of Environmental Education 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Release of synthetic microplastic plastic fibres from domestic washing machines: Effects of fabric type and washing conditions

Researchers measured synthetic microfiber release from domestic washing machines in real household conditions, finding that millions of fibers are shed per wash cycle, with fiber release influenced by fabric type and wash parameters.

2016 Marine Pollution Bulletin 1556 citations
Article Tier 2

Quantity and fate of synthetic microfiber emissions from apparel washing in California and strategies for their reduction

Researchers quantified synthetic microfiber emissions from apparel washing across California, finding laundry to be a major microplastic source, and evaluated strategies including appliance filters and fabric standards to reduce microfiber releases to wastewater systems.

2022 Environmental Pollution 37 citations
Article Tier 2

Public perception of microplastics pollution in Switzerland: Psychological distance, concern, and willingness to engage in mitigation activities

Researchers surveyed over 900 people in Switzerland to understand how the public perceives microplastic pollution and their willingness to take action. The study found that people perceive microplastics as a relatively close threat on most psychological dimensions, and that concern about the issue, particularly concern for nature, is a stronger predictor of willingness to engage in mitigation activities than psychological distance alone.

2026
Article Tier 2

Pro-environmental behaviour is undermined by disgust sensitivity: The case of excessive laundering

Not relevant to microplastics — this is a social psychology study examining how disgust sensitivity and pro-environmental identity conflict to drive excessive laundry washing behavior among European consumers.

2024 PLoS ONE 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Sustainable Laundry Practices and Microplastic Pollution: Behavioral Insights and Strategies for Reducing Environmental Impact

This study examines consumer laundering behaviours and willingness to adopt microfibre filters using discrete choice experiments, finding that informational interventions about environmental effects did not significantly shift laundry decisions and that consumer preferences for microfibre filters varied based on efficiency, replacement interval, and price.

2025 University of Alberta Library
Article Tier 2

Is the public really concerned about microplastics? The importance of measuring everyday relevance and behavioral intentions as well as stated concern

Researchers surveyed over 2,200 citizens in Germany and Italy to examine whether public concern about microplastics translates into everyday relevance and behavioral change. While stated concern was high in both countries, most people reported thinking or talking about microplastics only rarely, though they still expressed willingness to take action to reduce exposure. The study found that both stated concern and everyday relevance mediated the link between knowledge about microplastics and intentions to change behavior.

2026 Journal of Environmental Psychology
Article Tier 2

Laundry Care Regimes: Do the Practices of Keeping Clothes Clean Have Different Environmental Impacts Based on the Fibre Content?

This study examined how different textile fiber contents influence the environmental impacts of clothing care, finding that synthetic fiber garments generate more microplastic shedding during washing while natural fibers have other environmental trade-offs. Laundry care choices and fiber content both affect how much microplastic pollution is released into wastewater from household textile washing.

2020 Sustainability 53 citations
Article Tier 2

Extending the theory of planned behaviour to investigate the issue of microplastics in the marine environment

Researchers extended the theory of planned behaviour to investigate public attitudes toward marine microplastic pollution, finding that environmental awareness and perceived behavioral control significantly predicted consumers' intentions to reduce microplastic-generating product use.

2022 Marine Pollution Bulletin 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Quantification and morphological characterization of microfibers emitted from textile washing

Textile microfibers released during washing machine cycles were quantified and characterized, with the study finding that fiber type, fabric construction, and wash conditions all influenced emission quantities. The results confirm textile washing as a significant and ongoing source of microplastic fiber pollution in wastewater.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 49 citations