Sorry to have to bum y'all out, but here is a new way that we are all destroying the planet without even realizing it: by washing our clothes. And, yah, I know you wash your clothes in cold water, but I'm not talking about the energy your machines use. I'm talking about how whenever you wash clothes made of synthetic fibers, tiny bits of plastic flake off and get flushed with the wash water into the sewage system.

Those tiny bits of plastic get washed out into oceans and shorelines worldwide. According to the study that came up with this piece of bad news, one piece of clothing can lead to 1,900 flaked off fibers per wash. Sure, they're tiny. But marine animals are ingesting them and who knows what those bits of your NorthFace fleece are doing to their insides.