Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Environmental Pollution by the Fast Fashion: Current Status and Prospects

This review examines the environmental footprint of fast fashion — mass clothing production that generates enormous textile waste, synthetic fiber shedding, and water pollution. It is relevant to microplastics because synthetic garment washing is one of the largest sources of microfiber pollution entering waterways, though the paper focuses on industry-level sustainability responses rather than quantifying microplastic release specifically.

2023 Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Clothing and Textile Sustainability

This review examines sustainability challenges facing the global clothing and textile industry, covering resource use, chemical pollution, and the growing problem of microfiber release from synthetic textiles. Synthetic garments shed millions of microplastic fibers with every wash, making the textile industry a major contributor to global microplastic pollution.

2020 Textile & Leather Review 35 citations
Article Tier 2

Sustainable Fashion

This review of sustainable fashion examines how the textile industry's shift to fast fashion has accelerated environmental damage, including the shedding of synthetic microfibres — a major source of microplastic pollution in waterways — and argues that circular production models and consumer behaviour change are needed to reduce the industry's footprint. The paper is relevant because textile microfibres are among the most commonly detected microplastics in marine and freshwater environments.

2026 International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology
Article Tier 2

SUSTAINABLE FASHION INDUSTRY: Why do we need a switch towards conscious consumption?

This thesis examines the fashion industry's environmental and social harms, including its significant contribution to microplastic pollution through synthetic textile washing, and argues for a shift toward more conscious consumer behavior. Fast fashion is one of the largest sources of synthetic microfibers entering waterways globally.

2019 Theseus (Ammattikorkeakoulujen)
Article Tier 2

19 A Sustainable Business Model for the Fashion Sector

This book chapter reviews sustainable fashion business models that aim to reduce the fashion industry's environmental impact, including microplastic fiber pollution from synthetic clothing. Transitioning to more sustainable fashion production and material choices could significantly reduce the microfibers shed into wastewater during textile washing.

2023 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Synthetic Textiles and Microplastics

This review examines how synthetic textiles shed microfibers during washing and drying, covering the mechanisms of release, the environmental fate of microfibers in aquatic systems, and strategies for reducing microplastic pollution from the fashion and textile industry.

2024
Article Tier 2

Sustainable Fashion—Rationale and Policies

This review examines the environmental and social impacts of the fashion industry — from synthetic fiber microplastic pollution and water contamination to labor exploitation — and surveys emerging global policies aimed at driving the sector toward greater sustainability.

2022 Encyclopedia 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution in aquatic environments from washing synthetic textiles

Washing synthetic textiles releases microplastic fibers into wastewater, and this study reviewed the scale of the problem and explored strategies to reduce emissions at the washing machine, garment design, and wastewater treatment levels. Textile laundering is considered one of the largest sources of microplastic fiber pollution reaching aquatic environments.

2021 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Exploring Microplastic and Natural Fiber Emissions from Fabrics and Textiles

This review examines microplastic and natural fiber emissions released from fabrics and textiles during use and washing, identifying textiles as a major but underappreciated source of microplastic pollution in the environment. The authors assess emission factors and the downstream environmental and health implications of synthetic fiber shedding.

2024
Article Tier 2

A review on microplastic emission from textile materials and its reduction techniques

Researchers reviewed how synthetic textile fibers — tiny plastic threads released from clothes during washing, drying, and wearing — are a major source of microplastic pollution, entering waterways and food chains through seafood, salt, and drinking water. They identify fabric type, detergent, and washing conditions as key factors affecting fiber release, and propose textile finishing and regulatory strategies to reduce emissions.

2022 Polymer Degradation and Stability 291 citations
Article Tier 2

Tracing Fiber Sustainability

This review examines the sustainability claims surrounding textile fiber production in the fashion industry, addressing widespread consumer misconceptions and greenwashing practices that misrepresent the environmental impact of various fiber types. The authors analyze how misleading environmental labeling — particularly for synthetic fibers that shed microplastic particles during use and washing — obscures genuine sustainability assessments and hinders meaningful industry progress.

2024
Article Tier 2

Role of Textile Industries in Microfiber Pollution

This review examines the role of textile industries in generating microfiber pollution, tracing microfiber release during fabric production, consumer use, laundering, and end-of-life disposal as synthetic textile demand grows with fast fashion. The review documents pathways by which textile microfibers enter freshwater and marine environments and accumulate in aquatic biota, linking industry growth trends to escalating environmental microfiber loads.

2024
Review Tier 2

Mapping sustainable options in the fashion industry: A systematic literature review and a future research agenda

This systematic review examined 187 studies on sustainable practices in the fashion industry, which is a major contributor to microplastic pollution through synthetic textiles. Researchers classified sustainable solutions across the purchase, use, and disposal phases of clothing and identified key gaps in current knowledge. The study suggests that addressing fashion industry practices is critical for reducing textile-related microplastic contamination in the environment.

