If you look at the labels of the clothes you threw on today, chances are at least some of them use synthetic fabrics. They’re cheap, colourful and come in an endless array of textures, weights and degrees of stretch. But these convenient garments are also among of the main culprits infusing the air in our homes with invisible pollution: microplastics.

When you wash and dry your polyblend jumper, for instance, shake it out, pull it on over your head, or just go about your day wearing it, countless minuscule fibres are released into the air. Take a breath, and a cloud of these tiny particles can flow into your airways.

We’re just beginning to unravel the breadth of airborne microplastic exposure and its effect on our health, but what’s already known is raising concern. (Read more on what microplastics do to our health.)