What is sustainable fashion: Polyester vs Cotton vs Fast Fashion?

A very interesting article from the New York Times….
January 25, 2007

Can Polyester Save the World?

Sweaters and T-shirts that often cost less than a sandwich are found in stores like Primark who are leaders in the fast-growing “fast fashion” industry, selling cheap garments that can be used and discarded without a second thought. Teenagers love the concept. Old Navy and Target started the trend in the US since it allows them to economically update styles with speed.

But clothes — and fast clothes in particular — contribute carbon emissions that cause global warming. Both production and upkeep contribute to those emissions, says a report from Cambridge University, "Well Dressed?"

The report explores how to develop a more "sustainable clothing" industry — a seeming contradiction in an industry where fashions change every few months.

Suggestions: that people lease clothes and return them at the end of a month or a season, so the garments can be lent again to someone else and supplement that source with more durable clothing that can be worn for years.

Consumers looking for green products tend to focus on packaging and chemicals, issues that do not fit with fashion marketing.

"Natural" fibers like cotton, are seen as environmentally green. While organic cotton production is exemplary in the way it avoids pesticides, cotton garments waste energy because they must be washed frequently, use high temperature water, and generally require tumble-drying and ironing. Sixty percent of the carbon emissions generated by a simple cotton T-shirt comes from the 25 washes and machine dryings it will require, the Cambridge study found.

In contrast, a polyester garment takes more energy to make, since synthetic fabric comes from materials like wood and oil. But upkeep is far more fuel-efficient, since polyester cleans more easily and dries faster. Over its lifetime, a polyester garment uses less energy than a cotton T-shirt.

Treating cotton so that it does not absorb odors, reducing washing temperature from 122 degree F to 105 or below 98 degrees would save energy, but will require changes in washing machines and detergents.

Retailers could lease clothes for a season (just as wedding stores rent tuxedos) or buy back clothes for recycling. This would call for more enduring designs, fabrics and attitudes.

To cut back the use of carbons and make fashion sustainable, consumers will have to own less...and that is a difficult attitudinal shift.

Consumers have shown a willingness to pay more for clothes and jewels produced with social equality, the challenge now is to transfer that consumer strategy into the fashion world.