The first week of the International Science Camps (ISC) began for half of the participants with the chemical basics for the production of polymers and composite plastics. In the following, XLAB lecturer Dr. Barbara Ritter, who will celebrate 20 years of service in September 2022, paid special attention to the issue of sustainability: complete production routes of petroleum- and bio-based plastics (PVC, cellulose acetate) were considered as well as recycling and upcycling methods and the detection of microplastic contamination in water samples. The participants worked with great curiosity and dedication and were particularly proud of the microfiber fabric, which they made from recycled Styrofoam® or biobased polylactide using electrospinning and whose fiber thickness was about 1/10 of a hair.