Fast fashion and the plastics you’re inhaling | ABC News Daily Podcast

Summary

In this ABC News Daily segment, host Sam Hawley discusses the environmental and health impacts of fast fashion, highlighting the presence of microplastics in our daily lives. Craig Reucassel from 'War on Waste' shares his unsettling discovery of microplastics in his own body, emphasizing the need for a shift towards reusables to reduce waste. The conversation delves into the challenges of addressing microplastic pollution, the role of synthetic materials in clothing, and the broader environmental footprint of the fashion industry, urging for conscious consumer choices to mitigate waste.

Takeaways

• 🌍 Fast fashion is significantly harmful to the environment and may also have negative impacts on human health.
• 👕 Cheap clothing is often laden with microplastics, which are small enough to be inhaled, potentially leading to health issues.
• 🚮 Craig Reucassel, host of 'War on Waste', is on a mission to reduce disposable coffee cup usage and encourage the use of reusable cups.
• 🏖️ Australia generates a staggering 2.6 million tons of plastic waste annually, averaging to about 100 kilos per person.
• 🔬 Microplastics, less than a millimeter in size, are difficult to see with the naked eye but can be found in various everyday items including food and beverages.
• 🧪 Craig underwent a personal experiment and discovered about 30 pieces of microplastics in his body, primarily from polyester fibers inhaled from the air.
• 👚 Over 60% of clothing is made from plastic materials like polyester, which sheds microfibers and contributes to the microplastic pollution.
• 🔍 The health effects of microplastics are not yet fully understood, but there are early indications of potential links to certain health issues.
• 🌱 The environmental impact of fast fashion extends beyond microplastics, with the entire lifecycle of clothing contributing to resource depletion and carbon emissions.
• 🛍️ 'War on Waste' advocates for a shift in consumer behavior towards buying less, wearing clothes longer, and extending the life of garments to reduce environmental impact.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video script?

The main topic of the video script is the environmental and health impact of fast fashion, particularly the presence of microplastics in our daily lives.

Who is the host of the 'War on Waste' series?

Craig Reucassel is the host of the 'War on Waste' series.

What is the average amount of plastic waste produced per person in Australia annually?

The average amount of plastic waste produced per person in Australia annually is about 100 kilos.

What was the experiment conducted by Craig to find out how many microplastics were inside him?

Craig provided a sample of his feces to Professor Fred Leusch at Griffith University to determine the amount of microplastics present in his body.

What was the shocking discovery about the microplastics found inside Craig's body?

The shocking discovery was that there were about 30 pieces of microplastics inside Craig, which was considered average, and most of them were microfibers of polyester, likely from inhalation.

What are microplastics and why are they a concern?

Microplastics are tiny bits of plastic less than a millimeter in size, too small to be seen with the naked eye. They are a concern because they are pervasive in the environment and can have unknown health consequences.

What is the connection between clothing and microplastics?

Over 60% of clothing is made from plastic, predominantly polyester, which can shed microfibers during washing, contributing to the microplastic pollution.

What are some of the potential health impacts of microplastics mentioned in the script?

The script mentions that there are early studies suggesting that microplastics might affect reproduction and have potential links to some cancers, although more research is needed.

What is the role of food waste in the 'War on Waste'?

Food waste is a significant issue because a large portion of the food we buy ends up being thrown away, contributing to landfill and methane production, a potent greenhouse gas.

What changes have been made in Australia regarding single-use plastics?

There have been positive changes such as the introduction of plastic bag charges in supermarkets, which has led to an 80% increase in people bringing their own bags, reducing single-use plastic waste.

What is the main message of the 'War on Waste' regarding clothing consumption?

The main message is to buy less, wear clothes longer, and extend the life of clothes through mending, resale, or swapping to reduce the overall environmental impact of fashion.

