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Posted by Jacqui Richards
15 May 2025“Impacts of non-petroleum and petroleum-based microfibers on aquatic organisms: a meta-analysis”
Written by Dr Ben Parker, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at University of Exeter
What was the study aim?
The new paper by the University of Exeter’s Dr Ben Parker, Dr Ceri Lewis and Professor Tamara Galloway reviews how aquatic organisms respond to microfibre exposures (defined here as fibres < 5 mm in length). Microfibres are important aquatic pollutants that originate during the manufacture, use and disposal of textiles, ropes and wipes.
A meta-analysis is a type of study that gathers data from different studies to determine overall trends. This study specifically aimed to test how harm might vary for fossil-fuel “petroleum” (e.g. polyester) and non-fossil-fuel “non-petroleum” (e.g. cotton) based microfibres.
What was done?
Screening the academic literature, 38 suitable laboratory exposure studies were identified with 472 suitable datapoints included for analysis. Studies measured the effects on survival, feeding and other measures in a range of freshwater and marine organisms including algae, worms and fishes. The data also included exposures to different types of petroleum and non-petroleum-based microfibres.
Statistical methods were used to combine data and show if the net responses in aquatic organisms were harmful, beneficial or neutral when grouped by the type of organism (e.g. fishes, worms) and exposure details (microfibre type, polymer, concentration etc.).
What are the key findings?
The microfibre studies generally had adverse effects on aquatic animals, whatever polymers they were made from. This is probably because they have similar shapes and contain similar chemicals. There were fewer studies on non-petroleum microfibres, but they were often less likely to cause negative effects than petroleum based microfibres.
There are some limitations to this type of study: some literature may have been missed due to the search criteria used. Also, the way in which the fibres were grouped for the analysis (by polymer type and fibre length), may have failed to detect any combination effects. Despite this, the study remains the first to compare the effects of microfibres on aquatic animals in this way.
What do these results mean?
Crucially, the overall harmful effects of microfibres suggest that simply switching from petroleum-based to non-petroleum fibres may not be enough. Reducing microfibre release and environmental entry of both types is a key priority.
This can be achieved through better-by-design approaches to “design out” microfibre release combined with best management practices that reduce microfibres reaching aquatic environments.
The Future Fibres Network+, and its sister projects, are fostering collaborations between industry, designers, environmental scientists and policymakers to try and encourage these changes. Embedding environmental science into the textile design process can effectively mitigate future environmental and sustainability challenges.
Where can I find out more?
The open-access paper “Impacts of non-petroleum and petroleum-based microfibers on aquatic organisms: a meta-analysis” can be read online in the journal Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry: https://academic.oup.com/etc/advance-article/doi/10.1093/etojnl/vgaf113/8124370?login=false
The publication will be released as part of the special issue “Effects of Textiles Microfibers and Chemicals in the Environment” guest edited by Professor Tamara Galloway and released later this year.
Parker, B., Lewis, C. N. & Galloway T. S. (2025). Impacts of non-petroleum and petroleum-based microfibres on aquatic organisms: a meta-analysis, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, vgaf113, https://doi.org/10.1093/etojnl/vgaf113
With thanks to Georg Eiermann
With thanks to William Warby
With thanks to Olesandr Sushko
