Investigate Microfibers Lab

Toolkit

Toolkit Details

What is in the Investigate Microfibers Kit?
– 10 clip-on microscopes that clip onto smart phone (1 per group of 2-4 students)
– 20 sampling slides with gridded tape

Materials you’ll need to procure
– masking tape,
– permanent markers,
– paper towel AND a broom/brush/vacuum for outdoor spots,
– access to one smart phone for each clip-on microscope

Editable Handouts
– Investigate Microfibers – Purpose and Context – Google Doc
– Investigate Microfibers – Student Research Notebook – Google Doc
– Investigate Microfibers – Class Data Collection Deck – Google Slides
– Investigate Microfibers – Student Feedback Handout – Google Doc

Purpose and Context

Microfiber pollution and exposure is still a new area of research within the field of plastic pollution. We want to better understand our exposure to airborne microfibers. Join us to study them with our Classroom Microfiber Investigation Kit. Compare indoor and outdoor deposition levels using a clip-on microscopes and our simple sample collectors.

What are microfibers? And where do they come from?

Microfibers are tiny threads or strings that are spun together to form the yarn that is used to make all sorts of fabrics, also called textiles; everything from carpets, clothing, wet wipes, bedding, and face masks. Some fabrics, like cotton and wool, are made from fibers that are formed directly by plants and animals, but some are made of plastic. The most common plastic fabrics are polyester, acrylic, nylon. You’ll also hear these called synthetic textiles. Synthetic means made by chemical synthesis, by human technologies. There are also semi-synthetic fibers like rayon that are made from highly processed wood.

Why are microfibers concerning?

The tiny microfibers can get separated from the fabric, and end up in our air, water, soil, and food. They are becoming a part of our dust. Each time we wear, wash, and dry our clothes they release microfibers. As they get tumbled in the washing machine and dryer, the friction breaks off or pulls out the small fibers from the fabric. This is concerning when we consider how much of fabric we use is synthetic, or plastic. When plastic microfibers end up in the environment, they will stay there for a long time because they don’t biodegrade.

How is fast fashion contributing to microfiber pollution?

The report Fossil Fashion, by Changing Markets found that in 2020 around 65% of the fast fashion clothing market was made up of polyester and other plastic textiles like acrylic, nylon, and spandex. On top of that, the average person bought 60% more clothing in 2021 than in 2007. Because polyester clothing is so cheap, people are beginning to treat clothing as disposable; more clothing is getting dumped, ending up in a landfill, incinerator, or the environment. As you can imagine, this huge amount of synthetic clothing means lots of microfibers getting into the environment.

What are scientists finding out about microfibers?

Scientists are trying to understand what this means for human health. The study of microfibers is still very new, so there are many unanswered questions.  

• Is the exposure to airborne microfibers harmful, even though our respiratory system is good at preventing solid particles in the air from going into our lungs?  
• Is our drinking water becoming contaminated with microfibers? 
• How are they impacting organisms like corals or soil microbes?

How can we study microfibers? 

The nonprofit powering Wayfinder Society, Algalita is working together with their sister nonprofit Moore Institute for Plastic Pollution Research to better understand our exposure to microfibers. Join us in investigating them with our Classroom Microfiber Investigation Kit. With the kit, your class can compare indoor and outdoor deposition levels using a set of sample collectors and tiny microscopes that clip on to a smart phone. 

Instructions

Prepare

Print one Research Notebook for each student to record their findings. Alternatively, upload it to your LMS for students to complete digitally.

Ask students to bring 1 shirt or sweatshirt from home for Activity 2. They can also use the shirt they are wearing if the tag on the inside seam is easily accessible or legible.

Get familiar with the clip-on microscope so that you can help your students as needed. Open the camera application on the phone. Clip the scope onto the phone so that the lens sits over the camera lens. You may need to remove the phone case for it to fit. On phones with multiple camera lenses, move the scope to each one until you find the one with the clearest image. It should look like a circle surrounded by a dark area. Zoom in so that the circle fills most of the screen. Place the scope on a surface that you want to look at. Use the camera app to take photos.

Watch this instructional video on your own before showing in segments in class before each part of the activity.

Use these chapter time stamps for each section for easy reference:

00:00:04 How to use the clip-on microscope (Show before Activity 1 and 2)
00:01:53 Setting up the sample locations (Show before Activity 3)
00:02:56 Taking the samples and 00:04:07 Analyzing the samples (Show before collecting samples, 5 days after setting up sample locations)

In Class

If you haven’t already, start by introducing your students to the topic of plastic pollution using any of the Related Resources and videos at the bottom of this page.

Divide students into 10 groups. Students will work together in these groups throughout the 4 activities.

Activity 1. What are synthetic textiles? 

In groups, students find 5 different textile items in the classroom. Textiles are woven fabrics, used in clothing, shoes, bags, carpets upholstered furniture, curtains, etc. Give them time to get familiar with the clip-on microscopes. For each textile, have them take a close-up photo showing the fibers using the clip-on microscope attached to a phone. For each textile, ask them to look for information on a tag, or research online, to find out what the textile might be made of, They should determine if it is synthetic or natural.  

Discuss: What were some patterns that you noticed about the different textiles? Did you find any other things made up of fibers but that would not be considered a textile? What are textiles/fabrics made of? What materials from nature do we use to make fabric?

