You see that fleece above? It’s got plastic in it, and when it is washed, plastic ends up in rivers and then the sea. I have two fleeces and I wear them a lot – they are warm, they are easy and they are good to wear with binoculars.
They are also quite old and I might need to get a replacement some time soon. This seems to be quite a good source of information about choices for this type of clothing.
However, I think they each have several years of use remaining and so I wonder whether I ought to buy one of these bags that is said to capture the plastic in the washing machine.
And I still wonder how I should dispose of the plastic fibres captured in the bag. The bag costs c£25.
What to do? What to do?
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I’m exhausted these days, so I’m going to support measures to limit new plastics, and for ocean clean ups, but I’m gonna keep washing my clothes the regular way. There is only so much a person is capable of fighting and doing. I know it is depressing to read, but special bags for washing clothes, disposal of microfibres collected, etc, that is where I got to tap out.
I vote you find out which supermarket near you recycles their plastic bags and stuff your collected plastic fibres in one of their recycle bins. When in doubt, delegate solving a problem to someone else and have a cup of tea. I’m going to go make a cup of tea now.
You need to get one of those really big plastic bags designed to capture all the Guppys Friends when they are full.
Seriously, buy wool next time and put up with the added inconvenience. Meanwhile, does all RSPB bird food, and even Natures Home (rubbish title) have to come in flipping plastic?
As far as I know Nature’s Home isn’t produced on recycled paper and there is no option for it to be sent to you in as an e-magazine instead. Very wasteful and inconsistent given that one of their big projects is the Harrapan forest in Sumatra, an island where a lot of lowland forest has been cleared for acacia plantations to supply the paper industry with pulp. The conservation/environmental NGOs really, really have to smarten up re their practice and promotion of reduce, reuse, recycle including that towards food.
Natures Home is produced from mostly recyceld paper, otherwise it’s from a sustainable source. This is due to some recycled paper having to be imported and so not being carbon neutral.
I’m pretty sure it says it in there somewhere but I don’t have one to hand…
Surely if you wear “natural” fibres even they have an environmental impact? The animals farmed to produce leather or wool may have been fed on imported food produced by intensive agricultural methods, been treated with antibiotics, contributed to eutrophication in streams and rivers etc. etc.. Also, conventional (i.e. non-organic) cotton growing and processing is v. bad for “the environment”, as is the production of other less commonly bought textiles made from plant fibres (e.g. hemp, bamboo). I expect unless you can afford clothes made with organically produced and hand made sheep wool or cotton dyed fabric with plant extracts and transported on foot or hoof by animals or humans that have only eaten organically-grown food your conscience could be completely clear! In an ideal world domestic waste water that goes through sewage treatment plants should be cleaned of all substances harmful to nature before it is released back into rivers and streams. But the world is far from ideal unfortunately. I do my bit by wearing my clothes until they are worn out – like you. My husband buys other people’s cast-offs in charity shops. We occasionally buy the organic ethical stuff. But it is very expensive.
Hand wash. 3 minutes. No fleece needs machine wash or dry unless you’re a motor mechanic or a mud wrestler. No/minimal escaping fibres, longer garment life, job satisfaction, smiles all round.
Tea bags contain plastic! See Gary Prescott’s Facebook page!!!
My washing machine run-off (and all sewerage) goes into my own septic tank which soak away underground eventually – is this just a giant Guppy Friend then? What to do? What to feel guilty about? I wish I could find answers to questions like these…!
I was shopping for an insulated jacket and the choice isn’t easy. Down may be light and super warm. But it useless when wet and needs hours in a tumble dryer if you wash it (and we don’t have one). There are also animal welfare issues.
Synthetic – particularly anything fleece – is also bad news but in different ways. So what to do?
Happily the weather has been so warm that doing without either has been no hardship. But I don’t want to put off a decision for ever. S
Any advice welcome.
Wouldn’t life be simpler if we all had nice thick fur all over? No need to bother with clothes then. Why did humans end up mainly bald?
Carole, if we had fur, some toff would shoot us!
Not if I got him first!
and tails! I wish we had tails
You can also avoid washing clothes more than necessary. Clearly shirts and underclothes need regular washing but my fleece – which I wear a lot in the winter – is rarely, if ever, washed.
Jonathan – mine seems to attract curry and red wine stains. Don’t know how…
🙂
Just restrict your food/drink intake to match your attire – looks like you already have a burgundy fleece so you are half way there
All these things are tricky. Decided to wash mine in a bucket and pour the water on the gravel drive as the best option. Will be buying wool in future (though somewhat reluctant to support sheep farming), despite moths! All these problems and their possible solutions are more difficult than they need to be due to the excessive number of humans on the planet at the same time. After excessive consumption it’s the biggest problem. Most other probs would get much much easier if there weren’t so many of us. Consume less, have fewer children – job pretty much done.
I’ve been gradually switching most of my clothes to bamboo over the last few years, mostly from bambooclothing.co.uk. Unfortunately, like most of the organic/ethical options, it is quite expensive. But it’s also hard-wearing, super warm and comfy, and from what I’ve read seems to be just about the most sustainable and environmentally-friendly textile currently on the market.
Wow, such an interesting collections of alternative, I was going to say solutions, but actually they are alternative dilemmas.
For myself, nudism when warm and hair shirt the rest of the year!
Bimbling – thank you for sharing
“The bag costs c£25.”
For a plarstic bag?!! Order from isawyoucoming.com