In June 2016, we provided a comprehensive update on Patagonia’s work to investigate the emerging issue of ocean pollution from tiny fibers, which often originate from synthetic textiles (such as nylon, acrylic or polyester) that are used in products available to consumers around the world.

Research about microplastics pollution is just starting to emerge among scientists and our industry, but the shedding of microfibers from synthetic garments is a real concern. We’re taking it seriously—committing significant resources to learn more about the scope of the problem and develop an understanding of what steps we can take to help create impactful solutions. Since last summer, we’ve taken more important steps to research the problem and some new actions to address key contributing factors, and we wanted to give you a full update.

Some fundamental learnings have guided our approach so far and must inform everyone’s work moving forward:

Microfibers found in our oceans can originate from a wide variety of textiles (such as nylon, polyester, rayon, acrylic or spandex)—everything from running shorts to yoga pants to fleece jackets and more—which shows the need for engagement on this issue by the entire apparel industry and through all steps in the product life cycle.

Apparel products are not the only source of microplastic particles that are entering the oceans. Other industries are also contributing to this problem, as are things like fishing nets, bottle caps, packaging and plastics bags that break down in the ocean. A key research priority moving forward is to quantify the magnitude of the contribution of the various sources of microplastics to oceans.

Garments of a higher quality shed less in the wash than low-quality synthetic products, illustrating the importance for manufacturers and consumers alike to invest in gear built to last.

Our washing machines represent an integral step in the path to pollution—so we’ve centered our testing on common appliances found in many homes. And wastewater treatment plants filter a good amount of microfibers (65–92 percent) but still release a significant volume of waste into the environment. So we plan to bring our findings to the appliance industry and waste operators as well.

At Patagonia, we start with the knowledge that everything we produce comes at a cost to the environment. We then work continuously to lower the environmental and social costs of our products at every phase of their life cycle—from improving our manufacturing processes at every level of the supply chain to increasing our use of recycled and natural materials to encouraging reuse, repair and recycling among our customers.

When making choices about where best to invest in solutions, we seek complete information to guide decision making and we aim carefully for the areas where we can make the biggest overall impact, knowing the business of making and selling consumer products always comes with certain costs. In particular, we invest in quality—because keeping a garment in use longer, which prevents the need to put it in a landfill and replace it with a new one, beats every other improvement we could possibly make.

Over the past two years, the shedding of microfibers from Patagonia’s synthetic garments has taken on heightened urgency in how we consider our priorities moving forward. We’ve been working on several fronts, including:

Investigating ways to minimize fiber shedding by improving fabric construction

Supporting scientists working to gain a better understanding of the types and sources of microfibers and their ecological and public health impacts

Investing in innovative organizations working to address marine plastics pollution

Communicating proactively with our customers and the broader public

Our goals include: better understanding our own impacts, contributing to the larger body of early research currently under way and, ultimately, finding ways to improve our practices in response to more knowledge.

The Need for More Research

When we convened a group of scientists, academics and public advocates at our headquarters in Ventura to discuss microplastics pollution with our leadership team, a clear consensus emerged at the end of a long, fascinating day: There’s a lot we don’t know. So we’ve taken on a leading role in support of researchers working on the topic, to inform clearheaded decision making by everyone: the apparel and appliance industries, waste operators, other researchers, the media and more.

Specifically, we’ve initiated two scientific research studies. The first, which we highlighted on our blog when it was first published in June 2016 by researchers at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara, helped us better measure the extent of microfibers shedding from Patagonia products in the wash (and compare the results to lower-quality gear as well).