Many brands try to prove their sustainability with functional clothing made of or containing recycled polyester. But unfortunately, such textiles can do more harm than good.
To date, just 10% of the fabrics used in the fashion industry are made from recycled materials. The reason is as simple as it is paradoxical: recycled materials, although they are actually former waste, are significantly more expensive than virgin fabrics.
Now, much would be achieved if we used recycled solutions for shoes or bags instead of conventional materials, especially those made of plastic. Not only is the energy requirement significantly lower. We also recycle raw materials that would otherwise end up in incinerators, landfills or, in the worst case, in the Oceans.
But when it comes to textiles, caution is advised. Many brands have discovered recycled plastics such as polyester or nylon as a supposedly sustainable alternative. Various functional clothing is now made entirely or partly from this plastic textile. In fact, clothing made from recycled plastics ends up being almost as harmful as those made from virgin ones.
Although no (or less) crude oil has to be extracted, transported and processed, recycled products still consist of plastic. With every wash, thousands of tiny microplastics are released - with less than 5 mm too small to be caught by conventional filters. They end up in our water system, in water bodies worldwide, in animals and thus also in us. According to a study by the WWF, the average person ingests 5 g of plastic every week - about the weight of an entire credit card.
And since recycled plastics are usually structurally a bit less stable than conventional ones (which is why polyester cannot be infinitely recycled and thus cannot be called circular), it is assumed that an even greater amount of microplastics is released per m2 of fabric.
Recycled polyester is therefore a reasonable solution for products that never or only very rarely end up in the wash - bags and shoes, for example, or even hard elements such as buckles or zips. For textiles, we should opt for fabrics of botanical origin - such as hemp, sustainably sourced bio cotton or lyocell. These not only do not emit microplastics, but also dissolve again at the end of their life and thus leave no waste.
