You might not know it, but you’re probably wearing some form of plastic right now. In fact, nearly two-thirds of our garments are made from synthetics such as polyester, nylon, acrylic and elastane – all materials that are derived from fossil fuels, release microplastics into the environment, and don’t biodegrade, taking hundreds of years to break down.
Given that so many of us have made a concerted effort to cut back on single-use plastic, it may come as a surprise that there’s so much plastic in our wardrobes. Consider the fact that over 100 billion garments are created every year, and that 70 per cent of our clothes currently end up in landfill, and it’s clear that it’s a huge problem that needs to be addressed. “The vast majority of it ends up in landfills in countries in the Global South; it’s plastic waste in disguise,” George Harding-Rolls, campaign manager at the Changing Markets Foundation, tells Vogue.
Why are plastics so prevalent in our clothes? “It’s cheap,” Harding-Rolls says. “Fast fashion relies on cheap labour and cheap materials, and it relies on zero responsibility for the end of life of its products.”
Synthetics are also difficult to eliminate from activewear, outdoor wear and underwear. “Synthetics can provide properties and performance to the user which other fibers cannot replace in some applications at the moment,” Kate Riley, Textile Exchange’s fibre and materials strategy lead for synthetics, explains.
So, what’s the solution? The industry has begun to switch from virgin to recycled polyethylene in an attempt to lessen its environmental impact. Brands including H&M, Adidas and Zara-owner Inditex have set a target of ensuring 100 per cent of its polyester is recycled – or in Inditex’s case, from “preferred sources” – by 2025, as part of Textile Exchange’s Recycled Polyester Challenge.
While polyester clothing is not currently recycled at scale, plastic bottles are much more easily recyclable into other plastic bottles. While polyester clothing currently isn’t recycled at scale, plastic bottles are much more easily recycled into other plastic bottles – meaning fashion is taking plastic out of a closed-looped system and transferring it to a linear model. “You’re essentially giving [the recycled plastic] a one-way ticket to landfill,” Harding-Rolls comments. “This is a stop-gap, not a future solution.”