Choose natural fiber clothing and textiles

When buying new clothes, choose cotton, linen, wool, hemp, or silk over polyester, nylon, and acrylic. Natural fibers biodegrade and do not shed plastic microfibers. Check the fiber content label before purchasing.

Why It Works

Synthetic textiles are the largest source of microplastic pollution in oceans. Natural fibers shed particles too, but those particles biodegrade. Over a garment's lifetime, a polyester shirt sheds millions of plastic microfibers that persist for centuries.

Tips

• Look for 100% cotton, linen, or wool — blends still contain synthetic fibers
• Secondhand natural fiber clothing is both sustainable and affordable
• Merino wool is excellent for activewear and eliminates the need for synthetic performance fabrics
• Tencel/Lyocell is a sustainable semi-synthetic made from wood pulp that biodegrades