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Is Polyester Our Doom?
A recent article in the New York Times titled, "Can Polyester Save the World?" got us really clammy at the thought of wearing man-made fibers 24/7 (like how we feel when we wear polyester), but it also got us thinking about how our clothing has a pretty big carbon footprint in terms of how it's made and the care involved, such as washing/drying, dry-cleaning and ironing. In addition, "fast fashion" trends, which are enabled by cheap clothing chains like Target and H&M, have added clothing to the list of items piling up in our landfills.
According to the article, while clothing made from artificial fibers takes more energy to produce than from natural ones, it takes way less energy to maintain it. It can be washed in cooler water than cotton, and it air-dries very quickly with no ironing needed. Polyester can also be recycled over and over. Type in "polyester" in Treehugger.com, and you'll find all sorts of products that are made from recycled polyester.
Despite its supposed environmental benefits, being doomed to wear icky polyester the rest of our lives would in fact signify the end of the world, unless scientists are able to further develop the material so it doesn't make us feel kind of cheap and either too hot when it's hot and too cold when it's cold. So, we took comfort in reading this Grist article that debates the polyester vs. cotton issue. (It might be a little outdated, but it's the best we could find regarding this issue.) And as always, Treehugger has great advice for greening your wardrobe.
Photo of hemp tank top from Swirlspace.
By SFist Leanne
Luckily, sustainable and organic clothing are environmentally-friendly and energy efficient to produce. Eco-conscious companies like Patagonia, whose products are made of organic cotton, encourage customers to send back their old Patagonia fleece-wear and T-shirts to be recycled into new clothing. And how about hemp clothing, which is very durable, plentiful and eco-friendly. Maybe the whole Hearst/Dupont conspiracy is still holding hemp's popularity back, but more likely, the hippie factor is what's holding hemp back. So, be sure to check out the hip San Francisco hemp-wear company Swirlspace. (Swirlspace's hemp tanktop is pictured above.)
We're always sure to wash our large loads of mixed fiber clothes in cold water and dry them on low heat, which are more energy efficient options, and they get just as clean and dry (modern detergents are pretty awesome that way). We know it would be even better if we air-dried all of our clothes, and that's something we aspire to do when we move somewhere really sunny with a big backyard to string a clothesline across. In addition, we can't be bothered to use an iron, and our dry-cleaning pile sits around for months until we decide just to re-wear the items or donate them.
Which brings up one factor that the New York Times article, which was written by someone in England, doesn't mention: second-hand clothing. They did mention the concept of "leasing" clothes, which seems like a pretty far-fetched idea and much less feasible than thrift- and vintage-shopping. We imagine that the clothes we buy at Salvation Army and Thrift Town have been through at least three previous owners, and they're sure to continue their journey once we've gotten tired of them (especially if those said items are polyester, which were purchased under a momentary lapse in judgement).
So, let's all do our part to make sure polyester stays in the '70s and far, far away from our future.