Why Is Polyester So Bad? A Deep Dive Into Environmental and Health Impacts

Polyester is one of the most widely used fabrics in the fashion industry, but its convenience and low cost come at a significant price. Made from fossil fuels, this synthetic fiber is not only damaging to the environment but also poses serious ethical and health concerns. From its extraction to production, use, and disposal, polyester contributes to pollution, exploitative labor, and even microplastic contamination in our bodies¹.

Frankly, as I started examining the world around me and understood how many things are made from plastic (and many people don’t realize that polyester is a type of plastic) and how bad it is not only for our planet but for our health, I got angry. I know some people always resign themselves to a blanket statement: “Plastic is everywhere, so why bother?” While I don’t blame them, I do believe that once we educate ourselves, we can make better decisions for our families and potentially start building a better future for our children as well.

Polyester Starts as Fossil Fuels

Polyester is a synthetic fiber derived from crude oil, a non-renewable fossil fuel. To extract petroleum, companies drill into the earth, often disrupting ecosystems, displacing wildlife, and polluting natural habitats.

Oil land drilling impacts the environment by causing habitat destruction, water and soil contamination, air pollution, and waste generation. It disrupts ecosystems and contributes to climate change through greenhouse gas emissions. Noise and light pollution further affect wildlife and nearby communities.

Offshore oil drilling poses significant environmental risks, including oil spills that can devastate marine ecosystems, contaminate water, and harm marine life. The process also contributes to air pollution through greenhouse gas emissions and releases drilling waste that can disrupt ocean habitats. Noise pollution from drilling operations affects marine animals, particularly whales and dolphins, by interfering with communication and navigation. Additionally, offshore platforms can cause habitat destruction on the seabed and increase the risk of accidents, such as blowouts.

How polyester is made?

Once extracted, crude oil is refined and turned into polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the same plastic used in water bottles. This process involves heavy chemical treatments, making polyester one of the most resource-intensive fabrics.

Polyester fibers are made from crude oil through a series of refining and chemical processes. First, crude oil is refined to extract naphtha, which is further processed into key chemicals—purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and monoethylene glycol (MEG). These compounds undergo polymerization to form polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a plastic resin. The PET is then melted, extruded into long filaments, and cooled to form fibers. These fibers are stretched to increase strength and elasticity before being cut, spun into yarns, or woven into fabrics. The result is a durable, lightweight, and versatile textile widely used in clothing, home furnishings, and industrial applications.

Polyester Production Often Involves Exploitative Labor

Much of polyester production occurs in developing countries, where labor laws may be weak or poorly enforced. Textile factory workers, including children, are often paid below living wages and are exposed to hazardous chemicals without proper protective gear.

These chemicals, including antimony, formaldehyde, and heavy metals, have been linked to respiratory diseases, cancers, and skin disorders².

Factory workers are not the only ones at risk. Many polyester fabrics are treated with endocrine-disrupting chemicals, which can leach into the skin when worn. Some of these chemicals have been associated with hormonal imbalances, reproductive issues, and even developmental disorders in children³.

The Water Crisis: Polyester Production Uses and Pollutes Water

Despite being a synthetic fabric, polyester production requires large amounts of water, primarily for cooling and dyeing. The wastewater from these processes is often dumped back into rivers without proper treatment⁴, contaminating drinking water sources for local communities⁵.

Dyes and finishing chemicals used in polyester textiles often contain toxic heavy metals like lead, arsenic, and chromium, which have been linked to neurological damage and organ failure.

Polyester Contributes to Fast Fashion Waste

Polyester is one of the main fabrics used in fast fashion, a business model that prioritizes low-cost, mass-produced clothing. Because it is cheap and widely available, fashion brands overproduce garments, leading to an increase in clothing waste. The inexpensive sourcing of synthetic compared to natural fibers allows fast fashion brands to offer low prices but also enables them to create countless new offerings and collections throughout the year.

The Problem With Fast Fashion Waste:

• Clothing lifespan is shrinking: Fast fashion consumption decreases the cycle of clothing garments for an average user. People buy inexpensive clothes more often and discard them in a sped-up cycle. These low-quality items lose their appeal quickly, exacerbated by fast-changing fashion trends.
• Polyester clothing is viewed as low quality, so it doesn’t hold its value and doesn’t get into the resell market, as well as natural fiber clothing like cotton, wool, or silk. That means it ends in a landfill after a very short life cycle.
• Most polyester clothing is not recycled: Only about 1% of textiles are recycled into new clothing, with the rest ending up in landfills or incinerated⁶.
• Polyester does not biodegrade: Unlike natural fibers like cotton or wool, polyester takes hundreds of years to break down. And some of it contains forever chemicals.

Polyester Makes You Sweat and Traps Heat

Polyester is non-breathable, meaning it traps heat and moisture rather than absorbing it like cotton or linen. This is why polyester clothing often feels uncomfortable, especially in warm weather.

Many consumers don’t realize that common synthetic fabrics like fleece, satin, and microfiber are just different forms of polyester. While they may try to mimic natural fibers like wool or silk, they lack their breathable and moisture-wicking properties.

