adidas, stoppt den Polyesterwahnsinn

Warum ist das wichtig? Die Modeindustrie hat einen großen Anteil an der Plastikverschmutzung. Weltweit stammt ein beachtlicher Teil des Mikroplastiks, das ins Meer gelangt, aus synthetischen Textilien. Ob Kleidung recycelt ist oder nicht spielt dabei keine Rolle - biologisch nicht abbaubare Materialien wie Polyester landen als Fremdkörper in organischen Ökosystemen. Mittlerweile wurde Mikro- und Nanoplastik in der menschlichen Plazenta, im Blut und im menschlichen Gehirn nachgewiesen und ruft...

We are Ocean. Now! – Home

Ocean. Now! is an ocean protection NGO contributing to the Sustainable Development Goal 14 – “Life below Water” – via conceptual art.

The Story of Microfibers - Story of Stuff

About this film Most of us wear synthetic fabrics like polyester every day. Our dress shirts, yoga pants, fleeces, and even underwear are all increasingly made of synthetic materials — plastic, in fact. But these synthetic fabrics, from which 60% of all clothing on earth is made, have a big hidden problem: when they’re washed,…

Full-day, solar-powered, bidirectional thermoregulatory clothing that can respond to changing temperatures

A team of engineers, materials scientists and chemists at Nankai University, in China, has developed a microfiber-based meta-fabric that provides full-day thermoregulation of body temperature during periods of changing external temperatures.

What Does Your Washing Machine Have to do with Microfibers?

Vibrio spp and other potential pathogenic bacteria associated to microfibers in the North-Western Mediterranean Sea

Microfibers, whether synthetic or natural, have increased dramatically in the environment, becoming the most common type of particles in the ocean, and exposing aquatic organisms to multiple negative impacts. Using an approach combining morphology (scanning electron microscopy-SEM) and molecular taxonomy (High-Throughput DNA Sequencing- HTS), we investigated the bacterial composition from floating microfibers (MFs) collected in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. The average number of bacteria in 100 μm2 on the surface of a fiber is 8 ± 5.9 cells; by extrapolating it to a whole fiber, this represents 2663 ± 1981 bacteria/fiber. Attached bacterial communities were dominated by Alteromonadales, Rhodobacterales, and Vibrionales, including the potentially human/animal pathogen Vibrio parahaemolyticus. This study reveals a high rate of bacterial colonization on MFs, and shows that these particles can host numerous bacterial species, including putative pathogens. Even if we cannot confirm its pathogenicity based only on the taxonomy, this is the first description of such pathogenic Vibrio living attached to MFs in the Mediterranean Sea. The identification of MFs colonizers is valuable in assessing health risks, as their presence can be a threat to bathing and seafood consumption. Considering that MFs can serve as vector for potentially pathogenic microorganisms and other pollutants throughout the ocean, this type of pollution can have both ecological and economic consequences.

Vibrio spp and other potential pathogenic bacteria associated to microfibers in the North-Western Mediterranean Sea

Microfibers, whether synthetic or natural, have increased dramatically in the environment, becoming the most common type of particles in the ocean, and exposing aquatic organisms to multiple negative impacts. Using an approach combining morphology (scanning electron microscopy-SEM) and molecular taxonomy (High-Throughput DNA Sequencing- HTS), we investigated the bacterial composition from floating microfibers (MFs) collected in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. The average number of bacteria in 100 μm2 on the surface of a fiber is 8 ± 5.9 cells; by extrapolating it to a whole fiber, this represents 2663 ± 1981 bacteria/fiber. Attached bacterial communities were dominated by Alteromonadales, Rhodobacterales, and Vibrionales, including the potentially human/animal pathogen Vibrio parahaemolyticus. This study reveals a high rate of bacterial colonization on MFs, and shows that these particles can host numerous bacterial species, including putative pathogens. Even if we cannot confirm its pathogenicity based only on the taxonomy, this is the first description of such pathogenic Vibrio living attached to MFs in the Mediterranean Sea. The identification of MFs colonizers is valuable in assessing health risks, as their presence can be a threat to bathing and seafood consumption. Considering that MFs can serve as vector for potentially pathogenic microorganisms and other pollutants throughout the ocean, this type of pollution can have both ecological and economic consequences.