Microfibers

The impact of microfibers

At Arapaha we do everything we can to design with the health of our plant and ourselves in mind. One of the pressing issues is the impact of microfibers on the environment. Microfibers are tiny pieces of plastic that have broken off from clothing, car tires or other products. They have been found everywhere on the planet, even on top of Mount Everest and in Antarctica. It is not entirely clear yet how harmful microfibers are but one thing is clear: they are not a natural part of the environment and we should keep our planet clean and healthy.

In clothing often recycled content is used, for instance polyester made from bottles, and this is recycled using mechanical recycling. This technology does not allow for very deep filtration and as a result small particles remain in the recyclate, which are the cause of tiny cracks to form, which is where the shedding of microfibers start.

The best solution to avoid microfibers is to not use any products that can create them. However, living without clothes may be a step too far. You can reduce the shedding of microfibers by washing clothing at low temperatures only and avoid machine drying. Measures that are easy to implement and known to reduce microfibers.

At Arapaha we only use materials where the microfibers will degrade naturally if they end up in nature. A good example is the use of polylactic acid (PLA) which is made from renewable bio-based sources and proven to break down over time in nature. Even if you might get such microfibers in your body they will be digested and broken down into products that occur naturally in your body.

Together we can reduce the impact we have on our planet!

If you want to know more about what the fashion industry is doing with regards to microfibers you can click check out the microfibre consortium.