Would you be surprised if I told you your leggings were made from nonrenewable fossil fuels? Your shirt? Your sweater? Your dress? EEK, the list goes on.
Today I am talking synthetic fabrics.
MANY fabrics used today are made from petroleum and petrochemicals. These fabrics are used because they are easier and less expensive to make in large quantities.
This includes fabrics such as Polyester, Acrylic, Nylon, Spandex and Acetate.
Pretty much every step in the extraction process, production, use and end of life of these fabrics is detrimental to our environment and it’s inhabitants.
The production of these synthetic fabrics is environmentally degrading- just the extraction requires fracking, off shore drilling, pipelines…etc.
Every year 70 million barrels of oil are used in the manufacturing of polyester alone.
James Conca, Forbes
The oil industry is responsible for an incredible amount of pollution in our air, soil and water. On top of polluting the land, air and water of fence line communities and communities at large, the extraction also often displaces communities of already marginalized groups and degreates cultural heritage sites.
Ok, so now the garment has been made and the consumer has purchased it. The environmental nightmare doesn’t stop there!
When you wash these synthetic fibers, microplastics are released as the fibers break down, which pollutes our water system and plastic ends up in our oceans and permeates the food chain. According to ecologist Mike Browne, each time we wash synthetic garments they shed 1,900 individual plastic microfibers.
Microplastics are now found pretty much everywhere and in everything from arctic ice to honey, from beer to sea salt.
So now you’re done with the garment, and you donated it but it never got purchased secondhand…(a large percentage of clothing ends up thrown away from donation sites) THE SHIT STORM CONTINUES…
At the end of their consumer life cycle these fabrics end up in our landfill…where it takes hundreds of years for them to begin to degrade due to plastic polymers… which THEN release toxic chemicals such as heavy metals into surrounding soil and water systems. BLECH
How are we feeling? A bit overwhelmed and deeply depressed? Yep…however the beauty in all of this mess is we CAN do something about it.
Here is a list of things we can do:
- First of all, BUY LESS STUFF
- Choose clothes made from eco-friendly materials like cotton, linen, wool, hemp, viscose, modal, and Tencel ( of course lets acknowledge that there are issues with these too, especially conventionally farmed cotton)
- Change how you wash- GUPPYFRIEND is a is an effective, scientifically proven, and patented solution to stop microplastic pollution.
- Wash less often (yeah I know people going to say EWWW about this one.. But lets wash when we really NEED to)
- Choose recycled synthetics- More and more sustainable brands are using fabrics like ECONYL and Repreve made from recycled plastics from PET bottles or fishing nets rescued from the ocean
What makes this problem vexing as well is that these materials are less expensive to buy. We must go beyond just buying eco-friendly materials and continue to make sustainability a luxury for those affluent enough to afford things like guppybags etc.
We must have systemic change.
Let’s demand change at a larger level.
“Washing machines need to be designed to reduce emissions of fibers to the environment; at the moment they are not,” says Mark Browne, an environmental scientist. As writer Brian Resnick from Vox says “Textile manufactures could also design fabrics that shed less, clothing companies could utilize them, and consumers could be more mindful.”
So, we all have a part to play. And as always, the mantra to repeat is BUY LESS.
Sources:
https://www.surfrider.org/campaigns/addressing-microplastic-pollution-in-california?gclid=CjwKCAjwlYCHBhAQEiwA4K21m6vXSZ9ClhtSImwrcO2_K1JyaZNJWIbtETWPAHaG7g5AYY8ip3ReZhoCRPIQAvD_BwE