Microplastics
Plastic fragments small enough to shed from a product into food, water or air without anyone seeing it. They come off coatings, synthetic fabric and worn plastic during normal use. The research on what they do inside the body is young, which is a reason for care rather than comfort.
Definition and health context from EPA.
We checked 3,681 products and found microplastics reported or likely in 285 of them.
Where microplastics turns up
Categories we grade, worst first, as a share of what we scored in each.
| Category | Flagged | Scored | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fishing Line | 15 | 15 | 100% |
| Artificial Turf | 29 | 30 | 97% |
| Activewear | 31 | 35 | 89% |
| Performance Socks | 13 | 15 | 87% |
| Food Storage Containers | 13 | 15 | 87% |
| Disposable Food Containers | 24 | 29 | 83% |
| Area Rugs | 12 | 15 | 80% |
| Hiking Pants | 12 | 15 | 80% |
| Mattress Protectors | 12 | 15 | 80% |
| Cycling Jackets | 22 | 28 | 79% |
| Clothing | 7 | 9 | 78% |
| Compostable Bowls | 9 | 12 | 75% |
| Period Underwear | 24 | 33 | 73% |
| Coffee Cups | 11 | 15 | 73% |
Where we found real evidence
Reported or likely, lowest scoring first. Not plausibility.
Hard-anodized nonstick cookware coatings, regardless of chemistry, gradually wear with use and dishwasher exposure. Flaking or peeling coatings can introduce microparticles into food; visible degradation is a reliable trigger for replacement.
PTFE coatings on air fryers are known to chip, flake, or peel with age and mechanical wear. Ingestion of microscopic PTFE particles is not acutely toxic but chronic exposure risk is understudied. Visible flaking is a sign replacement is needed.
PTFE coatings scratch and flake with use, especially with metal utensils or dishwasher cleaning. Ingestion of small flaked particles is considered low-toxicity but unknown for chronic exposure; no industry standard exists for safe wear limits before replacemen
All nonstick coatings degrade with use, especially if dishwashed or used with metal utensils. Unspecified composition means unknown durability profile; particles may shed into food as coating flakes.
All nonstick coatings degrade over time with mechanical stress and heat cycling. Flaking or peeling coatings can shed into food; replacement is recommended when damage is visible. This is a normal wear issue, not a defect, but frequency depends on use intensit
Nonstick coatings on cookware degrade over 2-5 years with normal use; flaking has been documented in consumer reviews of Rachael Ray cookware. Ingested coating particles are considered low-risk by most agencies, but degradation also indicates aluminum substrat
Ceramic nonstick coatings are more brittle than PTFE and prone to chipping, especially with metal utensils or thermal shock. Ingestion of coating particles in small amounts is generally low-risk, but frequent shedding suggests the product is reaching end of li
Ceramic nonstick coatings are known to degrade with use, particularly under high heat or metal utensil contact. No peer-reviewed data confirms toxic effects of ingested ceramic particles from cookware, but coating flaking is cosmetically and functionally probl
KitchenAid does not specify the nonstick coating type, making it impossible to assess durability claims. Hard-anodized nonstick cookware in this price range often shows visible wear within 2-3 years under normal use; coating flaking has been reported by consum
Ceramic nonstick coatings inherently degrade with use and heat cycling. As the coating chips or flakes, ceramic particles can enter food; long-term ingestion risk is unquantified but plausible. Tramontina does not publish durability or particle-shedding test d
What to buy instead
Highest scoring products with no flag for it, in the categories where it is worst.
- Everlane Everlane Renew The Perform Legging Ankle Length Leggings Solid Black65
- Carbon38 Carbon38 Women's High Rise Legging in Ribbed Melt65
- Carbon38 CARBON38 Women's Seamed Legging in Melt65
- Lululemon lululemon Women's Wunder Train 25" Leggings65
- Nike Nike Running Women Lightweight Socks65
- Smartwool Smartwool 4-Pack Everyday Athletic Crew Socks65
Common questions
What is microplastics?
Plastic fragments small enough to shed from a product into food, water or air without anyone seeing it. They come off coatings, synthetic fabric and worn plastic during normal use. The research on what they do inside the body is young, which is a reason for care rather than comfort.
Which products contain microplastics?
Of the 3,681 products we have graded, 1,119 are flagged for it and 285 on reported or likely evidence rather than plausibility. Fishing Line is the worst category at 100% of what we scored there.
Is microplastics in fishing line?
More than in anything else we grade. 15 of the 15 fishing line we scored carry a flag for it, which is 100%. The full breakdown per product is on each product page.
What can I buy instead?
In the categories where it turns up most, the highest scoring products with no flag for it are Everlane Everlane Renew The Perform Legging Ankle Length Leggings Solid Black at 65, Carbon38 Carbon38 Women's High Rise Legging in Ribbed Melt at 65, Carbon38 CARBON38 Women's Seamed Legging in Melt at 65. Every one of those was graded on the same rubric as the products above.
How do you know?
We do not lab test. Every grade here is built from published ingredient lists, materials, certifications, brand disclosures, recalls and third party lab results where those already exist. Where a product has been independently tested we use that result and say so, and where a brand publishes nothing we score the silence rather than guessing.
30% of everything we grade carries a flag for microplastics. See every hazard we track or browse the full products list.