Outlines

00:00

🌿 Environmental and Health Impact of Fast Fashion

The script opens with Sam Hawley discussing the detrimental effects of fast fashion on the environment and human health. It highlights the presence of microplastics in cheap clothing and the potential for these particles to be inhaled by consumers. Craig Reucassel, host of 'War on Waste,' shares his experience with disposable coffee cups and his efforts to promote reusable alternatives. The conversation delves into the shocking discovery of microplastics within Craig's body, emphasizing the need for further research on the health implications of these microscopic pollutants.

05:01

🧬 Microplastics in Our Bodies: The Unsettling Reality

This paragraph delves deeper into the presence of microplastics in Craig's body, revealing that most of the microplastics found were microfibers, likely ingested through the air from synthetic materials like polyester in clothing and textiles. The segment discusses the challenges of quantifying and understanding the health effects of these particles, as well as the broader environmental impact of plastic use in clothing. It also touches on the complexity of finding solutions, considering the environmental footprint of both synthetic and natural fibers in the fashion industry.

10:02

🛒 The Ongoing Battle Against Waste and Its Consequences

In the final paragraph, the discussion shifts to the broader issue of waste management, with a focus on progress made in reducing single-use plastics and the ongoing challenge of food waste. Craig Reucassel reflects on the changes in consumer habits and the importance of recycling, particularly in the context of food waste, which contributes to methane emissions when decomposing in landfills. The script concludes with a call to action, emphasizing the need for continued efforts to address waste and its environmental impacts.

Keywords

💡Microplastics

Microplastics are tiny pieces of plastic, typically less than a millimeter in size, that are found in the environment, food, and even within the human body. In the video, Craig Reucassel discusses how microplastics were found in his own body, raising concerns about their health effects. The presence of these particles in the air, water, and food illustrates the widespread contamination and the potential risks to human health and the environment.

💡Fast fashion

Fast fashion refers to the rapid production of inexpensive clothing, often at the expense of environmental and ethical standards. The video highlights how fast fashion contributes to the prevalence of microplastics in clothing, which then enter the human body through inhalation. This concept is central to the discussion on the environmental and health impacts of the fashion industry.

💡Reusables vs. single-use

The contrast between reusables and single-use items is a recurring theme in the video. Craig Reucassel emphasizes the importance of switching to reusable items, like coffee cups, to reduce waste and environmental harm. The discussion reflects broader efforts to shift consumer behavior away from disposable products, which contribute significantly to plastic waste.

💡Environmental footprint

An environmental footprint refers to the impact of human activities on the environment, particularly in terms of resource consumption and waste production. The video explores the environmental footprint of fast fashion, particularly the use of polyester and other plastic-based materials, and the broader consequences of our consumption patterns on global resources and climate change.

💡Polyester

Polyester is a synthetic fiber made from fossil fuels, commonly used in the production of clothing. The video reveals that over 60% of clothing is made from polyester, which sheds microfibers into the environment and contributes to the microplastics found in the human body. This highlights the environmental and health challenges posed by synthetic textiles.

💡War on Waste

"War on Waste" is the title of the series hosted by Craig Reucassel, which aims to raise awareness about waste management and environmental sustainability. The video discusses various aspects of waste reduction, including the use of reusable items, reducing plastic consumption, and addressing food waste, all of which are central themes of the series.

💡Inhalation of microfibers

Inhalation of microfibers refers to the process by which tiny fibers from synthetic materials like polyester are breathed in and enter the human body. The video explains how these microfibers, found in everyday items like clothing and carpets, become airborne and are inhaled, contributing to the presence of microplastics in the body. This is a significant concern for human health, as the long-term effects are still being studied.

💡Sustainable fashion

Sustainable fashion is an approach to clothing production and consumption that prioritizes environmental and ethical considerations. In the video, the concept is contrasted with fast fashion, highlighting the need to buy less, wear clothes longer, and choose materials with lower environmental impacts. The discussion promotes practices like mending and resale as ways to extend the life of clothing.

