Why is Polyester bad for the environment?

Over the past years, brands are increasingly using polyester as a raw material for their garments, and it has a lot of advantages. You can make anything from polyester ranging from faux leather and fur, to active wear and even suits. The reason for brands wanting to use polyester is because it is an affordable material, and it is easier to get their hands on a synthetic material, than a natural based fibre like cotton.

There are also a lot of advantages for the user. The fabric is wrinkle resistant, hardly shrinks and it’s easy to get stains out. It remains its shape and dries quickly. When looking at the advantages, there’s enough reason to add this fabric to your wardrobe. But it comes with an environmental price. 

What is polyester?

Polyester is a collective name for a number of fabrics made of polyester yarn. The base of this yarn is polyethylene terephthalate. Sounds complicated? Not really. It is often referred to as PET, or even more simple; plastic. It is the material most our plastic bags and bottles are made of, and also, our garments.

Polyester is made by a chemical reaction that emerges when combining an oil-based substance called ethylene glycol, and an acid called terephthalic. It is moulded into a yarn, and then woven or knitted into fabric.

Why is polyester bad for the environment?

There are a number of reasons why it is better to avoid polyester when you are buying new garments. The first one being that it is made of a fossil fuel (oil) which is harmful for human and soil. 

Since polyester is made of plastic it is not biodegrable, it takes hundreds of years for the fibre to dissolve. When sent to land-fill, the toxic materials used during the production process leach into the soil and could contaminate the water of the local population. 

Moreover, by using, washing and degrading polyester fibre, the polyester breaks down into microfibres. They are released into the air and the water supply, and therefore end up in our water and food. Not to mention the way it is harming the sea life in the ocean.

Recycling

Fortunately, polyester can be recycled, but it is difficult when it is heavily blended with other fabrics such as cotton. The quality of recycled polyester is almost just as good as virgin polyester.

But this does not right the wrong. To start with, only 14.7% of all our garments are being recycled including other materials like cotton and Tencel. So just because it is possible to recycle does not mean it won’t harm the environment, and the process of recycling polyester does have its limitations.

At the moment, it is possible to recycle polyester on a commercial scale. The fabrics, however, have to be made of 100% polyester. Which is usually not the case as they are blended with other fabrics or have other finishes like lamination. And it is still not possible to recycle the same material indefinity like a closed loop system. 

How does Kleiderly contribute?

At Kleiderly, our mission is to reduce the plastic production worldwide by converting polyester clothing waste into a sustainable material that can replace oil-based plastics and their usage in many products.

Sources

https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/textiles-material-specific-data

 https://www.nj.gov/health/eoh/rtkweb/documents/fs/2901.pdf

 https://www.commonobjective.co/article/what-are-our-clothes-made-from

 https://ecocult.com/exactly-polyester-bad-environment/

 https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/2809-how-harmful-are-microplastics

 https://fashionunited.com/news/fashion/how-sustainable-is-recycled-polyester/2018111524577

 https://compareethics.com/how-sustainable-is-recycled-polyester/