That became an excuse used by industry and policymakers for not enacting regulations. Plastic pollution comes from many sources, but fabric is a large contributor to the microplastic particles found in the environment.
“I think we’re now at the point where we have enough evidence to act,” Woodruff said. “It is really mind-blowing how much comes from textiles.”
Kids’ bodies are smaller, and they crawl around on floors and put hands, feet — heck, everything — in their mouths, making them especially at risk.
“There is reason to be concerned,” Woodruff said, adding that reducing exposure to plastic is in everyone’s interest. “The production of plastic is expected to double to triple in the next 20, 30 years.”
Of the half dozen experts I spoke to, none said I should take Bunny and Dancing Man away.
“[I think] individual prized objects like a stuffy or a favorite sweater are not the things to try to eliminate,” said Megan Schwarzman, researcher and associate director of UC Berkeley’s Center for Green Chemistry, who has a young son herself.
The Roberts Regional Recreation Area Barrier Free Playground in Oakland on March 17, 2025. Microplastics can trigger inflammation and oxidative stress in human cells, potentially damaging DNA, breaking cell membranes, and contributing to chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease, according to the National Library of Medicine. (David M. Barreda/KQED)
Plastic is everywhere, and one stuffed animal is “such a tiny fraction of the real true exposure that the battle is not worth it in terms of real risk reduction to the kid,” Schwarzman said.
Children wearing or holding fleece might inhale some particles, but probably aren’t absorbing a lot of plastic through their skin, she said. A likely larger source of microplastics would be from degraded tires and paint sloughing off our roads and buildings.
Sure, his fleece is exposing him to a little bit of extra plastic, but the best short-term strategy to keep it out of his body would be to eliminate plastic from the kitchen, Schwarzman said. Store food and beverages in glass or metal. Do not microwave food in plastic. Do not reuse takeout containers, as they tend to be made from low-quality plastics.
This is currently a matter of personal choice and responsibility, but ought it to be?
Plastic utensils at the bottom of a trash bin in Oakland, California, on Dec. 4, 2024. Recent research has pointed to microplastics as potentially harmful to human digestion and a possible driver for the increase of colorectal cancer. (David M. Barreda/KQED)
I started thinking about new kitchen items to buy to cut down on plastic, but Schwarzman pushed me to think bigger. A shift toward fewer plastics and more natural materials would reduce some personal exposure and could send signals to the marketplace.
“We do a disservice when we suggest that people can solve the problem by buying different things,” she said. “It’s really putting public pressure on policymakers, [large-scale] purchasers, brands and manufacturers is what creates change.”
Greener products, she noted, come at a price premium, “and there’s no way for them to compete because plastic is really cheap.”
Currently, the environment and our bodies bear the toxic cost of manufactured materials, but the producers do not. What’s needed, Schwarzman said, is public policy that makes manufacturers responsible for a product’s true cost. California is taking a stab with SB 54, a 2022 law designed to reduce plastic packaging and increase recycling.
Plastics can contain or absorb endocrine-disrupting chemicals that interfere with hormones, potentially leading to reproductive and developmental issues, according to the National Library of Medicine. (Thinkstock)
Industry groups acknowledge concerns about the potential for their products to harm human health and the environment but emphasize the usefulness and cost-effectiveness of plastic. They point to innovating new products and recycling as a solution for sustainability. Although only a tiny fraction of plastic produced is recycled, the process itself releases a ton of microplastic pollution.
Some people within private industry are working to influence the marketplace to reduce the production of new garments altogether. Americans are buying four times as many apparel items as we did in the 1980s, according to Andy Ruben, who launched Walmart’s sustainability efforts in 2004, which set standards for product sourcing and reducing corporate emissions.
