Back to Journal Read next

Microplastics in Our Bodies

By MATE the Label
Microplastics in Our Bodies

Microplastics are everywhere! For some this has been a known fact for years, but others might be asking themselves, What even is a microplastic? Let's dig into recent studies that have found microplastics in the human body (gasp!) and all of the nuances that come with it.

What is a Microplastic?

Microplastics are small plastic particles that are less than 5mm in size. There are two categories of microplastics. Primary microplastics are those that are designed to be small like microbeads in skin care products. Secondary microplastics are tiny plastic particles that shed from larger sources of plastic. Secondary microplastics can be shed from things like car tires, shoe soles, and synthetic clothing₁. While microplastics seem to find their way into everything, recent research has started to find them inside our own bodies.

 

Microplastics in our Bodies

In the last couple years more and more research has been published detecting the presence of microplastics in our bodies. 

In 2021 an Italian scientist tested the placentas of 6 women and found microplastics in 4 of them₂. Microplastics were found on the maternal side, fetal side, and chorioamniotic membranes₂.

In 2022 the same scientist tested the breast milk of 34 women and found the presence of microplastics in 26 of those samples₃.

In 2022 another scientist tested for the presence of microplastics in the blood of 22 participants. Of these 22 participants 17 had detectable levels of microplastics in their blood₄.

More and more research has been published detecting the presence of microplastics in our bodies.

 

 

How reliable is this research?

While it needs to be known that these studies often do not sample a large enough population to make conclusions about community exposure we can use this as a sign that microplastics are able to infiltrate these areas of our bodies.

How are these little pieces of plastic getting inside of us?

We are exposed to microplastics all throughout our daily lives. A study published in 2019 investigated the ways we most frequently ingest microplastics₅. Their research found that breathing microplastics in the air was the largest exposure pathway and that the most common type of microplastic ingested was microplastic fibers which could be shed from synthetic clothing.

Microplastics are everywhere, from rain clouds₆ to arctic ice₇, to our own bodies₅. 

Microplastics are everywhere, from rain clouds₆ to arctic ice₇, to our own bodies₅. Research is still developing on how these microplastics affect our health but for now we can look at the plastic use in our own lives while pressuring brands to do better by reducing the plastic used in their products.

 

Want to ditch plastic clothing? We've got you covered. Shop 100% Organic Cotton styles here.

Sources: 

  1. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/698_2020_449
  2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33395930/ 
  3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9269371/ 
  4. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412022001258
  5. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.9b01517
  6. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaz5819
  7. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-61948-6
Back to Journal Read next

More From The Journal

Fig Leaf + Blueberry Summer Avocado Oil Cake Recipe With Camilla Marcus of west~bourne

Read more
sustainability

A Convo With Greg Davidson & Michael Wieder of Lalo

Read more
female founded

A Convo with Laura Modi of Bobbie

Read more

Fig Leaf + Blueberry Summer Avocado Oil Cake Recipe With Camilla Marcus of west~bourne

Read more
sustainability

A Convo With Greg Davidson & Michael Wieder of Lalo

Read more
female founded

A Convo with Laura Modi of Bobbie

Read more

2023 Non-Toxic Christmas Tree Guide

Read more

8 Non-toxic, Organic Stocking Stuffers for the Whole Family

Read more

MATE's Clean Holiday Gift Guide

Read more
style

MATE Styles That Will Sell Out This Holiday Season

Read more
materials

Should You Be Worried About BPA in Your Activewear?

Read more
wellness

Common Endocrine Disruptors Found in Fashion

Read more
sustainability

Decoding Sustainable Fashion Certifications

Read more
materials

Benefits of Organic Cotton

Read more
sustainability

Microplastics in Our Bodies

Read more
style

MATE Team's Cozy Picks

Read more
style

5 Reasons Kayti Loves Our NEW Terry Sweatshirt

Read more
sustainability

Clean & Cozy: Organic Knits

Read more
sustainability

Show Your Materials: Let's Come Clean

Read more
sustainability

Is Tencel Actually Better for People and the Planet?

Read more
female founded

MATE x Parachute: A Convo with Founders Kayti O'Connell Carr & Ariel Kaye

Read more
female founded

A Convo with Victoria Thain Gioia of Perelel Health

Read more
female founded

Kayti's Postpartum Toolkit

Read more
sustainability

How Well Do You Know Your Undies?

Read more

International Women's Day

Read more
sustainability

Clean For All

Read more
sustainability

Shop to Support on #GivingTuesday

Read more
sustainability

Why (and how) we lowered our Organic Cotton prices

Read more
female founded

Your CBD Questions Answered by the Founders of Juna

Read more
sustainability

Kristine Lo’s First Beach Cleanup with MATE x OSEA x HEAL THE BAY

Read more
female founded

Founder Faves—What Kayti is Loving Right Now

Read more
female founded

Q&A with Founders of AVRE Sustainable Sneakers

Read more
sustainability

Environmental Justice with Sarah Anderson

Read more
female founded

A Convo with Beatrice Dixon of The Honey Pot Co

Read more
wellness

Plants for the People With Erin Verinder

Read more
style

Beyond Basics: What makes our Essentials . . . essential

Read more
female founded

Q&A With Nadya Okamoto

Read more
style

Styling MATE: It’s A Whole Mood

Read more