U of T Researchers Develop Coating Preventing Synthetic Fabrics from Shedding Harmful Microplastics in the Wash

A team of researchers at the University of Toronto have designed a solution to reduce the amount of microplastic fibres shed when washing synthetic fabrics.   When clothes made from synthetic fabrics go in the washing machine, the friction caused by cleaning cycles produces tiny tears that cause microplastic fibres – measuring less than 500 micrometres in length – to break off and make their way down laundry drains to enter waterways, where the particles can be difficult to remove and take decades or more to fully break down. Recent U of T experiments showed that this new coating can significantly reduce microfibre shedding of nylon clothing after repeated laundering, according to findings published in Nature Sustainability.

“Many textiles are made of multiple types of fibres,” says Kevin Golovin, an assistant professor of mechanical and industrial engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. “We are working to formulate the correct polymer architecture so that our coating can durably adhere to all of those fibres simultaneously.”