Dirty Laundry – Microplastic Pollution

Here at Earth Sea Sky we have always strived to maintain an ethical approach to our business and production, with an emphasis of long-lasting quality products and customer satisfaction. Just recently, Jane met Murrey Gibbson in Wellington who was still wearing an ESS fleece that was still holding shape and its insulation properties after 25 years of “thorough use”. A warming illustration that we are achieving our primary goals as a company. But there is another important reason for using high-quality materials in manufacturing.

A recent study by Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara (Bren) and a second study with North Carolina State University (NC State), commissioned by Patagonia, has begun to reveal the environmental importance for manufacturing with or purchasing high-quality products. That is Microplastic Pollution. The article highlights the process of material shedding during laundering, how lower quality products shed more and therefore cause more pollution, mitigation methods for the process of laundering and the need for more attention and research into this issue. Below is a diagram that illustrates the fundamental message from the article

Source: http://www.patagonia.com/blog/2017/06/what-you-can-do-about-microfiber-pollution/

Society is beginning to realise that environmental degradation is not confined to the explicit source of billowing chimneys from factories nor the anthropogenic plastic waste strewn throughout and concentrated on the edges of our development. We are connected to the environment in every way and with this consciousness and a concerted effort by manufacturers and consumers, we can work together to continually improve the way we interact with and affect the environment.

For more information check out the source article: http://www.patagonia.com/blog/2017/06/what-you-can-do-about-microfiber-pollution/