THE POPULAR POLLUTION OF POLYESTER
By Jacob Krebs
Fashion is another polluting industry that needs to be drastically changed - like how cars are turning away from fossil fuels to electricity or how wind and water-energy is replacing oil and coal. In fashion countless brands keep telling consumers the same sales pitch; that recycled polyester is the industry’s savoring angel. But is this true? Is this the way to fix our beloved capitalist industry? Or is recycled polyester really an angel sent from hell, being another way for the careless fast-fashion industry to brainwash the consumers into an illusion of sustainable consumption?
TWO MAJOR PROBLEMS
are transparency and the use of raw materials and in this article, I will investigate primarily polyester and hopefully shed some light on fast-fashion’s newest darling. Our objective with the Re-fashion hub is to educate consumers, and a deeper knowledge of the materials we drape upon our bodies every day is defiantly a useful tool to make more sustainable choices.
SO, LET'S START OFF WITH SOME BULLET POINTS WORTH KNOWING ABOUT POLYESTER:
It is a synthetic fiber derived from petroleum
In 2019 polyester accounted for 56% of total fiber production
Synthetic fibers, with polyester accounting for 85%, will grow from 69% to 73% of total fiber production globally by 2030
In 2015, polyester production for textiles alone was responsible for emissions of over 700 million tons of co2, equivalent to the annual green-house gas emissions of Mexico. This is expected to double, reaching twice the GHG of Australia.
The carbon footprint of a single polyester shirt is 5.5 kg compared to 2.1 kg for a cotton shirt. Co2 emissions are six times higher than cotton.
BY NOW YOU MIGHT THINK...
WHY IS THE INDUSTRY USING POLYESTER?
The industry can no longer hide behind explanations of ignorance or a lack of alternatives and so they stand exposed of their own truth – polyester is the cheap choice costing half as much per kilo as cotton.
An industry deeply rooted in capitalistic ideologies choosing the most price competitive raw material is not surprising, but the seemingly successful marketing of it as sustainable and problem-solving is.
So, let us debunk the misleading marketing and give you a different perspective on the world’s most popular textile material.
Firstly, the bullet points above are mostly based on the production of virgin polyester, so now you might think that recycled polyester is the better of the evil – but that is not entirely true.
Many brands want to sell you the beautiful idea of cleaning up the oceans from plastic bottles and using waste to produce more clothes and sneakers for your already fully stuffed closets. To be fair, recycled polyester is making something out of nothing, but the something is rarely necessary and after its usage it can only go back to being nothing.
Let me explain:
Recycled polyester from PET-bottles cannot be recycled again. This means that you take ocean waste, blend it with virgin fibers in an energy-consuming process, and ultimately after usage throw that same waste into landfills or to be incinerated. This is especially fast-fashion’s way of shoving away responsibility by arguing that they have done their part in choosing a “sustainable” material and removed ocean waste – killing two birds with one stone. Do not let their slick talking and big production videos fool you! This is a multi-faceted problem.
Not only is this a way of moving waste from sea to land or air. They are also using PET-bottles, which have time and time again proved to be a successful closed-loop recycling system, even to edge as close as possible to a fully circular sustainable system in developed countries. In other words, they are using valuable and useful waste to create non-biodegradable waste. One could argue that there are ways to completely recycle clothes in a similar circular system as PET-bottles can, but the fact is that currently less than 1% of clothes are recycled to make new clothes. Again, it is simply cheaper to produce more.
THE INDUSTRY NEEDS CHANGE. NOW!
AND LEGISLATION IS KEY
FASHION BRANDS MUST BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE - BY LAW
Real change will not happen only by the choice of consumers. Fashion brands must be held accountable by law for what happens in their supply chains. Countries need progressive legislation, and they need it now! Preferably through larger trade agreements within the EU for example, but especially in China as they currently account for 72% of the production of polyester.
POLLUTER PAYS PRINCIPLE
Fashion brands must shoulder responsibility in line with the polluter pays principle, ultimately bringing an end to landfills and incineration. This means that brands can no longer put blame on the factory producing the virgin fiber in China, the cut & sew sweatshops in Bangladesh or wherever around the globe their product travels.
WHAT CAN YOU DO AS A CONSUMER?
VOTE WITH YOUR MONEY
The average consumer buys 60% more clothes compared to 15 years ago and disposes of the lowest priced garments after just 7-8 wears, so try to minimize your consumption and then the fast-fashion brands will defiantly be hurt.
But if you really love and want the newest fashion, like me, then look for the better materials. Click on that product description and read out what it is that you are buying. Look for materials like Tencel, MycoWorks, Spiber, Microsilk, Bananatex, Piñatex, Algaeknit, etc. And if these are too hard to find then go for easier alternatives like GOTS Organic Cotton or knitted products, as knitting uses less energy than weaving.
Now, this does not mean that you as a consumer is limited to a monetary vote – you can also use your vote vote. Seek out politicians or political parties that show genuine concern in the environmental crisis and dedicate your electoral power to legislative change.
Oh, and then lastly just to re-illiterate, do not buy virgin polyester-based garments. Ever.
REFERENCES
BANANATEX. (U.d.). A Textile (R)Evolution. Retrieved November 2021, from bananatex.info.com: https://www.bananatex.info/index.html#manufacturing
Bolt Threads. (U.d.). Way Better Materials, For A Way Better World. Retrieved November 2021, from boltthreads.com: https://boltthreads.com/sustainability/
Cumbers, J. (08. December 2020).
Building Customer Awareness for the Next Biotech Startup: Lessons from Brands & Biology. Hentet November 2021 fra Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/johncumbers/2020/12/08/building-customer-awareness-for-the-next-biotech-startup-lessons-from-brands--biology/?sh=5c31bb4343b5
Lanfranchi, M., & Cline, E. L. (2021). Cotton: A Case Study in Misinformation; A Report on Building Critical Data Consumption in Fashion. Transformers Foundation.
MycoWorks. (U.d.). Our Products. Hentet November 2021 fra MycoWorks: https://www.mycoworks.com/our-products
Cao, H. (2020). Fibers and Materials: What is Fashion Made of?. In S.B. Marcketti & E.E. Karpova (Eds.). The Dangers of Fashion: Towards Ethical and Sustainable Solutions (pp. 53–70). London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts. Retrieved November 16 2021, from http://dx.doi.org.proxy1-bib.sdu.dk:2048/10.5040/9781350052017.ch-004
Hiller Connell, K.Y., & LeHew, M.L. (2020). Fashion: An Unrecognized Contributor to Climate Change. In S.B. Marcketti & E.E. Karpova (Eds.). The Dangers of Fashion: Towards Ethical and Sustainable Solutions (pp. 71–86). London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts. Retrieved November 16 2021, from http://dx.doi.org.proxy1-bib.sdu.dk:2048/10.5040/9781350052017.ch-005
Quinn, B. (2010). Intelligent Textiles: The Future of Fashion. In J.B. Eicher & P.G. Tortora (Eds.). Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion: Global Perspectives (pp. 267–275). Oxford: Berg. Retrieved November 16 2021, from http://dx.doi.org.proxy1-bib.sdu.dk:2048/10.2752/BEWDF/EDch10037
Karpova, E.E., & Hawley, J.M. (2020). Disposing Fashion: . . . To the Good. In S.B. Marcketti & E.E. Karpova (Eds.). The Dangers of Fashion: Towards Ethical and Sustainable Solutions(pp. 223–240). London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts. Retrieved November 16 2021, from http://dx.doi.org.proxy1-bib.sdu.dk:2048/10.5040/9781350052017.ch-014