Because polyester does not breathe, it can be dangerous for infants, especially when used in fleece pajamas and bedding. Overheating is a risk factor for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)⁷, making natural fibers like cotton a safer alternative.

Too good to be true

Additionally, polyester can cause skin irritation and allergic reactions. Babies and individuals with sensitive skin or eczema may experience rashes from prolonged contact with polyester fabrics.

Slogans like anti-wrinkle, stain-resistant, water-resistant, and flame-retardant textile technology all sound great in theory. Work shirts we don’t need to iron, outdoor clothing that doesn’t get wet, and baby pajamas that won’t catch on fire. But in order to achieve these marketing-worthy properties, polyester fibers are coated with toxic chemicals like tributyl phosphate, lead, arsenic, cobalt, antimony, restricted disperse dyes known to cause allergic reactions, toluene, hexavalent chromium, and dimethyl fumarate. Water resistant and stain-resistant fabrics have their properties thanks to highly toxic, infamous PFAS.

While not a scientific reference, this article describes how a crew of Alaska Airlines got severely sick from their new uniforms.

Polyester Sheds Microplastics Into Our Ecosystem

Every time polyester clothing is washed, it releases microplastics—tiny plastic fibers that pollute waterways and enter the food chain. Up to 700,000 microplastic fibers can be released in just one wash cycle of synthetic clothing⁸.

How Microplastics Affect Our Health:
– They accumulate in our bodies: Studies have found microplastics in human lungs, blood, and even placenta⁹.
– They disrupt hormones: Many plastics contain BPA and phthalates, which are linked to infertility, early puberty, and metabolic disorders¹⁰.
– They enter our food supply: Seafood and drinking water are major sources of microplastic consumption¹¹.

Why I care as a mother

• I want to reduce my child’s exposure to harmful chemicals and microplastics, especially at such a young age, where all my son’s body organs and systems are rapidly developing, and his immunity is still immature. Additionally, we still don’t know the full extent of the harmful effects of long-term plastic exposure on our health.
• I am currently pregnant, and as I’m creating a new life, as any mother I want to do what’s best for my developing baby. I know I should be doing things like taking prenatal vitamins, avoiding harmful skincare ingredients etc. I also believe that minimizing my exposure to plastic and polyester will help mitigate its effects on the fetus. Microplastics have been found in breastmilk¹², which to be honest, makes me extremely uncomfortable.
• I want to ensure my family has the best chance at a long-term, good quality of life and health. I want us to be able to enjoy spending as much time together as we can.
• By making better choices for our family now, I believe I will also educate my children on the environmental and health issues that these substances pose. Hopefully, that will contribute to the positive change the future generations will generate for our planet and everyday health. I also try to stay mindful of not going above and beyond on this subject. As much as I care, I don’t want it to rule our life, affect our mental health, and detract from our happiness. There is so much we can do, after all.

But Plastic is everywhere

To some degree, I can understand when someone says that “just because I will put the filter in my washing machine or not buy/wash polyester clothing, that won’t change the fact that the water in my tap is still contaminated with microplastics”. Some may say that as one person makes better choices, it is a drop in the sea. It will not make a significant change.
I do not share that attitude. If everyone thinks their actions don’t matter, there will be no progress or change in humanity. As history has shown multiple times, what we do collectively matters. Perhaps many people do not care that much about our environment. But they mostly still care about their health and the health of their families.

While I believe plastic and perhaps even polyester have their place in our lives, especially for highly specialized industries like medical and scientific applications, I cannot find a value and a reason for polyester-made fast fashion. Fast-fashion seems only to fuel the greed of corporations and the overconsumption of our generations. Polyester’s use in fashion has no ethical value.

The Solution: How to Reduce Polyester Use

While completely avoiding polyester can be difficult, there are ways to reduce its impact:

• Choose natural fibers like organic cotton, linen, wool, or hemp.
• Avoid fast fashion and invest in high-quality, durable clothing.
• Wash synthetic clothing less often and use a microplastic filter (like a Guppyfriend bag) to capture fibers and microplastics.
• Support sustainable brands that prioritize ethical production and biodegradable materials.

Final Thoughts

Polyester may be everywhere, but its true cost is hidden behind its affordability and convenience. From environmental destruction to health risks, polyester’s impact reaches far beyond our wardrobes. Making informed choices about the clothing we wear can lead to a healthier planet and a healthier future.

Would you consider switching to more sustainable fabrics? Let me know in the comments!

If you’re interested about plastics and other harmful substances to avoid in our lives, check my post here.

References:

1. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7068600/ ↩︎
2. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7787125/ ↩︎
3. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/envhealth.3c00052 ↩︎
4. https://www.planetcustodian.com/dyeing-industry-polluting-asian-rivers/15641/ ↩︎
5. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6893069/ ↩︎
6. https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/07/03/1094668/polyester-clothing-recycling/ ↩︎
7. https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/sids ↩︎
8. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/envhealth.3c00052 ↩︎
9. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412020322297 ↩︎
10. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8157593/ ↩︎
11. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9819327/ ↩︎
12. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39064070/ ↩︎