I did some reading: looks like microplastics from synthetic clothing is in large part because stapled yarn is used (fleece). In the past I have seen continuous fiber pile weave clothing that should give reasonable properties in comparison to present fleeces and lessen the micro plastic pollution with washing a decade or a decade and a half. But I could not find anything of the kind any more. So has anyone met a decent jacket of the type?
Towards slightly greener fleece
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Paramo have a good ecological reputation
paramo-clothing.com
Mens Tops - Fleeces | Paramo Clothing
Shop men's fleeces from Paramo Clothing for warmth and comfort. Perfect layering pieces for any outdoor activity, shop today.
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I have seen the Dutch teddy and it is a cut pile, which means lots of fiber end shedding. Apparently Paramo is the same type but I found no mention what so ever.
Years ago I had an el cheapo Chinese jacket of the uncut type and it was not too bad, haven't found anything like since.
Years ago I had an el cheapo Chinese jacket of the uncut type and it was not too bad, haven't found anything like since.
Price.
I recently bought a fleece vest for 30 euro.
Equal garment of wool would be at least 100 euros. I can not afford that.
Herman said it. Otherwise I like wool and it's properties. AS JF said it one of the more ecological materials used in clothing. But PETG is cheap and has reasonable properties for outdoor clothing and did I say it is cheap.
I’m my view there are three macro-aspects to ecology:
1. Pollution including manufacture and transport waste and particulates.
2. Effects on climate change including carbon emission and waste heat.
3. Resource depletion including fuels and raw materials.
As from this moment the greenest clothing that you can have is whatever is in your wardrobe right now.
Next option is to use second hand clothing.
In both cases there is zero impact upon the aspects above. Any impact has already occurred and is beyond recovery. Even the particles from future laundry are already in existence.
Unfortunately in the UK our Incinerators are fitted with filters but not often carbon capture. They come second only to coal for emission pollution. Disposal of your plastic jacket doesn’t reduce it much.
ANY jacket that you buy new, whatever it is made of, will (as far as you are concerned) have new effects on those three aspects above.
Of course your own preference is an important consideration, your enjoyment of wearing the jacket.
Also if enough people change to natural fibres it will very slowly and eventually exert a pull on the market and thence to manufacturers but that won’t be in a single generation for sure.
You can buy from a Charity Shop knowing that you are not increasing any damage and not increasing any pull on the market whatever the garment is made of.
The greenest jacket that you can have it’s the one you already own.
1. Pollution including manufacture and transport waste and particulates.
2. Effects on climate change including carbon emission and waste heat.
3. Resource depletion including fuels and raw materials.
As from this moment the greenest clothing that you can have is whatever is in your wardrobe right now.
Next option is to use second hand clothing.
In both cases there is zero impact upon the aspects above. Any impact has already occurred and is beyond recovery. Even the particles from future laundry are already in existence.
Unfortunately in the UK our Incinerators are fitted with filters but not often carbon capture. They come second only to coal for emission pollution. Disposal of your plastic jacket doesn’t reduce it much.
ANY jacket that you buy new, whatever it is made of, will (as far as you are concerned) have new effects on those three aspects above.
Of course your own preference is an important consideration, your enjoyment of wearing the jacket.
Also if enough people change to natural fibres it will very slowly and eventually exert a pull on the market and thence to manufacturers but that won’t be in a single generation for sure.
You can buy from a Charity Shop knowing that you are not increasing any damage and not increasing any pull on the market whatever the garment is made of.
The greenest jacket that you can have it’s the one you already own.
Kind of true but ... if everybody changed from PETG to wool overnight it would not work, not enough sheep on the planet. There are already bacteria that eat PETG and most PA, so they are limitedly true biodegradable. I am a (retired) engineer not an idealist so by definition a pragmatist looking for realizable solutions. Possible solutions are probably very different for the short and long term.
Like cotton that is environmentally a fairly bad material, the only one that is the cause for the drying of a very large lake. It is biodegradable but otherwise a disaster. Industrially produced reformed cellulose is more friendly.
Apparently hemp could replace it in many applications but we don't have the infra for it just now and it could cause havoc at airports and ports as custom's dogs would go wild.
The economy just does not support better alternatives at the moment and doing by public measures probably would end up in a disaster as usual.
But in case of micro plastics from clothing replacing stapled yarn with continuous one together with uncut piles is a known way of minimizing the shedding. Doable with present machinery so fairly easily done.
As above, the best solution is:
Don’t buy a NEW fleece garment.
Don’t buy a NEW long staple product (whatever the natural source)
Do keep wearing what you’ve already got.
ETA - any microplastics that are ever going to come from your present garment are already in existence. Nothing can turn them back to crude oil underground. Whether slowly through laundry or rapidly via incineration they are going to get into the environment.
