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Welcome to Counterpoint, a series in which we challenge commonly held ideas about well-known products. This time: fleece jackets.

First, let me introduce you to this story's villain, fleece. More specifically, the microplastics it sheds. See, most fleece jackets are made from polyester. And polyester (aka polyethylene terephthalate) is plastic, which derives from a chemical reaction between air, petroleum, and water. But wait, I know. I can hear you now. People use plastic for everything. Why are my fleece jackets the problem?

Due to their size, the microplastics fleece jackets shed are harder to corral. If you see a water bottle floating along the shoreline, you pick it up. Or, if there is a herd of them floating a few miles offshore, a conservation crew can scoop them with one swift sift. Microplastics usually measure out to no more than a few millimeters (five at max). For context, a pea is roughly 10 mm across. The tip of a pencil is roughly 1 mm across. They're hard to see and even harder to address. But, microplastics are everywhere.

“In a business-as-usual scenario, the ocean is expected to contain one tonne of plastic for every three tonnes of fish by 2025, and by 2050, more plastics than fish [by weight]," researchers in a 2016 study by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation determined. That's bad news. And this isn't a problem we should shelve and address further down the road. Scientists found microplastics in table salt; fish caught miles from California's coast; and shorelines where effluent and other wastewater is routed.

Activists are concerned we're underestimating the reach of clothing-derived microplastics, even in the face of such grave realizations. Any damage done to the environment eventually impacts us, too, especially if we're unaware of the potential problems. But sooner than most realize, some argue, we'll learn that plastics have infiltrated our diets, the air we breathe, and the water we drink.

So... why can't brands just stop using polyester? Because polyester performs. It's why Patagonia introduced the material to outerwear in the '80s. But, ever an industry leader, the brand is also among the most progressive when it comes to changing gears: today, 91 percent of its polyester-based products are made using recycled polyester derived from plastic bottles and manufacturing waste. The brand is also taking significant strides toward making fleece more sustainable.

Unfortunately, when it comes to microplastic pollution, they've got plenty of company: all clothing releases fibers during the wash.

"Textiles shed between 31,000 and 3,500,000 fibers per load during normal laundering in household washing machines," the brand's research found. But while nylon, spandex and other stretchy, synthetic materials shed, none do like fleece. "'Fluffy' textiles like fleece, as well as textiles made of spun staple yarns and textiles pre-treated with brushing are the highest-shedding types," the aforementioned study determined.

Water treatment plants can only really capture around 60 (the rough average) to 80 (the optimistic take) percent of microplastics in the water they refine. That leaves a whopping 20 to 40 percent of a few million. (Yikes!)

There's hope, though, for those of us who retreat to high-pile jackets whenever winter appears from around the bend. Studies have found that some jackets shed a whole lot the first time you wash it but then do so less abundantly with each subsequent wash. Sure, flushing a wad of microplastics away with the first wash isn't worth celebrating, but this leaves room for pre-treatments that could eliminate that initial shed. There are also mesh bags — like the one below — that prevent most of the shedded microplastics from exiting your washing machine and entering waterlines.

Beyond scientific developments and consumer-facing hacks, there are also fleeces being made from alternative materials. There are natural woolen ones, too, which shed far less and decompose faster. If we can sway consumer interest away from polluting polyester fleeces, more brands will become aware of the problem and explore opportunities to innovate upon their own products — see: switching to wool or recycled polyester (like the Patagonia jacket below).

Warm and windproof, this fleece is made from 50 to 85 percent recycled materials.

If you must wash your fleece, put it in this bag first. You get around 50 washes out of one, and it catches 85 percent of particles.