Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and U.S. Representative Mike Levin (CA-49) today introduced the Fighting Fibers Act of 2025 to address one of the most significant sources of microfiber pollution: our laundry. Scientists estimate millions of tons of microfibers enter the ocean every year, which makes textiles the largest known source of marine microplastic pollution.
“When it comes to plastics, most of us have been taught the three Rs: reduce, reuse, and recycle. The sinister reality is the three Bs: buried, burned, and borne out to sea, as dangerous chemicals poison our soil, air, and water,” dijo Merkley. “Microplastic pollution harms human health and our environment, and the Fighting Fibers Act is a simple fix to help consumers address the pollution from their clothes that is driving our global plastics crisis.”
“Microfibers pose a serious threat to our waterways, oceans, and food supply and can ultimately end up in our bodies leading to serious health complications. Preventing them from entering our ecosystems is important to health and safety,” dijo Levin. “This bill provides a simple, targeted solution that offsets the environmental and health impacts of microfibers by stopping them in laundry cycles before they can enter our waters and bodies. I thank Sen. Merkley for his partnership on this bill, and I look forward to advancing it through the legislative process.”
El Fighting Fibers Act has two main components:
- Ensuring washing machines include microfiber filtration, and
- Requiring future research on the impact of microfibers on human health and the environment.
El Fighting Fibers Act is supported by Ocean Conservancy and The 5 Gyres Institute.
“Microfibers are the most common type of microplastic pollution in our ocean and environment and have made their way everywhere from our drinking water to our blood streams. The scale and urgency of this crisis demand immediate action, and adding microfiber filters to washing machines is a common-sense and cost-effective solution available today to address this crisis. We applaud Senator Merkley and Representative Levin for championing the Fighting Fibers Act of 2025 to protect our ocean and our communities from dangerous microplastics,” dicho Dr. Anja Brandon, Director, Plastics Policy, Ocean Conservancy.
“Microplastics are a pervasive threat to our environment and human health, and microfibers from clothing are a significant source of this pollution. A single load of laundry can release up to 18 million microfibers, but washing machine filters can capture up to 90% of them before they enter the environment. This is a proven, cost-effective, and science-based solution to the microplastics crisis, and we applaud Senator Merkley and Congressman Levin for their leadership in introducing the Fighting Fibers Act of 2025,” said Paulita Bennett-Martin, Senior Strategist of Policy Initiatives, The 5 Gyres Institute.
Merkley is a long-time leader and fierce advocate for tackling the plastic pollution crisis. As former Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on Chemical Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice, and Regulatory Oversight, he held a first-of-its-kind series of hearings investigating plastic production and pollution. His hearings examined: Daños ambientales y climáticos causados por los plásticos., Impactos de los plásticos en las comunidades de justicia ambiental., sistemas de reutilización y recarga, residuos de envases de bebidas, y Desafíos del consumidor para el reciclaje..
Throughout July, Merkley is leading the charge to spotlight the harms of plastic pollution on our air, water, and soil. He introduced a Congressional resolution to designate July as Mes de acción contra la contaminación plástica and the bipartisan Microplastics Safety Act to better understand the threat of microplastics to human health.
Texto completo de la Fighting Fibers Act can be found by clicking aquí.
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