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posted by chromas on Wednesday June 03 2020, @02:02AM   Printer-friendly
from the life-in-plastic,-it's-fantastic dept.

'Plastic-free' fashion is not as clean or green as it seems:

We have all become more aware of the environmental impact of our clothing choices. The fashion industry has seen a rise in "green," "eco" and "sustainable" clothing. This includes an increase in the use of natural fibres, such as wool, hemp, and cotton, as synthetic fabrics, like polyester, acrylic and nylon, have been vilified by some.

However, the push to go "natural" obscures a more complex picture.

Natural fibres in fashion garments are products of multiple transformation processes, most of which are reliant on intensive manufacturing as well as advanced chemical manipulation.

While they are presumed to biodegrade, the extent to which they do has been contested by a handful of studies. Natural fibres can be preserved over centuries and even millennia in certain environments. Where fibres are found to degrade they may release chemicals, for example from dyes, into the environment.

Perhaps the real threat to the environment is over-consumption.


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  • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday June 03 2020, @02:58PM (2 children)

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday June 03 2020, @02:58PM (#1002738) Journal

    What intensive industrial nonsense is required to manufacture everyday clothing? Back in the day, women made all their family's clothing at home.

    I'm not seeing your argument here. "Intensive industrial nonsense" is vastly less intensive than hundreds of millions of women making their own clothing.

    Maybe the "fashion" industry needs to take a new look at the way they do things. The use of a lot of chemicals may make the textile industry more profitable. That doesn't mean those chemicals can't be restricted, or even outlawed.

    Or maybe we don't need to do anything at all? What are the problems that supposedly need fixing?

  • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday June 03 2020, @09:38PM (1 child)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday June 03 2020, @09:38PM (#1002943) Journal

    Pollution and carbon footprint are the "problems" that need fixing. Eliminate the chemicals as much as possible, and you've accomplished that much. We don't think that pollution is a "good thing", do we?

    • (Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday June 04 2020, @01:17PM

      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Thursday June 04 2020, @01:17PM (#1003171) Journal

      Pollution and carbon footprint are the "problems" that need fixing.

      So how does that differ from natural fibers? I'm seeing the point of the story.