Each piece of clothing made from synthetic fabric, such as polyester and nylon, releases around 1,900 small fibres of plastic when it’s washed.

It is thought that this plastic is then washed into the sewerage system and ends up in the sea.

A research team took samples from 18 beaches around the world, including those in the UK, India and Singapore. Every one of these beaches contained pieces of microplastic.

The research showed that the plastic is eaten by marine creatures, which means it could end up in the food chain (where large creatures eat smaller ones, with meat-eaters like sharks and humans at the top).

Ecologist, Dr Mark Browne, who carried out the research, told the BBC: “Once the plastic had been eaten, it transferred from the animals’ stomachs to their circulation system and actually accumulated in their cells.”

Microplastic is known to absorb toxic chemicals, so could be dangerous to marine creatures and ultimately to humans, if it works its way up the food chain.