Say NO to Polyester!
The fabrics used by fast fashion brands are causing water pollution and damaging marine life. Fast fashion is mostly comprised of polyester fabrics and when washing polyester clothing, the microfibers are washed into the water, harming the environment. The environmental impacts of polyester are significant. Polyester is not a naturally recurring fabric and is a human-made synthetic petroleum based fiber of plastic made from a chemical reaction involving coal, petroleum, air and water. It is not biodegradable. Also, annually, more than 22.67 billion tons is produced. And to make polyester fiber, up to 70 million barrels of oil are used annually.
Therefore, the fabric used is harmful to our health too. Fast fashion is a major contributor of water pollution, affecting the marine life and from our consumption of seafood to contaminating drinking water, in turn us, as well as harming our health. Next time one is at Zara or H&M browsing through their beautiful clothes, it is advisable to take a look at their tags. Most of the time, the reason their clothing is so affordable is because their clothing is largely made from polyester. Polyester is really a popular fabric choice by fast fashion houses. If you were to look at it from a positive aspect of this “amazing” human-made fiber, polyester is durable. Like a brick house, polyester is extremely resilient which basically means it can withstand a lot of wear and tear. Polyester also is able to maintain the color and shape. No shrinkage to worry about! Polyester also dries very fast. One won’t even have to worry about ironing because it does not wrinkle.
Fast fashion brands use a large quantity of synthetic fabrics because of their durability, availability and affordability. As mentioned earlier, polyester which is plastic, is a major culprit. When polyester clothes are washed, tiny plastic fibers are washed and end up in the water. These tiny plastic fibers are called micro fibers and are not visible to the naked eye. 35% of plastics found in the oceans are from micro fibers when washing synthetic clothes like polyester in the laundry machine. When water containing micro fibers pass through the wastewater treatment plant, the plant is unable to filter them so they end up in the ocean. According to The Ocean Clean Wash, a foundation called Plastic Soup whose mission is: No Plastic Waste in Our Water! (campaign to tackle microfiber release from synthetic clothing) microfibers have been found in fish, plankton, chicken, sea salt, beer, honey and in tap as well as bottled water. With the large spectrum of things that have micro fibers, it is only logical to assume that microfibers move up the food chain and we ingest it too.
CBC News recently published an article on Beluga whales. Ocean Wise, a non-profit organization whose vision is a world in which oceans are healthy and flourishing tested the whales. Their tests revealed micro plastics in every single whale. This goes to show that people should not underestimate micro plastics. It is now a global issue because even the Beluga whales, situated in the such a remote and isolated habitat tested positive for micro fibers in their systems. The theory is that they ingested fish whom had micro fibers in their systems so humans who eat fish most likely have micro fibers in their systems to.
The pollution caused by these textile mills is a serious matter. 70% of lakes and rivers in China are polluted and 320 million Chinese do not have access to clean drinking water, while 75% of diseases and over 100,000 deaths annually are from polluted water. In countries where polyester is produced, like China, Indonesia and Bangladesh poor regulations make water pollution even worse. Environmental controls in these countries are lax and specifically in China, fines for violating the regulations are only imposed annually and not per violation so companies have little incentive to clean up. Local enforcement is limited and the areas are rife with corruption. Specifically, textile and dyeing plants emit heavy metals into the water. These include cadmium, chromium, mercury, lead and copper. Greenpeace, an environmental organization spoke to some villagers who lived by textile plants and were informed that the polluted water can no longer sustain life, the fish are all dead and the water isn’t even suitable for laundry. With all the major pollution issues encountered in these countries, it is safe to say polyester is having a detrimental effect on the environment.
Polyester is also harmful to our health. Polyester is a man-made fabric and man-made fabrics, during production, are treated with a very large amount of harmful toxic chemicals. According to Science Daily, a study by Stockholm University where they chose 4 groups of substances related to health risks and tested them for “occurrence, quantity, toxicity and skin absorption rate” and discovered that two substances with the highest concentrations were discovered in polyester. Polyester is wrinkle free for a reason. This reason is due to the fact that it includes Perfluorochemicals (PFCs) which is to prevent stains, to be more durable and to be wrinkle resistant. Researchers find PFCs very alarming. There could be serious health concerns when it comes to PFCs, including the risk of cancer, liver and kidney damage in laboratory animals and also reproductive issues. PFCs can also accumulate in your body over time. Now, if you think cotton and polyester blends are any better, they aren’t.
Cotton polyester blends are often treated with formaldehyde; a substance used for embalming. Formaldehyde is applied with heat during production so it attaches to the fibers, therefore you can never wash it out. Formaldehyde can cause eye, nose and throat irritation. It can also worsen asthma symptoms. The EU has classified formaldehyde as a class 3 carcinogen. Cotton polyester blends are also softened with ammonia and similar chemicals. Antimony is another carcinogen manufactured with most polyester. It is toxic to the heart, lungs, liver and skin. All the scientific names aside, a research paper published the University of Lisbon, Faculty of Medicine states that Polyester and synthetic materials can cause respiratory infections. Last but not least, Chiropractor Dr Theresa Warner of the Environmental illness Resource states that synthetic fabrics like polyester should not be worn by children since they are the most susceptible to chemicals found in synthetic fibers. This is due to the fact that they do not have a fully developed immune system nor do they have a full developed liver detoxification system. Therefore, these toxic chemicals can cause allergies, chemical sensitivities and serious health problems.
Fast fashion is a major contributor of water pollution, affecting the marine life and in turn us, as well as harming our health. Beginning at home, washing our polyester clothes causes micro fibers to be washed into the water system. Marine life ingests it and further up the food chain, we end up ingesting it too. Polyester is also polluting our waterways, especially in countries where textile mills are found. i.e China and Bangladesh. Water has become undrinkable and any form of life has died due to pollution. Last but not least, toxic chemicals found in synthetic fibers like polyester causes harm to our bodies. From this day forth, I will make it a point to stay away from polyester or polyester blend clothing, for the environment, for the planet and for my health.
