Plastic Fashion

What do you really know about the items you are wearing?

Just look in your wardrobe and check some labels for nylon, polyester and acrylic. 

You can do this yourself

It is up to manufacturers to offer high-quality, plastic-free clothing, but as a consumer you can also make a difference. We need to stop buying fast fashion. Such a piece of clothing may give you a good feeling for a short while, but after 5 washes it can go back in the trash. If you wear it at all.

There are many ways to make conscious choices for your wardrobe. And they are much more fun!

More and more brands offer clothing made from sustainable materials. These clothes fit much better and feel wonderfully soft. However, you do pay a little more for them. We are so used to dirt-cheap prices that a switch has to be flipped in our minds. If you think about it: a new dress for € 12.50, how?! Remember: there is always someone who pays the real price.

Most clothes are made of plastic materials. They release microplastic fibers into the air when we wear them, and into our waterways when we wash them. Scientists are extremely concerned about these fibers! This type of micro-plastics is so small and light that we inhale them. They’re already found in our food chains, organs and bloodstreams! 

Legislation is the solution

The only way to tackle this problem once and for all is through regulation. Laws from the government that companies must adhere to if they want to continue producing. For the microfiber problem, there should be laws on materials, composition, quality, and production chains of clothing. It would also be wise to make washing machines mandatory to equip them with filters that catch the microfibers before they end up in the sewer and ultimately the sea. Regulations can also prevent a garment from being labeled ‘sustainable’, while it is continuously shedding polluting plastic fibers.

Fortunately, the European Union recognizes the problem of microfiber pollution and wants to tackle the fast-fashion industry. A legislative proposal is currently being drafted. As the Plastic Soup Foundation, we help the European Commission where we can to formulate this law as clearly as possible.

 

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Do clothes make us sick?

Once inhaled, microfibres end up in our lungs where they can cause chronic inflammation. This in turn may result in severe illnesses like cancer, heart disease, asthma, or diabetes. Inhaled particles can reach the liver, heart, kidneys, brain, and even the foetus!

 

Microplastic fibres are also found in our food and drinks. They enter our digestive system and cause problems like intestinal inflammation. There’s a clear relationship between high exposure to microplastic fibres and two types of irritable bowel disease (called Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis).

Plastic is all around us. We even eat, drink and breathe plastic. How much plastic have you come into contact with today? Your clothes may be synthetic or contain a certain percentage of synthetic material; your toothbrush is probably plastic; what about your keyboard? Maybe you wear plastic glasses; if you’re wearing makeup, there’s a very high chance that it contains plastic ingredients, especially if it’s waterproof. There are the containers you store food in and synthetic carpeting. The list is overwhelming. 

Effect on Children

Children under 6 months of age inhale twice the amount of plastic fibres and ingest twelve times more than adults because they often bring their hands to their mouths and spend time on the floor. Microfibres can be especially harmful during the early development of a child.