**The Microplastic Problem and Sutainability as a Real-World Health Issue.** Given the importance of materials in Design Innovation, a [webinar][1] was developed to stimulate a critical discussion around **microplastics in health**. ![enter image description here][2] ---------- *The [webinar][3] explores health as a reciprocal system on personal, public, and planetary scales. It illuminates the interdependence between the materials which surround us in daily life and our health, individually and collectively.* Our guest speaker was, **[Barbro Melgert][4]**, Professor of Respiratory Immunology at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. Barbro works with the fashion industry and recently took part in a panel session at the [**Future Fabrics Expo in London**][5] to shed light on the potential health risks associated with synthetic clothing and explore sustainable alternatives that could reshape the industry. **Barbro** kindly shared her perspective on these topics, using her practice as a lens, and her experiences of **working at the intersection between health and microplastics** to elucidate on the **unintended consequences of plastics** on the health of people and the planet. ---------- **[Webinar Content][6]** - ***Introduction to the Session***. [Nicol Keith][7], University of Glasgow. [Kirsty Ross][8], Glasgow School of Art - ***Material Perspectives, a short introduction to our relationship with materiality in the School of Innovation & Technology at GSA***. [Rachael Sleight][9], Glasgow School of Art. - ***Hidden effects of textiles on human health.*** [Barbro Melgert][10], Professor of Respiratory Immunology at the University of Groningen. *You can watch (and download) the recording of the [webinar here][11].* ---------- **You can find out more about Barbro here:** [Explainer: Dressed to kill? The hidden dangers of synthetic clothing][12] [Microplastics & Human Health Consortium][13] [The Plastics Health Council][14] [LinkedIn][15] [University of Groningen profile][16] [University Medical Centre Groningen (UMCG) profile][17] [1]: https://osf.io/7fb8u [2]: https://files.osf.io/v1/resources/5ngxd/providers/osfstorage/688a03cc75deb4a0d4e7cd62?mode=render [3]: https://osf.io/7fb8u [4]: https://research.rug.nl/en/persons/barbro-melgert/ [5]: https://www.just-style.com/features/explainer-dressed-to-kill-the-hidden-dangers-of-synthetic-clothing/?cf-view [6]: https://osf.io/7fb8u [7]: https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/cancersciences/staff/nicolkeith/ [8]: https://sit.gsa.ac.uk/author/kirsty-ross [9]: https://sit.gsa.ac.uk/author/rachael-sleight [10]: https://research.rug.nl/en/persons/barbro-melgert/ [11]: https://osf.io/7fb8u [12]: https://www.just-style.com/features/explainer-dressed-to-kill-the-hidden-dangers-of-synthetic-clothing/?cf-view [13]: https://momentummicroplastics.nl/about-us/participants/barbro-melgert/ [14]: https://plastichealthcouncil.com/council [15]: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbro-melgert-34089432/ [16]: https://www.rug.nl/staff/b.n.melgert/ [17]: https://umcgresearch.org/w/b-n-melgert