💡Methane emissions

Methane emissions are a potent greenhouse gas released during the decomposition of organic matter, such as food waste in landfills, or from livestock like sheep. The video touches on methane emissions in the context of wool production and food waste, emphasizing the need to address these emissions to mitigate climate change. Methane's role in global warming is a key environmental concern discussed in the video.

💡Chemical additives in plastics

Chemical additives in plastics are substances used during the production of plastics to enhance their properties, such as stabilizers, fire retardants, and colorants. The video discusses the potential health risks associated with these chemicals, as they can be harmful when ingested or inhaled with microplastics. Understanding these additives is crucial for assessing the full impact of plastic pollution on human health.

Highlights

Fast fashion is damaging to the environment and potentially harmful to health due to microplastics.

Craig Reucassel from 'War on Waste' aims to convince Australians to use reusable coffee cups.

Australia produces 2.6 million tons of plastic waste annually, averaging to about 100 kilos per person.

Microplastics, less than a millimeter in size, are invisible to the naked eye but prevalent in our environment.

Craig underwent a test revealing about 30 pieces of microplastics in his body from a single sample.

Microplastics found in Craig were primarily microfibers of polyester, likely inhaled from the air.

Over 60% of clothing is made from plastic, predominantly polyester, contributing to microplastic pollution.

The health consequences of microplastics are still largely unknown, with ongoing research to understand their impact.

Plastic contains various chemicals such as stabilizers, fire retardants, and colorants, which may have health implications.

Microplastics have been linked to potential effects on coral life and other marine organisms.

Cotton and wool also have environmental footprints, making the choice between synthetic and natural fibers complex.

The 'War on Waste' encourages buying less, wearing clothes longer, and extending their life through mending or swapping.

Food waste is a significant issue, with about a fifth of purchased food ending up thrown away.

Decomposition of food waste in landfills produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

Craig Reucassel discusses the progress made since the last 'War on Waste' series and the need for continued efforts.

The 'War on Waste' series is available on iview, with new episodes released each Sunday of the month.

Transcripts

hi I'm Sam Hawley coming to you from

gadigal Land This is ABC News Daily

[Music]

we know fast fashion is incredibly

damaging for the environment have you

ever thought about what it's doing to

your health cheap fashion is full of

microplastics and you're almost

certainly breathing them in today war on

waste host Craig grew Castle on his

shock and rather uncomfortable discovery

[Music]

thank you

[Music]

