http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2014/oct/27/toxic-plastic-synthetic-microscopic-oceans-microbeads-microfibers-food-chain

Inside the lonely fight against the biggest environmental problem you've
never heard of

In 2011, an ecologist released an alarming study showing that tiny
clothing fibers could be the biggest source of plastic in our oceans.
The bigger problem? No one wanted to hear it

Mary Catherine O'Connor
Monday 27 October 2014 14.21 GMT

Ecologist Mark Browne knew he?d found something big when, after months
of tediously examining sediment along shorelines around the world, he
noticed something no one had predicted: fibers. Everywhere. They were
tiny and synthetic and he was finding them in the greatest concentration
near sewage outflows. In other words, they were coming from us.

In fact, 85% of the human-made material found on the shoreline were
microfibers, and matched the types of material, such as nylon and
acrylic, used in clothing.

It is not news that microplastic ? which the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration defines as plastic fragments 5mm or smaller ?
is ubiquitous in all five major ocean gyres. And numerous studies have
shown that small organisms readily ingest microplastics, introducing
toxic pollutants to the food chain.

But Browne?s 2011 paper announcing his findings marked a milestone,
according to Abigail Barrows, an independent marine research scientist
based in Stonington, Maine, who has helped to check for plastic in more
than 150 one-liter water samples collected around the world. ?He?s
fantastic ? very well respected? among marine science researchers, says
Barrows. ?He is a pioneer in microplastics research.?

By sampling wastewater from domestic washing machines, Browne estimated
that around 1,900 individual fibers can be rinsed off a single synthetic
garment - ending up in our oceans.