Polyester = Plastic?
Today, I’ll be diving into the comfortable, breathable polyester fabric that lies in our closet. What is it made of? What is its impact? Let’s find out!
Polyester is a category of polymers that undergo numerous chemical additives and configurations. During the production process, plastic additives or monomers are added at various stages before the final polyester fibres are combed, spun, woven or knitted at high speeds into the comfortable fabric you wear.
While polyester isn’t directly made from plastics like those sustainable initiatives you see where they literally turn recycled plastics into clothes, shoes etc — they still unleash microfibers every time you wash them. What are microfibers? Firstly, there are two types of microfibers. One that comes from natural textile fibers like cotton and linen which are biodegradable (yay!). The other type comes from synthetic textile fibers like polyester and rayon that are emerging pollutants. Microfibers are small but pose a threat to both humans and aquatic wildlife. Their tiny fragments can absorb other toxic pollutants and when these fragments are mistakenly consumed, they can lead to adverse problems.
Now, let’s crunch some numbers. One polyester garment can unleash over 1900 microfibers each wash according to recent studies. If everyone washed their clothes daily in Berlin (a city 2/3 the size of Singapore with population size 3.5 million), that is said to be akin to releasing 540,000 plastic bags into the ocean EVERY DAY. Furthermore, up to 50% of microfibers escape and enter our rivers and oceans despite wastewater filtration and treatment processes.
But…so what? While more research is needed on the effects of microfibers, studies have shown that ingestion at higher concentrations may alter the adult endocrine system functions in fish. Additionally, when microfibers leach toxic chemicals into the tissue of marine animals, they can lessen feeding and physically damage them internally, in turn affecting the entire ecosystem. Moreover, when the microfibers enter our system when we consume these wildlife or through our drinking water, they might harm us as well. Harmful chemicals present in microfibers can affect our hormones and reproductive functions, and can also lead to DNA and protein disruption.
The answer to solving this microfibers problem varies at different levels — textile production, fabrication, usage, laundry washing, and wastewater treatment among others. On the supplier level, there are movements like the Circular Leap Asia programme which are changing up the manufacturing journey. On the government/organisation level, we see our Singapore government recycling and treating wastewater with our NEWater process to ensure we have safe drinking water. As of now, I’m not sure if 100% of our wastewater is recycled so there is a possibility that some of it ends up in the ocean. Lastly, on the consumer level, we can tackle this by having filters built-in/added into our washing machines. Filters like Guppyfriend or Filtrol 160 are available on the market which can help to capture the microfibers released from our synthetic fabrics.
Of course, things are easier said than done. A study on consumers using the Guppyfriend filter at home showed that many people still have doubts about the effectiveness of such filters. But that is another problem for another day. I hope you learnt something new today and feel free to share your thoughts below! Cheers :)
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Information extracted from:
Das, A.P., Mishra, S., Rath, C.C. (2019). Marine microfiber pollution: A review on present status and future challenges. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 140(1), 188–197. doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.01.039
Gibson, C. & Stanes, E. (2017). Materials that linger: An embodied geography of polyester clothes. Geoforum, 85(1), 27–36. doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2017.07.006