Craig grew castle in the past six years

have you ever used a disposable coffee

cup I think I did use one actually

because I was it was a confusion of it

ordering ah I thought I'd ordered one in

a ceramic cup but I was given otherwise

and I guess by that time the damage had

been done so I drank it all right so not

your fault and of course your war on

waste series six years ago you went a

big way to encouraging Australians to

take reusable coffee cups to their

favorite cafes didn't you today I want

to convince the good people of Melbourne

to ditch their disposable coffee cups

and to bring a reusable cup instead yeah

yeah I mean and I guess that was just

the indication of an overall thing which

is that just generally if you can change

to reusables over single use it's better

overall and the coffee cup was just an

example of that I guess sorry guys you

can't get on this trailer with coffee

cups

what a waste

now you've been delving very deep into

our rubbish again and oh my Craig don't

we have a lot of them you even tried to

get some beach goers in manly in Sydney

to pick it up per se

nothing we'll see the Australia creates

2.6 million tons of plastic waste a year

uh which is about 100 kilos per person

so it's not your individual you're not

individually throwing that out but

that's overall our Australian kind of

plaster consumption we try to get people

to lift it and they struggled and we

struggled to lift our own plastic waste

use those muscles they look good can

they lift I can climb up

tell me while you've been trawling

through our rubbish what shocked you the

most this time look we did a little

experiment to find out how many

microplastics were inside me and it was

one I was kind of reticent about doing

yes uh not just the process but the you

know seeing the results microplastics

are a tiny bits of um plastic so I think

less than a millimeter in size so tiny

you can't see them with the naked eye

but you did establish that there was

lots in you how on Earth did you manage

to do that look I hate the details of

this but I had to provide a sample to

Professor Fred loosh at Griffith

University a sample of a sample of a poo

definitely yes okay so it's come from my

digestive tract uh all for a good cause

all for a good cause exactly what if I'm

fascinating about talking to Professor

Fred loose is that it's really in the

early stages like we don't actually know

a lot of the health consequences of this

yet the universe of chemicals that we're

dealing with on these and in these

microplastic is so large that it's a

huge amount of research

um which is really just scratching the

surface at the moment we are aware that

micro Plastics are in sea ice are in

ocean floor or in Birds fish are in beer

are in us but the question is to the how

much is in there and the actual impact

is so we're still at the early stages of

figuring out we've covered the globe

with a layer of microplastics by now

well I guess the next question is how

much is getting into us into us that's a

good question

[Music]