Activity 2. Clothing Audit

Using the clothing articles that each student brought to class, find out: What percentage of our clothes contain polyester or other plastic? Ask students to identify what their shirt or sweatshirt is made of, using the information on the tag. Collect the data and visualize the data together on the board. Have students summarize the data in their Research Notebook. 

Note: Many clothes are made of a mixture of fiber types, commonly a polyester-cotton blend. You can also ask students to graph the percentage of polyester in the clothes to answer the question: What is the most common percentage of polyester in our clothing sample?  

 After the audit, show this video, The Microfiber Problem, by Conservation X Labs, and have students read through the Microfiber Investigation Purpose and Context document. Tell students they are going to measure microfibers in the classroom, along with students in 9 other classrooms across the US. 

Activity 3. Microfiber Study 

Prepare your microfiber sample locations. 

1. As a class, brainstorm where dust and microfibers in the air might settle inside the classroom and outside.
2. Each student group then picks 1 indoor and 1 outdoor spot to collect their microfiber sample. The sample spots should be flat, smooth, and out of the way of foot traffic or high use areas. Like a tabletop, shelf, cabinet, floor corner, etc.
3. To start, wipe off the area with a cotton cloth, brush, or paper towel to remove most of the dust. Don’t use a microfiber cloth or wet wipe as these are made of plastic. For outdoor locations, a smooth spot might be harder to find but should still exist; think water fountain base, metal railing, trash can lid, bench, or window sill.
4. Use masking tape to outline a box on the surface. The area inside the frame should be about 3×3 inches. Use a clean, damp cotton or paper cloth to thoroughly clean the whole surface inside the box you just made. Use the clip-on microscope to inspect the area and make sure that there aren’t any microfibers or dust particles left.
5. Label the tape box with a sample number, location key (Indoor = I, Outdoor = O) ex: I3 or O2, the start date, and group name. Complete the table in your research notebook with the sample numbers, photos, and a description of the locations.
6. Now, leave the sample locations alone for 5 days. 

After the 5 days, take your microfiber samples.

1. Each group choses a person to collect the sample. Have each sample collector wash their hands and let them air dry. Instruct them not to touch any fabric.
2. Use one of the provided sample collectors for each tape box. Gently, wipe the both sides of the microscope slide with a dry paper towel to remove any dust stuck to the outside. 
3. Carefully using the corner tab, peel the white tape square off the glass microscope slide, making sure not to let the tape touch anything, especially your clothes.
4. Stick the tape square, sticky side down, on the surface inside the masking tape box. Press and rub it firmly to make sure the whole piece of tape adheres to the surface you are sampling.
5. Carefully peel the tape off again and stick it back onto the microscope slide where it originally was, on the opposite side of the grid sticker, so it lines up with the grid.
6. Label the sample collector microscope slide with the corresponding box number using a permanent marker. In your Research Notebook, record the sampling date.
7. Repeat for the other sample location. 

Analyze your samples! 

1. Take turns to use the clip-on microscope to view and count the number of microfibers in each square of the grid.  With the clip-on microscope and camera app take a photo of each square of the grid. Make sure each square of the grid is completely visible in the photo and also as big as possible. Make sure the photos show the fibers in focus as much as possible. Each group should add their photos to the class data collection deck on the corresponding slides. Each sample location, I1 – I10 and O1 – O10, has 2 corresponding slides. The first is for the sample location description, and the second is for uploading photos of the sampling slide grid squares.
2. Calculate the daily fiber deposition rate for each sample spot. The tape is 1×1 in. The daily deposition rate should be recorded as fibers per inch.
3. Use a chart to show the comparison of the average indoor and outdoor deposition rate using each groups results.

Summarize your study and findings.

Lead a class discussion to allow each group to share some of their observations. Ask: What conclusions can you draw from this study? Based on the results from Activity 2, what percentage of fibers in your samples do you expect to be polyester? What questions came up as you were conducting the investigation? 

Have students summarize their finding and draw conclusions using the prompts in the Research Notebook. 

Activity 4. How can we reduce our exposure to microfiber pollution in our classroom and beyond?

As a class, brainstorm ways that you could reduce exposure to synthetic microfibers. Ideas could be strategies to mitigate impact, for example, air filters, or to prevent impact, for example work towards using fewer synthetics. Check out this NHK World Japan video for some inspiration: Clothes to the Earth!

Student project ideas:

• Create a Public Service Announcement (PSA) against Fast Fashion
• Write a Wear Out Your Clothes PSA or rap (with Flocabulary)
• Organize a classroom or school wide clothes swap or uniform share down program
• Fundraise for air filters
• Design a shed-o-meter (device that measures or minimizes microfiber shedding from clothes)
• Write a research paper on degradable fibers

We’ll be compiling the study results, microscope slides, photos, and student projects from each pilot class! Once you submit your classes data, you will be able to schedule a virtual lab tour of the Moore Institute for Plastic Pollution Research where they test water samples for microfiber pollution. Students will get to see how scientists are using and developing cutting-edge technology to study microfibers. 20 minute tour, plus 10 minute Q&A with a lab technician.

Dig deeper: Design a study to investigate another question you have about microfibers, using the samplers and clip-on scopes.   

Associated Standards

NGSS

5-PS1-3 Make observations and measurements to identify materials based on their properties.

MS-PS 1-3 Gather and make sense of info to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society.

MS-ESS 3-3  Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.

This Toolkit was created in partnership with the Moore Institute for Plastic Pollution Research.

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