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cotton, polyester and 'net zero' fashion. let's talk about it.
let's focus on us as consumers. ask yourself this, how many pieces of clothing have you bought in 2025, how many did you throw away, how many wears did each piece get.
in my opinion it matters greatly if a piece uses excessive, unnecessary synthetics, but it matters even more as a consumer that you are buying and discarding them just as quickly as these fast fashion brands produce them.
in 2026, let's think about our consumption habits and focus on what we can consume, because as long as we don't continue to wear our clothes for as long as possible, there will always be a market for fast fashion.
let me know your thoughts! and comment 'LIFECYCLE' for a summary of what we talked about in this video <3
Transcript
The biggest lie in sustainable fashion isn't polyester. It's the idea that any new clothing is environmentally neutral. Let me explain. This isn't a good worse bad story. It's about history, scale, and the uncomfortable reality of consumption. Cotton has been used for thousands of years in India, Egypt, and The Americas. Historically, it was rain fed, handpicked, hand spun, and locally consumed. Its impact was low, not because cotton was harmless, but because production was limited by labor and time. The real damage started with industrialization. As demand exploded, cotton farming changed. We're talking monocultures, irrigation in dry regions, and heavy chemical use for washing, dyeing, treating, that distinction matters. Modern research shows cotton can be extremely water intensive in arid regions. It uses a disproportionate share of insecticides, and this affects soil health, biodiversity, and worker safety. But rain fed organic and regenerative systems reduce these impacts. And at the end of life, cotton biodegrades. Its fibers don't persist forever. No, best. It wasn't invented for fast fashion. It was developed in the 1930s as a solution for less land use, consistent quality, resistance to rot, and shrinkage. Polyester uses less direct water than cotton, that's true, but it's derived from fossil fuels. It requires high temperatures and is energy intensive. Most life cycle studies agree. Polyester scores well on water, but poorly on carbon and energy. And this part isn't debated anymore. Polyester sheds microplastic fibers with each wash. They're not biodegradable, they're not fully captured by worst water treatment, and they accumulate in ecosystems and food chains. Recycled polyester still sheds microplastics. Better, but not sold. And here's the truth most sustainability conversations avoid. Making clothes is bad for the environment, period. Even organic, even recycled, even eco. Growing fibers, spinning yarn, weaving fabric, dyeing, cutting, sewing, shipping, it all consumes water, energy, rank, and labor. There's no version of mass clothing production that is impact free. So sustainability isn't about pretending clothes are harmless, it's about responsibility. Brands are responsible for designing with intention, designing for repair, resisting tier responsible for designing with intention, designing for repair, resisting overproduction, and consumers are responsible for buying less, caring properly, repairing instead of replacing, and wearing things for as long as possible. The worst sustainable garment isn't organic or recycled, it's the one you already own and choose to keep or recycled. It's the one you already own and choose to keep wearing. If this added nuance you don't usually hear, comment your thoughts below. And save this if you're tired of sustainability being sold like a product, and follow for more insider fashion breakdowns and interesting fashion topics. See you.