yeah I think that's something we

definitely want to know just remind me

Craig how many micro Plastics were in

you all right there was about it was

about 30 pieces of microplastics In Me

In from that one sample so the 30 bits

of plastic and they're long and that'd

be like little tiny little bits this

other what we call fibers okay so the

long ones are fibers according to the

scientists there it was about the

average so and again it'll probably it

can be different for different people

what shocked me about it interestingly

enough is that I think my presumption

was that the microplastics I would have

inside me would have come possibly from

the food chain we've obviously seen a

lot of reports over the years of

microplastics been found in water

bottles or or actual tap water as well

beer you know fish all of these types of

things you go okay well this has become

part of you know the human food chain is

that where they will come from from what

I've eaten or drunk the actual

microfibers that we did find inside I

mean most of them were actually

microfibers of polyester or Fabric and

that did surprise me and that would have

come predominantly through inhalations

through actually just breathing it

within the air and it's you know it's

either coming from clothing or you know

our carpets or our rugs or you know so

many things nowadays over 60 of clothing

and textiles are made by fossil fuels

made by plastic predominantly polyester

so that surprised me that that was the

major thing Within Me although there are

some other pieces as well you put it

together it's probably about a ping pong

ball size of fibers put together a year

okay so it's not just going through me

it could be becoming more part of our

bodies you're becoming a plastic man oh

my God

we spend all of this time trying to eat

well not to drink too much you know do

the best by our bodies and now you're

telling me we're full of microplastics

that's that's not great we need to kind

of pause and not overreact so for

instance that you know there are lots of

things that we ingest in small

quantities that don't necessarily have a

negative effect there's a lot about

quantity with plastics themselves as

well plastic in a sense is reasonably

inert so it's not necessarily that

plastic is going to do something

negative but but one of the complex

Parts about it is that when when

Plastics are made there's enormous

amount of other chemicals that go into

them this kind of stabilizers there's

fire retardants there's colorants

there's a massive amount of that so we

actually spoke to the scientists about

saying well can you take the kind of the

the sample you've found in me and kind

of then break down the next level which

is to find the chemicals in it

unfortunately we didn't have the time

and the kind of ability to be able to do

that yet but that's the kind of broader

question that is it may not be

specifically the piece of plastic but

maybe

what is being used to make that plastic

or is linked to that plastic and plastic

has also been shown in microplastics for

instance to be bad for coral life

because it kind of other microorganisms

attached to it and it kind of grow on it

so again it may not be necessarily the

plastic itself that does the damage but

it may be things associated with it

and you mentioned of course there's a

lot of these microplastics in clothing

and gosh don't we have a lot of clothing

we do and this is the fascinating thing

is that over 60 of our clothing is made

from plastic is made from fossil fuels

is predominantly over 50 is from

polyester and you have nylons and other

things as well and and that's really

interesting because it's actually one of

the ones to be honest that is difficult

to find a solution I've kind of been

hearing from people for years oh it's

okay we're going to put a filter on our

washing machines to solve this problem

and then I've spoken to people saying

well yeah kind of but to do that you

kind of need a washing machine you need

a kind of filter next to your washing

machine it's almost the same size as

your machine you know it's difficult to

actually do this now some of it actually

is picked up in the kind of the water

treatment plants can actually filter out

some of it and maybe that's where we

need to do it but at the moment

it's difficult to find a solution

because you know a lot of people say we

should just not have Plastics in

clothing we should go back to Natural

materials but obviously cotton which is

about 25 of our clothing it itself has a

kind of environmental footprint there's

a lot of you know enormous amounts of

water is used to to make cotton uh

there's obviously fertilizers used in

that as well and it has its own kind of

footprint and even things like wool

obviously sheep at the moment uh High

very high methane content because of

global warming so so it's kind of a

really difficult one because you go well

yes I can kind of potentially solve this

microplastic problem by shifting to all

natural fibers but that doesn't

necessarily overcome the overall

environmental footprint of fashion and

then that comes back to which is why the

major kind of message we give in the war

and waste is at the moment what's

happening is we're buying more and more

clothes and wearing them less and less

and we need to go the opposite way which

is to buy less wear longer extend the

life of clothes whether it be through

mending resale or otherwise swapping

because that's what then reduces that

overall environmental impact of fashion

[Music]

we're inhaling all these Plastics I'm

pretty sure every Australian would say

they don't want to be doing that no but

there doesn't seem to be there's not a

simple solution no no it really isn't

and and as I said the only thing I would

caution on is just to say look there are

some early studies that suggest that

maybe these Plastics may affect at

certain rates might affect reproduction

there's potential links to some cancers

but again I don't want to overscare

people we're at the early stages and it

depends on how much of course is in

there you know that the rates that were

inside me it's not necessarily I'm not

kind of freaking out at this point

whilst I'm not thrilled by the fact

either

[Music]

all right well Craig you had a win on

coffee cups the last time you did a

series like this what do you think you

might change this time interesting

interesting I look I think we you know

we're kind of going back to some of the

themes that we started with to see how

far we've come and we we have made some

really positive changes and that's been

great to see you know we have had some

single-use plastic bands we've really

had seen a fundamental change in

approach to for instance plastic bags

and shopping centers you know used to be

the single-use plastic ones just giving

out a will ever since they started

charging for those One supermarket

showed that now 80 of people are

actually bringing their own which is a

great example of changing your habits

has kind of reduced the waste overall

we've seen that happen there's been an

increase in All ganks Recycling I think

that's the area where really we need to

really ramp it up because again food

our food waste is one that we control a

lot in our own home we create a lot of

food waste in our own home about a fifth

of our the food that we buy we kind of

end up throwing out and that's something

we can control but also in Australia the

thing slightly outside of our control

sometimes is that you know if we dispose

of that if we don't have compost for

instance that ends up going to landfill

and food breaking down in landfill

without oxygen creates methane very

potent greenhouse gas and you know so

food waste is one that we really need to

be getting onto very quickly and

changing that habit very quickly yeah

all right and it is a war on waste isn't

it a real battle that we actually need

to solve what happens if we don't solve

this

well I mean look a lot of these waste

impacts do have not only long-term

effects in terms of litter in terms of

just the you know enjoyment of the

environment

they have long-term impacts in terms of

our use of resources you know often

dwindling resources as well so the fact

that we don't reuse these things or

recycle them or avoid them in the first

place means we're burning through the

resources that go into them and that

obviously then also has often a carbon

footprint has it has a global warming

footprint as well it's kind of a

single-use approach to living has a

carbon footprint

foreign

[Music]

Castle is the host of War on waste you

can find it on iview

this episode was produced by Veronica

app app Nell Whitehead and Sam Dunn who

also did the mix our supervising

producer is David Cohen just letting you

know each Sunday this month will be

bringing you an episode of if you're

listening with Matt Bevin so look out

for that in your feed

I'm Sam Hawley ABC news daily we'll be

back again on Monday thanks for

listening