2024 Sustainable Development 27 citations
Article Tier 2

Textile industry as a major source of microplastics in the environment

This review examines the textile industry as a major source of microplastic pollution, synthesizing data on recycling technologies and lifecycle assessments for synthetic textile fibers. It identifies barriers to progress — including fiber lamination with metals, rapidly changing fiber types, and low recycling efficiency — and argues that only a globally coordinated reduction in synthetic fiber production will meaningfully curb microplastic release. The textile sector is one of the largest contributors of microfibers to aquatic environments, making systemic change in this industry critical.

2023 Global Journal of Ecology 9 citations
Review Tier 2

Microplastic pollution from textiles: A literature review

This review examines the current state of knowledge on microplastic pollution, focusing specifically on synthetic microfibre shedding from textiles during washing and the significance of this source for marine and freshwater contamination.

2018 Duo Research Archive (University of Oslo) 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Sustainability trends and gaps in the textile, apparel and fashion industries

Researchers conducted a 20-year systematic review of sustainability in the fashion and textile industry, identifying consumer behavior, circular economy practices, and supply chain transparency as the three main research themes. The review highlights that synthetic textile fibers — a major source of microplastic pollution — are embedded in a complex industry that still lacks coherent sustainability standards across its global supply chains.

2023 Environment Development and Sustainability 223 citations
Article Tier 2

Research on Recycling Design of Clothing Textiles Based on Sustainable Development

This review examines sustainable design strategies for recycling and reusing clothing and textiles, covering the full lifecycle from design to end-of-life disposal. Textile recycling is relevant to microplastic pollution because synthetic fabrics like polyester and nylon shed microplastic fibers during washing.

2023 The Frontiers of Society Science and Technology 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Sustainable Approaches in Textile Finishing to Control Microfiber Releases

This review examines sustainable textile finishing approaches designed to reduce microfiber releases from synthetic fabrics. Researchers discuss various treatment methods that can minimize the shedding of microplastic fibers during washing and use, addressing one of the major sources of microplastic pollution entering waterways.

2024 2 citations
Article Tier 2

A critical review on environmental pollution caused by the textile industry

This review examines how the textile industry contributes to environmental pollution, including the release of microplastics from synthetic fibers during washing. The study highlights that non-biodegradable materials like polyester, nylon, and acrylic shed microplastic fibers that enter water systems, potentially harming marine organisms and entering the human food chain.

2025 Explora Environment and Resource 1 citations
Article Tier 2

A Review of Sustainability Standards and Ecolabeling in the Textile Industry

This review examines sustainability standards and eco-labels in the textile industry, which is a major source of microplastic pollution through synthetic fiber shedding during manufacturing and washing. The authors found that while many eco-labels exist, they vary widely in rigor and often do not specifically address microplastic release. Stronger and more consistent standards are needed to reduce the textile industry's contribution to microplastic contamination in waterways and the environment.

2023 Sustainability 72 citations
Article Tier 2

The New Sea Food: Fashion, Waste, and Microplastics

This paper explored the intersection of fast fashion, textile waste, and microplastic pollution, examining how synthetic fiber shedding during laundry has made fashion one of the major sources of ocean microplastics. It discussed policy and design interventions to reduce textile microplastic emissions.

2024 Southern cultures 1 citations
Article Tier 2

From production to pollution: a review of microfiber release mechanisms and mitigation strategies in the textile industry

This review examines the origins, pathways, and environmental impacts of microfiber pollution from the textile industry. Researchers found that microfibers are released during both textile manufacturing and garment use, and that solutions include biodegradable fiber development, washing machine filtration systems, and advanced wastewater treatment. The study emphasizes that collaboration among industry, governments, research institutions, and consumers is critical to reducing microfiber release.

2025 Journal of the Textile Institute 1 citations
Review Tier 2

Synthetic textile and microfiber pollution: a review on mitigation strategies

This review examines strategies to mitigate synthetic textile microfiber pollution, covering filtration technologies, fiber-shedding-reducing fabric designs, wastewater treatment upgrades, and policy measures.

2021 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 96 citations
Article Tier 2

Slow Fashion in a Fast Fashion World: Promoting Sustainability and Responsibility

This study examines the "slow fashion" movement as a sustainable alternative to fast fashion, analyzing how different business models, consumer behaviors, and policy frameworks can shift clothing production and consumption toward more responsible practices. Slow fashion is directly relevant to reducing textile microfiber pollution, since synthetic clothing is a major source of microplastics in wastewater.

2019 Laws 140 citations