clothes made of synthetic fibres - for example nylon, polyester, acrylic - loose microplastics during washing and in daily use. a team from the university of california santa barbara (ucsb) has calculated the daily amount of plastic fibres that get into the wastewater just by washing synthetic clothes. for a city of 100.000 inhabitants, this corresponds to about 15.000 plastic bags thrown into the sea. extrapolated for a city like berlin, this means 500.000 plastic bags - every day.
microplastic particles have already been detected in a variety of organisms, including plankton, a cornerstone of the marine ecosystem. there is no place in the world without the tiny plastic particles: they make their way into the ice of the arctic and into the deepest depths of the ocean. they are found in honey, water and salt. and there is alarming scientific evidence of health damage that can be caused by plastics and their additives. scientists all over the world agree: even the smallest plastic particles do not belong in the environment or in the human body. although we have functioning sewage treatment plants, some of the microplastic particles still get into rivers and oceans and accumulate toxins there. they are ingested by fish and other sea dwellers because they can hardly be distinguished from their actual food. this is how the plastic fibres get onto our plates and ultimately into our bodies.
therefore, our LANGBRETT products are free of (micro)plastic fibres and the production, raw materials, transport routes, design and reuse have been thought through to the tiniest detail. our shoes are part of the circular economy. sustainable for human and nature.