With Fashion Revolution Week running over 22-28 April 2019, WE-AR are taking part in the movement and are urging people to educate themselves around the use of plastic in clothing.
Words Lara Wyatt
The knowledge that single-use plastic is bad for the environment has well and truly hit mainstream, but another type of plastic use that’s also bad for our environment may not be as well known. The use of plastic in our clothing.
Many clothing items are made using plastic-based materials — think polyester and nylon. These fabrics are made from oil. As lifestyle and yoga brand WE-AR says, “Most of us are aware that the oil industry is responsible for widespread ecological disaster across our planet.” But actively looking at what our clothing is made from, and understanding where or what the fabrics are derived from is something we may need to spend more time focusing on.
Aligning with Fashion Revolution Week, WE-AR (who are a Certified B Corporation) urges people to consider the fabrics they’re putting on their skin and also how they’re affecting the environment. For example, WE-AR says when you wear plastic textiles when you work out, your body heats up more and your body tries to regulate your temperature through sweating, which means your pores open up and let plastic fibres in. Similarly, when you wash your plastic-material clothing, they shed plastic microfibres into your washing machine.
WE-AR are using the phrase “WE-AR what we wear” for Fashion Revolution Week, and they’re being open about the textiles their clothing is made from. WE-AR says they offer 100 per cent organic cotton tees, and their leggings are 90 per cent organic cotton with 10 per cent elastane. They’re searching the world over for a 100 per cent natural alternative so keep an eye on them for when this happens!
