Today, reducing plastic waste is a top priority, with many households choosing to sort their waste and recycle plastic items. However, plastic doesn’t only feature in waste from consumables such as food and household items; a lot of clothing is made from synthetic materials, like plastic, too.
The use of synthetic fabrics in clothing has skyrocketed since the early 2000s, with polyester a staple in fashion even before this time. While these materials are not inherently bad, the fast fashion industry they fuel poses significant challenges for both people and the environment due to increased waste and emissions, high resource use across the production process, and high disposal rates.
The term ‘fast fashion’ refers to the rapid production and sale of trendy styles of attire at low prices, a phenomenon that has grown exponentially over the last few years across the globe as thousands of items are available more readily on online platforms. The fast fashion model leads to high volumes of items being produced, shipped, and eventually disposed of, resulting in textiles contributing 10% to global emissions.
While synthetic fibres, such as polyester, make up most of the materials found in fast fashion, there is hope for a circular fashion industry. During a recent visit to the Propet facility in Cape Town, the SST team witnessed how used polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles are recycled and reprocessed to create polyester staple fibre, effectively creating a new life for plastic waste that would have previously ended up in the environment.
By keeping the PET in the circular economy, recyclers like Propet provide a viable and more eco-conscious way to create these fibres. The recycled PET is supplied to the fashion industry as well as the automotive and building sectors, which would have previously created new materials from virgin substances. PET bottles, therefore, have an inherent value, even at the end of their lifecycle, and should not be considered waste.
Four Ways to Contribute to A Circular Economy
- Invest in quality: Choose durable clothing that will last longer instead of opting for low-cost, trendy items.
- Reduce consumption: Buy less overall to minimise potential waste.
- Dispose responsibly: When discarding clothing, take the items to a recycling centre, donation programme, or local church that can ensure it has a second life, or find ways to repurpose the fabric.
- Recycle: by responsibly sorting and ensuring your waste — like PET bottles — goes for recycling, you contribute to the process and creation of recycled fibres by Product Responsibility Organisations, such as Petco.
By taking these small steps, we can collectively make a big difference in reducing waste, responsibly supporting the process of recycled staple fibres and geo-textiles, contributing to local beneficiation, and protecting our oceans and planet.