Polymer-based—or plastic—synthetic materials have a hold on the fashion industry, currently making up about two-thirds of all fibers used in textiles with no signs of slowing down. At the same time, ...

Microplastics, plastics less than 5 millimeters in length, are becoming a growing concern due to their ubiquity and persistence in the environment and potential effects on ecological and human health.

The textile industry produces a substantial portion of world’s waste with only about 12% of fiber materials ending up in recycling. Textiles also account for much of the microplastics in oceans.

Textile Exchange just co-signed Changing Markets Foundation’s sobering survey results: in spite of the sector’s sustainability efforts, the fashion industry is in the throes of “plastic paralysis.” ...