Mapping the microfibre journey

A new report ‘From shedding to solutions’ produced by Earth Action has found that roughly 92,000 metric tonnes of microfibres are lost every year during textile production, and of this almost two-thirds (63%) leak into the environment. In fact, relative to the 132 million tonnes of annual global textile production, Earth Action estimates that intrinsic losses equate to about 670 mg of fibres discharged into wastewater streams for every kilogram of textile produced during manufacturing. This is equivalent to around 0.67 grams of fibre for every tonne of textile produced.

Julien Boucher, PhD, Co-founder & Head of Research at Earth Action comments: “Microfibre pollution from textiles has emerged as a significant environmental challenge over the past decade. While research has made important progress in understanding fibre release during the use phase of garments, far less attention has been devoted to emissions occurring during textile production.”[i]

Crucially, Boucher highlights that microfibre release is not limited to a single fibre category: “Both synthetic and natural fibres can shed during textile production and use, depending on product design, manufacturing processes, and material characteristics.”[ii]

The researchers note that the difference between intrinsic losses and environmental leakage reflects the effect of capture and containment mechanisms already present in the system. Under current conditions, industrial and municipal wastewater treatment systems together prevent approximately 37% of intrinsic microfibre losses.

However, tackling wastewater treatment alone would not solve the issue. Even if all production facilities were upgraded to tertiary wastewater treatment, microfibre release to water would fall by around 82%. Yet overall environmental leakage would decrease by only 6%. The reason is that fibres captured during treatment are often transferred into sludge, which in many regions is subsequently disposed of on land. The finding highlights a key theme of the report: capture is not the same as containment.

In terms of geography, perhaps unsurprisingly the greatest microfibre losses were found to be concentrated in major textile producing countries. Approximately half of global intrinsic losses occur in just three countries: Bangladesh (25%), Pakistan (17%), and China (12%). Notably, high production losses do not necessarily translate into high environmental leakage. When factors such as wastewater management and sludge disposal are considered, Bangladesh remains the largest contributor, accounting for 24% of total annual emissions. However, China overtakes Pakistan as the second-largest contributor to global microfibre leakage, accounting for 15%, compared with Pakistan's 11%.

Tackling microfibre pollution

Looking at how microfibre pollution can be reduced, Earth Action has identified four key ‘levers’. These are:

·         Product and process design, to reduce intrinsic shedding before production begins.

·         Production optimisation, focused on the wet-processing stages where losses concentrate.

·         Wastewater treatment, to intercept fibres that reach effluent.

·         Sludge containment, to keep captured fibres out of the environment.

Of the four levers identified, the report was able to quantitatively model three. It found that well-managed sludge delivers the biggest reduction in microfibre loss on its own (around 43%), followed by process optimisation (20%) and universal tertiary wastewater treatment (6%). Added together, these would total a reduction of roughly 54 kilotons. But, if deployed together the report’s high-ambition scenario reaches about 74 kilotons, a 95% reduction, noticeably more than the sum of the parts.

The research also draws attention to the fact that ultimately the volume of fibres entering the system is shaped upstream, by product and process design. Yarn construction, fabric density, and finishing treatments all influence how much a textile sheds. Experimental work cited in the report shows certain polyester textiles can reduce shedding by 60 to 90 percent through changes in knitting structure or chemical finishing.

In essence, achieving sustained reduction requires:

·         Expanding wastewater treatment in under-served production regions,

·         Ensuring controlled containment of treatment sludge,

·         Integrating shedding determinants into product specification and manufacturing decisions,  

·         Strengthening structured reporting of material, process, and routing parameters.

Sarah Perreard, Co-founder & Stakeholder Engagement Lead at Earth Action, explains: “Addressing microfibre pollution requires a system perspective. Fibres are released from textiles at multiple stages of their life cycle, including during manufacturing, consumer use, and end-of-life management. Reducing these emissions cannot be achieved through a single intervention alone. It requires coordinated progress across the textile value chain.”[iii]

The report suggests microfibre shedding should increasingly be addressed at the design stage, rather than treated solely as a wastewater problem. It suggests that tracking the determinants of shedding (yarn type, fabric construction, and finishing chemistry) alongside existing environmental data is the foundation for both reduction and credible communication moving forwards. A combination of interventions could reduce pollution by 95%.

References

[i] EA-From-Shedding-To-Solutions-2026-Report_260728.pdf

[ii] Ibid

[iii] Ibid

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