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Home›Polyester›Your fleece jacket is bad for the environment

Your fleece jacket is bad for the environment

By Lisa Martin
October 16, 2021
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lingonberry

Welcome to Counterpoint, a series in which we challenge conventional wisdom about well-known products. This time: fleece jackets.

First off, let me introduce you to the villain of this story, Fleece. Specifically, the microplastics it throws away. You see, most fleece jackets are made of polyester. And polyester (aka polyethylene terephthalate) is plastic, which derives from a chemical reaction between air, oil and water. But wait, I know. I can hear you now. People use plastic for everything. Why are my fleece jackets the problem?

Microplastic fleece jackets are more difficult to hoop due to their size. If you see a water bottle floating along the shore, you pick it up. Or, if there’s a flock floating a few miles offshore, a conservation team can pick them up with just one quick sieve. Microplastics are usually no more than a few millimeters (five at most). For context, a pea is about 10mm in diameter. The tip of a pencil is approximately 1mm in diameter. They are difficult to see and even more difficult to process. But, microplastics are everywhere.

“In a business-as-usual scenario, the ocean is expected to contain one ton of plastic for every three tons of fish by 2025, and by 2050, more plastic than fish [by weight]”, determined researchers in a 2016 Ellen MacArthur Foundation study. That’s bad news. And it’s not a problem we should put aside and fix later. Scientists have found microplastics in table salt, fish caught miles from the California coast, and the shores where effluents and other sewage are piped.

Campaigners fear that we are underestimating the reach of microplastics derived from clothing, even in the face of such dire achievements. Any damage to the environment ends up affecting us as well, especially if we are not aware of the potential problems. But sooner than most realize, some are claiming that we will learn that plastics have infiltrated our food, the air we breathe and the water we drink.

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So what do we do about it?

Why can’t brands stop using polyester? Patagonia’s Director of Materials Research and Development Ryan Thompson puts it best: “Polyester has definite advantages… In historic Alpine insulation systems, the material of choice was almost always wool. The transition to polyester happened because we were able to offer an economical alternative to wool with similar performance and comfort characteristics. It is durable even at light weights and is easier to maintain because it is machine washable and dryable.

Polyester is efficient. This is why Patagonia introduced this material to outerwear in the 1980s. It is also why they have been hanging on to it for so long, only recently having come up with a plan to replace virgin polyester with polyester. recycled made from bottles and manufacturing waste. But the brand’s progress is worth celebrating: 64% of its new products are made from recycled materials. That’s a fair amount of progress internally toward an end goal of overhauling the apparel industry, but it’s nothing in the grand scheme of things. Patagonia is not the only culprit of microplastic pollution. All clothes release fibers during washing.

“Textiles lose between 31,000 and 3,500,000 fibers per load in normal washing in household washing machines,” Patagonia found. But while nylon, spandex, and other stretchy synthetic materials fall apart, none like fleece. “Fluffy” textiles like fleece, as well as textiles made from spun base yarns and pre-brushed textiles are the most lost types, ”the aforementioned study of the brand also determined. Water treatment plants can actually capture only about 60 (the rough average) to 80 (the optimistic intake) percent of the microplastics in the water they refine. That leaves a whopping 20 to 40 percent of a few million. Ouch!

There is hope, however, for those of us who retreat into long-haired jackets whenever winter comes around the corner. Studies have shown that some jackets shed a lot the first time you wash them, but shed less with each subsequent wash. Sure, rinsing out a wad of microplastics with the first wash isn’t worth celebrating, but it does leave room for pre-treatments that could eliminate that initial waste. Beyond scientific developments, there are also fleeces made from alternative materials. There are also some in natural wool, which shed much less and decompose more quickly. If we can distract consumers from polluting polyester fleeces, more brands will realize the problem and explore opportunities to innovate on their own products – see: switch to wool or recycled polyester. Purchase the options of a few adapters below.

50% recycled polyester

Classic Retro-X Fleece Jacket for Men

It would be a mistake to leave Patagonia out of this list. The brand popularized fleece outerwear and are now making huge strides in making it more durable.

50% wool

Fleece crew with pocket

Ditch your classic zip-front fleece jacket for a team of fleece sweaters, especially one with a bright red pocket.

100% recycled polyester

Denali jacket 2

For me that jacket screams college, which was like ’07 -’08 to me. But, it’s still very cool nowadays. He has received a lot of co-signatures from rappers based in the US and UK.

This one is less structured than the other jackets on this list, but it’s made from 60% wool. A victory for sure.

100% recycled polyester

Boa thermal fleece jacket

Japanese outdoor brand Snow Peak made a massive statement with its 100% recycled polyester fleece. This one is ecological and avant-garde.

85% recycled polyester

Alpine sherpa jacket

85 percent recycled polyester. This is territory B, B +. Vuori certainly tries and that’s more than you can say for most brands.

100% recycled polyester

Dawn Patrol 1/2 Zip Sweater

There is no real affiliation between us, Gear Patrol, and this jacket, nicknamed Dawn Patrol, but we certainly endorse its 100% recycled polyester construction.

Beyond buying a new jacket, here’s what you can do

  1. Don’t wash your fleece as often (or at all). Of course, some circumstances require a deep cleaning, but be aware of the impact of repeated washing.
  2. If you need to wash your fleece, use a Guppyfriends wash bag. The patented medical grade nylon sleeve zips up and prevents microplastics from escaping into waterways.
  3. Purchase and install a lint filter that filters fabrics in the passage between your washing machine and your septic tank.

Good for over 50 washes

Washing bag

If you need to wash your fleece, put it in this bag first. You get about 50 washes out of one, and it catches 85% of the particles.

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