The Story of Stuff Project needs to raise $20,000 to make a movie that will blow the cover off the growing microfiber pollution problem. Donate today to make our new movie a reality, so we can make this story - and our campaign - go viral until the mess is cleaned up.

Any contribution amount brings us closer to being able to give this problem the attention it deserves. Contributions of $100 or more will be recognized with a producer credit on our website.

Plastic pollution has become one of the biggest and most well known threats to aquatic ecosystems, with media stories trumpeting the ‘Texas-sized garbage patch’ in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

But while we tend to think of plastic bags, bottles, packaging and other large Stuff as the source of the problem, scientists are increasingly concerned with the tiny plastics that enter our waters every day, which have a much higher likelihood of being eaten by animals at the bottom of the food chain and working their way up to us.

With your support, we’ll make a two-minute animated ‘explainer’ video that will blow the lid off the growing problem of plastic microfiber pollution, reaching hundreds of thousands of viewers like we did with our microbeads video last year and moving them to action.

The threat from synthetic fibers is greatly amplified by the fact that these small plastics attract the toxins in the water around them, accumulating harmful chemicals that are then passed into small organisms eaten by small fish. Bigger fish, of course, eat the smaller fish -- and that’s a big problem, not just for marine life, but for us; think sushi.

Our film can help move the public to action, and then we’ll work with clothing and washing machine manufacturers to ensure they take responsibility for the problem by funding research into solutions and committing to improvements that make this pollution a thing of the past.

Please contribute today - together we can protect our water, and our health, for generations to come.

Sources:  Ingested plastic transfers hazardous chemicals to fish and Microfibers: How the Tiny Threads in Our Clothes Are Polluting the Bay.