What's your sh*t made of?

Before we get started, here's rule #1. I'll say it now and I'll probably say it again later.

Don't be an asshole.

We're all here to make a difference however we can and improve ourselves, and we are all at different points in our journeys. Most of us are not strict vegans, and most of us will never be 100% zero waste. That having been said...

There is no excuse for willful ignorance.

Don't choose to avoid learning about a particular topic because it may be an inconvenience to you. I used to be the first person to defend products that I personally liked before fully considering their environmental impact. Instead, I chose to start learning about their impact and honestly weighing the pros and cons of buying/owning certain products. Now, I do my best to minimize their impact on the environment after I own them by learning how to care for them and making sure that they receive their best end-of-life—and that is what I'm here to help you learn about.

To start off simple, I'm going to begin with clothes and textiles. The reason why is actually because I was feeling some guilt myself about what started all of this (and by this I mean Ditch the Knick Knacks, and my own journey), and that was what I chose to get my friends and family for Christmas...

So, yes, WWF is using polyester, and yes, polyester is a plastic, which relies on petroleum—oil—to produce.

But the truth is, FCUSA is hyper-conflating statistics (without actually offering any at all) in order to make fur look good. They are hyping up fur's "natural" label and, hypocritically, green-washing fur by focusing on the simplicity of its end-of-life. In reality, the resources it would take to support farming animals to produce enough wool and mink to support today's population would not only far exceed what polyester and other cruelty-free materials can support, it would also be financially out of reach for most consumers, and end in even more suffering than what the meat-industry currently produces.

In addition, even fabrics like wool and cotton produce microfibers, and are often colored with dyes that are toxic to the environment. As the site Ashlee Uren from the site Good on You puts it, and as I suggest, what we really need to focus on is "choosing well and buying less."

Garments made with natural [fibers] have their own ethical considerations. Cotton is one of the thirstiest and dirtiest fabrics, though organic cotton fares considerably better. The wool industry has sometimes been [criticized] for its use of unethical practices. By choosing well and buying less, you’re helping to avoid the unsustainable over-production of [fibers] at a cost to the environment and the world’s most vulnerable people.

Again, this does not wipe my moral slate clean. The very first R in the 5Rs I shared when first starting this page is "refuse," followed by "reduce"—and buying plushies for everyone and their mom for Christmas probably wasn't the strongest start. But the intention was there and the thought was good. So where do we go from here?

We're going to break down, starting with the most popular and ending with the least, how each common material used in clothing production impacts the environment, from production to end-of-life.

The verdict: Polyester is a type of plastic, and is produced via the expenditure of fossil fuels. However, plastic only accounts for 8-10% of fossil fuel expenditure, and a smaller fraction of that is caused by the textile industry (though the impact of fast fashion is still a significant and unnecessary one). It is not great for the planet, but it is not the devil, either. It is not inherently more harmful than animal-derived textiles, but it is not better than cotton or linen.

What you can do: As someone who honestly loves polyester and would take it over cotton any day, my takeaway is that it is alright to buy secondhand, or if you will wear that piece of clothing or own that product for a very long time and give it a good end-of-life via reusing, donating, or recycling. You should also take necessary measures to help reduce microplastic pollution by purchasing a Cora Ball ($38) or a Guppy Friend ($35), which trap synthetic fibers that shed in the wash (CDFA).