Or second best:
Buy something whereby someone else has incurred the environmental debt already. You cannot alter that debt whether you buy or leave on the rack. If you buy then your action is still as green as it can be.
(Just don’t spend too much time driving around different charity shops
)
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According to the Royal Society, the greatest threat to the planet is species loss; the biggest contribution to species loss is habitat loss; the most severe cause of habitat loss is human exploitation.
So, according to them, although climate & pollution are important, habitats should be the priority
So, when we assess our purchases, we need to ask how many wetlands were drained, how many grasslands have been ploughed up, how many forests have been cut down ... - as well as the slavery, pollution, resources questions.
Even wool has a massive impact - sheep are one of the primary causes of habitat loss
So, according to them, although climate & pollution are important, habitats should be the priority
So, when we assess our purchases, we need to ask how many wetlands were drained, how many grasslands have been ploughed up, how many forests have been cut down ... - as well as the slavery, pollution, resources questions.
Even wool has a massive impact - sheep are one of the primary causes of habitat loss
But I need one, present one has several holes just from use, zippers are giving up (one for the second time).
The point is CONTINUOUS fiber, all else is for nothing.
I do but this one is at the end of it's life.
Actually can but that is the craziest alternative. PETG is very easily recyclable and a lot of the present fleece generation is made from recycled bottles. Properly burned there is not going to be any micro plastics.
The kind I am looking for is used to the end by their owners, haven't seen any used ones anywhere.
Again as there is a known way of minimizing microplastics from PETG fleeces why not use it.
I agree that wool garments can be expensive but, in the original post, the quest was for a 'greener fleece' rather than one that was inexpensive.
I reckon that environmental credentials and 'concerns' get somewhat battered when price takes precedence over helping to mitigate damage to the environment.
Can't afford wool now? Well, Christmas is coming and there's no harm in saving up!
In buying wool, you are helping farmers, albeit indirectly, rather than petrochemical giants and will probably end up with a garment that will outlast its synthetic fleece equivalent.
I am sounding far too 'preech-y' now, so I'll step off my pulpit and go and snuggle up to one of my sheep...
I reckon that environmental credentials and 'concerns' get somewhat battered when price takes precedence over helping to mitigate damage to the environment.
Can't afford wool now? Well, Christmas is coming and there's no harm in saving up!
In buying wool, you are helping farmers, albeit indirectly, rather than petrochemical giants and will probably end up with a garment that will outlast its synthetic fleece equivalent.
I am sounding far too 'preech-y' now, so I'll step off my pulpit and go and snuggle up to one of my sheep...
Well this would be the subject of a long article, short: yes and no. Long: there are plastics, one could call them 1st generation, that had designed points in the polymer chain where it would break by some outside action, light, heat, bacterial action, that could still leave fairly large chunks floating around. Then there man made polymers that are totally degradable by the same effects. Japanese found in a dump bacteria that had evolved to break down PETG (our common polyester) and many PA (polyamide, "nylon"), I don't know how complete those break downs are, did not need that info.
I understand most micro plastics in the seas are from PE and PP carried there by the large rivers in Asia and Africa, mostly from packaging.
Still I don't see why not to diminish my contribution but the clothing manufacturers are not really collaborating.
It was for "slightly greener".
That's reality, I would be ready to pay higher for wool but in this case I have not seen anything like I am looking for.
I guess compared to some they do, those pages are rich in generalities and poor in specifics, a start anyway.
There is cellulose fleece out there. Presumably, it will compost. Rayon, Tencel, Lyocell. Seeing it a lot the past couple of years. Though mainly for Ts and sweats. Sometimes called 'bamboo' or 'hemp' which just identifies the source of the retted fibre and, which is also cheapish per metre.
It isn't the fibre in a raw state, as it were. The source material is turned into a sort of soup and a fibre then extruded from it.
Like cotton, cellulose doesn't have much of a natural stretch, so you may have to look carefully at what's used to provide for that.
Here is an actual jacket
blueskyclothingco.com
It isn't the fibre in a raw state, as it were. The source material is turned into a sort of soup and a fibre then extruded from it.
Like cotton, cellulose doesn't have much of a natural stretch, so you may have to look carefully at what's used to provide for that.
Here is an actual jacket
Matt Jacket, Black, Bamboo Fleece – LTD CAD Retail Blue Sky Clothing Co
Description Practical layering jacket in soft, breathable bamboo fleece that offers full-coverage and warmth. Features - High neckline - Zip-up - Two front pockets Blue Sky fit guide - true to size Fabric - 67% Bamboo, 28% Cotton, 5% Lycra Chest Measurements (cm) XS S M L XL 2X 3X 4X 48 51 54 57...
blueskyclothingco.com
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