(title image from Everlane)
Recycled plastic bottle fashion is often marketed as a sustainable choice, but is it really?
The beautiful lie:
(image: BBC)
- "Recycled plastic clothing is "soft, smooth, and luxurious."
- "Our clothes are made from recycled plastic bottles, so you can feel good about your purchase"
- "We are using recycled plastic bottles to help reduce plastic pollution."
- "Our clothes are made from 100% recycled materials."
The ugly truth:
(image: pirg)
Recycled plastic bottle fashion is not as comfortable or sustainable as they claim.
- Non-breathable
- Recycle plastic bottle fashion is much less breathable that you sweat more wearing the garments
- Cling to Skin
- The plastic fibers in garments can trap sweat, making them cling onto our skin, feel damp and uncomfortable.
- Irritation
- Wearing plastic garments while sweating can lead to skin irritation and breakouts.
- Trap Odor
- The quality of plastic can trap body odor and smell.( think about the smelly plastic Tupperware)
This is the End of plastic cycle.
- Down-cycling
- The process of recycling plastic bottles into fabric is a down-cycling process, which means that the resulting fabric is of lower quality than the original plastic bottles.
- Fragile
- This lower quality fabric is not as durable and cannot be recycled again, so it is more likely to end up in landfill.
- Worst Way To Recycle
- There are many other ways to reduce plastic pollution that are more sustainable than buying clothes made from recycled plastic bottles.
My word?
Warm the planet my ass🤨! Warm you...I am sure. I would be quite warm wearing shit loads of plastic bags on me too, and smell really bad😨.
As a climber myself, I can't escape plastic fashion in the outdoor industry. It's unfortunate that outdoor fashion often contains toxic elements. To compensate, I try my best to minimize waste and microplastic pollution as much as possible. I take good care of all my clothing, whether it's organic or made from plastic, to ensure they last longer. But I am not purchasing a piece of garment boldly declaring with pride that it's made from recycled plastic bottles.
Just saying.
