Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Fleece garments are cosy — but pollute land as well as water

Many plastic microfibres filtered out of waste water end up in landfills and at other terrestrial sites.
An aerial view of the East Bay Municipal Utility District Wastewater Treatment Plant on April 29, 2020 in Oakland, California.

Some microfibres captured by waste-water treatment plants (pictured) end up in sewage sludge, which can be spread on land. Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty

Synthetic clothing has released about 5.6 million tonnes of microfibres since 1950, polluting land and water alike.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 585, 485 (2020)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-02632-7

References

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links