Yet another reason to only wear natural fibers

When doing any sort of historical costuming, most people get told, at some point, to only use natural fibers as man made fibers are pretty much a 20th Century invention. Cotton, linen, wool, and silk are all natural and are what should be used. However, thanks to science, there is now another reason; the environment. Every time you wash that poly fleece cape or that acrylic brocade gown in the wash, it loses some of those fibers and those fibers end up in the waterways. Polyester and acrylic don't degrade, unlike natural fibers.

Prof Thompson says washing clothes could be a "significant source" of plastic microfibres in the ocean.
"When we sample, we find plastic fibres less than the width of a human hair - in fish, in deep sea sediments, as well as [floating] at the surface."

So those hideous leggings? That cute poly organza blouse? That 1500's acrylic brocade gown that I just can't get rid of because the fabric is still so pretty? It's filling fish up with plastic.   I don't want to eat plastic fish... This, of course, doesn't go for rayon which does degrade at a pretty rapid pace (Faster than cotton!). So, all my linen rayon blends should be environmentally friendly...