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Posts tagged: Environment

MICROFIBER POLLUTION & THE APPAREL INDUSTRY - Assessing the impacts of microfiber pollution in the environment

[brenmicroplastics.weebly.com] "Millions of metric tons of plastic are produced and discarded annually, much of which ends up accumulating in the marine environment. Multiple studies have shown widespread pollution on the surfaces of the oceans and within the water column, where small fragments and fibers are ingested by marine organisms. The...

Great Lakes teeming with tiny plastic fibers, scientists say

[chicagotribune.com] "Scientists who have reported that the Great Lakes are awash in tiny bits of plastic are raising new alarms about a little-noticed form of the debris turning up in sampling nets: synthetic fibers from garments, cleaning cloths and other consumer products.They are known as "microfibers" — exceedingly fine filaments...

How your clothes are poisoning our oceans and food supply

[theguardian.com] "Synthetic microfibers are particularly dangerous because they have the potential to poison the food chain. The fibers’ size also allows them to be readily consumed by fish and other wildlife. These plastic fibers have the potential to bioaccumulate, concentrating toxins in the bodies of larger animals, higher up the...

Are We Eating Our Fleece Jackets? Microfibers Are Migrating Into Field And Food

[npr.org] "Peer-reviewed studies have shown that these synthetic microfibers — a type of plastic smaller than a millimeter in length and made up of various synthetic polymers — have popped up in table salt in China, in arctic waters and in fish caught off the coast of California. These tiny fibers make up 85...

The big fashion fight: can we remove all the toxic, invisible plastic from our clothes?

[theguardian.com] "And plastic clothing can be uniquely toxic, even while it is still in use or after it has been recycled. A 2016 study by the University of California at Santa Barbara found that, on average, polyester fleece jackets release 1.7 grams of plastic microfibres each time they go into the wash....

What do you think of memory foam mattresses and toppers? Are they safe?

[Greenhomeguide.com] "Memory foam is, simply put, foam made from polyurethane. Also called visco-elastic polyurethane foam, memory foam poses various health and environmental concerns: Petroleum. Polyurethane is synthetic and is made from petroleum products. Therefore, its production furthers our dependency on fossil fuel resources. The production of synthetics from petroleum products is energy-intensive...

Is a Polyurethane Foam Mattress Pad Safe for Babies?

[Hunker.com] "Polyurethane foam is a highly flammable material. This means that the final product must be again treated with chemicals in order to make it fire retardant. These chemicals have been linked to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), according to New Zealand scientist and chemist Dr. Jim Sprott and as reported...

Hand-Me-Down Hazard: Flame Retardants in Discarded Foam Products

[ncbi.nlm.nih.gov] "Hundreds of millions of padded items containing flame retardants are currently in use in the United States, estimates Arlene Blum of the Green Science Policy Institute. That estimate doesn’t include the many hundreds of millions more items already in landfills. Blum and her organization spent eight years campaigning for...

Detox Your Sleep

[HuffPost.com] "Polyurethane foam, also appearing as "memory foam" or "soy foam," is made with a potentially cancer-causing chemical, and may emit VOCs. VOCs can also be found in synthetic latex foam, which can irritate eyes, nose and throat, cause headaches and are linked to cancer. Padding: Polyester is often used...

Is Polyurethane Foam A Dreamy Comfort Or Toxic Nightmare?

[Greenfuture.io] "Polyurethane is made when methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) and toluene diisocyanate (TDI) react with polyols. MDI and TDI both need to be handled carefully during the manufacturing process. In particular, TDI is a suspected carcinogenic, is classified as very toxic, and is a known respiratory and skin irritant. The National...

The Complete Guide to Toxic Chemicals in Mattresses

[Leafscore.com] "In times gone by, mattresses were stuffed with feathers, horsehair, wool, and cotton batting, as well as other natural materials. With the introduction of synthetics, everything changed, and not exactly for the better. Now, most mattresses are made with a mix of polyurethane foam, synthetic latex, and conventional cotton,...

More Recycling Won't Solve Plastic Pollution

[Scientific American] "Recycling plastic is to saving the Earth what hammering a nail is to halting a falling skyscraper. You struggle to find a place to do it and feel pleased when you succeed. But your effort is wholly inadequate and distracts from the real problem of why the building is...

Why the pandemic could slash the amount of plastic waste we recycle

[theconversation.com] "The market for plastic packaging is projected to grow by 5.5% in 2020, causing a surge in the amount of waste being sent for recycling. But just when its services are needed more than ever, the recycling industry has been rocked by crises."

A million bottles a minute: world's plastic binge 'as dangerous as climate change'

[Theguardian.com] "A million plastic bottles are bought around the world every minute and the number will jump another 20% by 2021, creating an environmental crisis some campaigners predict will be as serious as climate change."

Recycled plastic is everywhere—and it’s harming the planet Recycled plastic won’t save the environment.

[Fastcompany.com] "Consumer goods have a serious problem with plastic. When the material was first widely used in the 1950s, designers saw it as a cheap, magical substance that could morph into whatever they wanted. Companies across the spectrum—from furniture makers to toy brands to food packaging manufacturers—have relied heavily on...

What Is Greenwashing?

[Earth911.com] "Greenwashing takes advantage of consumers’ limited time to make you feel better about their products instead of making their products more sustainable. But finding out that you’ve been taken in by greenwashing can have you seeing red instead."