No, Recycled Fabrics Won’t Solve Our Plastic Problem
Despite what companies sell us, they’re a band-aid solution at best.
What are you wearing right now? A t-shirt? Sundress? Pajamas? (No judgment here). Whatever it is, there’s a good chance that at least one item on your body is made of plastic. Plastic has woven its way into the clothing industry like a termite into your wall- unexpected, undetectable, and almost impossible to get out. And surprise surprise, the industry has found a way to sell this to us as ‘environmentally responsible’.
Amid the new craze of ‘green’ products, a fashionable new trend has arisen; one of making clothing out of recycled plastic. What was once a plastic bottle (or six) can now be your favorite t-shirt.
Everyone is hopping on the recycled fabric bandwagon, from fast-fashion chains like H&M to more elite brands like The North Face. Your shirts are the new recycling bin. From walking through the mall these days, you’d assume we can stop plastic pollution in its tracks by turning it into sweatpants.
Sounds great right?
Not so much. Recycled plastic clothing isn’t the panacea it’s advertised as. In fact, it’s making our plastic pollution problem worse.
If you feel blindsided by this information, you’re not alone. Many eco-conscious brands and institutions have taken the bait too. Because on the surface, it sounds like a great idea.
Here are 5 reasons why it’s not:
1. Microplastic Pollution
If you’ve been anywhere in the ocean conservation sphere lately (just me?) you’ve probably heard of microplastics. Microplastics are defined as any piece of plastic less than 5 mm, and most are so small you can’t see them.
It turns out that plastics don’t decompose in nature, they break into smaller and smaller pieces, eventually becoming microplastics. These pieces spread through our waterways and into our oceans, where, among other things, they make up most of the great pacific garbage patch.
But one group of microplastics you might not have heard about are microplastic fibers. They have been found growing into marine plants, in the guts of fish, and buried in the sand. And guess where they come from.
Microplastic fibers come from the clothing you wear every day. Each time a piece of plastic clothing is washed, thousands of microfibers are shed, usually straight down the drain and into our waterways, where they will make their way to the ocean.
2. It all becomes trash eventually
Here’s a fun fact you probably didn’t know: all plastic becomes trash eventually. Unlike glass and metal, plastic decreases in quality each time it is recycled, and eventually, it can no longer be used. At that point, it becomes trash.
Don’t worry if this fact surprises you. It surprised me too. It’s brushed under the rug by companies who want you to feel good about buying their plastic bottles made from 50% recycled plastic.
Here’s the real kicker, though. Plastic fibers, like the ones used to weave the fabric of your shirt, are difficult to recycle. Because of their structure, we just haven’t found an efficient way to pull it off. This means as soon as those bottles are woven into your shirt, they are doomed to end up in a landfill sooner than later.
3. It gives plastic producers a free pass
If you were tracking mud all through a nice building, people would probably get annoyed with you pretty quickly, and ask you to stop or to clean it up. But if someone behind you was doing their very best to clean up your mess, you’d be a lot less inclined to stop.
That’s what happens with plastic producers when we find new and innovative ways to repurpose their products. Instead of demanding they clean up the mess they’ve created, we’ve come up with a myriad of ways to give it a new life.
I’m not saying we shouldn’t find ways to reuse or recycle the plastic that’s already out there, but every time we come up with a novel way to keep plastic out of the landfill for a few days or a few years longer, plastic producers get the message that we’re never going to stop cleaning up their mess.
4. It reduces the demand for natural fibers
Because it’s now cheaper to make clothing out of plastic than natural fibers, more and more companies, especially the already big polluters, are making their products almost entirely out of plastic. And the more we buy it, the more we push natural fibers from the market.
If we’re going to keep wearing clothing, (and I, for one, think we should) we need to revitalize the market for natural fibers. They’re getting more expensive and more difficult to find each day, so regular economic pressures aren’t going to help them recover. We need truly mindful consumerism, which brings us to the final point.
5. It fails to discourage mindless consumption
At the heart of our plastic pollution problem is the issue of mindless consumption, of grabbing that product, whether it is a snack bag or a sweater, off the shelf, without thinking about what will become of it after a few months or a few minutes.
That’s what companies want. They want us to forget about the problem, or they’ll try to convince us they’re the ‘good guys’ — Hey, we recycle! But, when we refuse to think about how our actions contribute to pollution, we just let the plastic problem grow.
So what can we do?
There are two main ways to stop the exploding industry of ‘responsible’ recycled fashion:
- Buy less clothing. Less demand, less production.
- Buy natural fibers. And not just any natural fibers, as some, such as most rayon and viscose, are almost as bad for our planet as plastic. Almost.
Instead, look for clothing made of organic cotton, Tencel (an eco-friendly form of rayon), Merino wool, silk, or hemp. This isn’t a complete list, and if you are unsure about a material, Google is there to help. The biggest takeaway here is to look for pieces of clothing that won’t be around hundreds of years after you are.
The exceptions
Wait!? There are exceptions? After all that? Well, yes.
Some of what we wear is made possible only by plastic. And these few things, unfortunately, happen to be pretty essential. Unless we plan on living without raincoats, bathing suits, or fleece, we’ll have to continue using plastic for the time being.
The other elephants in the room are elastomers. The fibers, such as spandex, make fabric stretchy. And they’re pretty ubiquitous. From bras to underwear, leggings to leotards, elastomers are everywhere. But, elastomers are not polyester, and they usually make up only 3–10% of the weave. Elastane isn’t a problem that’s practical to take on today.
The bottom line
Avoid plastic in your clothing wherever and whenever you can. (this may help your compulsive shopping habits, as it’s becoming hard to find clothing without it.) Check the tags in-store, and don’t fall for the ‘your t-shirt is eco-friendly because it’s made of plastic bottles’ trash.
If you already own plastic clothing, don’t send it to the landfill, the damage is already done. Wear it as long as you can. There are a few products, like the Guppyfriend Bag and the Cora Ball, which claim to catch plastic fibers in the wash. They’re much better than nothing. And for those few items where plastic is unavoidable, take the time to find investment pieces (recycled if you can), that will last you a lifetime.
Navigating the fashion industry is tricky, and quite frankly exhausting, but for the sake of our planet, I believe we can muster up the effort to do it.
Think of the sea turtles.
