Walmart Plastic, Sustainable Fashion, Dirty Cotton and the Emissions they Cause

So, this morning, Walmart is trending for ditching its plastic bags. Personally, I don’t know why they didn’t do this a long time ago. Sure, those little plastic bags come in handy, but they also rip, tear and give you a guilt trip when you try to get rid of them. So many of us end up hoarding them – and they end up taking too much space.

I started thinking about how many tons of single-use plastic gets wasted and thrown out each year. But then, it reminded me of this other article that I had read recently. 

Did you know that over 300,000 tonnes of used and worn-out clothes are tossed each year – in just the UK alone? This doesn’t include those suits we never wear, collecting dust in our closets. This doesn’t include all the clothes sitting in storage, in warehouses, on boats in the middle of nowhere. 

Clothing manufacturing is responsible for up to one-fifth of industrial water pollution, and wastewater facilities pump out the microplastics from polyester into our waterways and oceans, killing the ecosystem that keeps life on earth flowing.

There’s something about sustainable clothing that kind of makes me happy. I don’t know if it’s the euphoria because we’re headed in the right direction – or the fact that pineapple leather just sounds badass. 

In North America, the history of cotton isn’t just a disgrace, but it’s known for causing heavy pollution. It’s the most heavily chemically-sprayed crop in the world. But, we use cotton in everything – including wet wipes, baby wipes, pill bottles (by the way, how does that work in the long term?). 

According to Good Housekeeping, global textile production accounts for global emissions equivalent to 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 every year – a bigger carbon footprint than all international flights and shipping combined.

69% of all clothes are comprised of plastic-based or synthetic fibers, including elastane, nylon and acrylic. Polyester is the most common, making up 52% of all fiber production.

Reusing plastics from pill bottles and old polyester significantly cuts back on the emissions caused by creating the material in the first place. Reusing polyester could reduce emissions by up to 32% of emission compared to that of virgin polyester. But, it’s still creating unnecessary emissions, nonetheless.

And, how much is created when making that Christmas sweater you might wear for a few hours a year – IF you reuse it the next year? 

Here’s a teaser: “One of the oldest and most sustainable materials is wool, which is biodegradable, renewable and recyclable.” So if it’s made of wool and has no extra additives, you’re not doing as much damage as you would with rayon or nylon materials. Those sweaters still need to be mass-produced, however, dyed and packaged, as well (This is why the switch to sustainable energy is also imperative).

Hemp-based materials are thankfully becoming more common. Companies like Levi's use hemp in their denim. It's stronger, biodegradable and sustainable in so many ways. Just planting the plant that we get hemp from (*cough*) even extracts heavy toxins from our air and our soil.

Our ancestors didn’t just kill animals and leave behind the carcasses – they reused the skin, used fur to keep warm, used bones for weapons. Outside of fig leaves (sorry, I had to do it), I wonder if they used plant-based alternatives for their clothing, as well. 

Let me be clear, I do feel like a hypocrite writing this post. But, as you know, I’m all about adopting sustainability in every way possible. I’m just laying out the facts. So, while I’m down to try out some of this pineapple leather, I just don’t think I’ll run around wearing tuna fish boxers anytime soon. Haha! 

So, what’s your take? How do you feel about a mushroom-based material – or fibers made from some plant or vegetable you never thought had any other use? What would you like to see made into a sustainable fiber? How long do you think the shelf life would be? 

Do you think reused plastics and materials are truly sustainable if they're still creating emissions? If they're still putting pollutants in the air?

I don't think this is one of the 16 big ideas that will shape 2022, but I definitely hope it gave you some food for thought.