Clothing manufacturing has a serious plastic usage problem. However – and although clothing is a basic necessity – there is no general awareness of the footprint left by the textile industry on the planet.
In this sense, this documentary by Patagonia Films sheds light on how it works and what can be done to somehow contain its impact. “Bringing about change will require action at all levels”, say its directors.
Plastics are essential to making durable, high-performance products. But they are also accelerating the environmental crisis, both from the fossil fuels used to make the plastic and from the pollution that accumulates from discarding it.
Plastic in clothes: our closets are full of fossil fuels
Plastic (also known as synthetic) fibers are literally the threads that hold the garment industry together with the oil and gas industries. Most plastic fibers start out as crude oil, which is distilled into chemicals like acetylene, which are then heated and made into everything from disposable plastic bottles to fiberglass. clothing such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or polyester.
The United Nations estimates that 60% of clothing is made from these types of plastics. By 2030, it is expected to reach 73%. That’s good news for big oil and gas companies. As transportation moves away from fossil fuels, experts say plastic will become a profitable way for the industry to keep up with demand.
But the problem goes beyond the use of oil as a source of raw material. Burning fossil fuels to create these synthetic materials is a big contributor to greenhouse gases. These emissions warm the planet, increase ocean acidification, and release harmful and sometimes toxic pollutants into the air.
Every piece of plastic ever made is still on the planet.
Plastic fibers in synthetic clothing and equipment persist indefinitely in our environment unless they have been incinerated or launched into space by a satellite or spacecraft.
Currently, less than 10% of plastic in the United States is recycled, 16% is incinerated, and the rest accumulates in landfills, releasing greenhouse gases, impacting wildlife habitats and putting air and water under threat.