4 ms·

We need to ban entire categories of chemicals, if they are ever going to be in contact with food or potable water, including at end of life: phthalates, bisphen

We need to ban entire categories of chemicals, if they are ever going to be in contact with food or potable water, including at end of life: phthalates, bisphenols, PFAS. We also need to ban polyester clothing, at least for categories washed frequently: socks, tshirts, underwear. Polyester clothing is made from discarded plastic and inevitably degrades into microplastics inside your own house, bed, washing machine.

scythe 4y ago
>ban polyester clothing I'm sympathetic, but I'm afraid people don't realize just how incredibly difficult this would be. Polyethylene terephthalate, colloquially "polyester", has completely transformed the textile industry. You want mold-resistant carpets and kitchen towels? Polyester. Water-resistant lightweight warm clothes? Polyester. Ultra-light athletic clothes? Polyester. Bathing suits that don't chafe? Polyester. Durable, stain-resistant upholstery? Polyester. Fuzzy blankets? Polyester. Cheap suits? Polyester. Gore-Tex? You bet it's on polyester. Lyocell can pick up some of the slack in terms of durability, and if we ever nail down artificial silk it can insulate pretty well, but for water and mold resistance, pretty much everything else you can use will also leave behind microplastics. We're talking big downgrades in the quality of everything. Rumplestiltskin never seemed so real.
- bdcravens 4y ago
  I've looked into this myself. I've moved to as many plastic-free and sustainable options as I can, but I just can't give up my preference for things like tri-blend shirts. Additionally, cotton is a very resource-intensive crop.
- corrral 4y ago
  > You want mold-resistant carpets and kitchen towels Ugh, synthetic towels. They don't absorb anything, just push it around. They burn and/or melt if you try to use them as a substitute oven mitt. They're beyond awful. Get white cotton ones and bleach them. They actually function as towels, which should be the minimum standard for, you know, a towel. You don't need mold resistant towels. As for the rest: The cost problem's the main issue. Take away the cheapest materials, demand goes up for the next-cheapest and pretty soon it's not cheap anymore (yes, they can make more, but only to a point). Our society's totally adapted to clothes so cheap they're not worth repairing, that don't need special care because, even if extra care would make them last longer, they're so cheap it's not worth any time or materials, et c. Given the modern cost of labor in the developed world, a large chunk of the population would be doing a lot more DIY clothing repair than they do now.
  - scythe 4y ago
    >Take away the cheapest materials, demand goes up for the next-cheapest and pretty soon it's not cheap anymore This is why I didn't even mention wool. It's not so expensive now, but if PETE was gone, surging demand for wool would quickly make it very expensive.
    - corrral 4y ago
      Yeah, goodbye wool shirts, as it all gets sucked into suit production again.
bdcravens 4y ago
It's not a perfect solution, but you can get filters for your washing machine to capture microplastics put off by clothes (though it's more for preventing it from going into the water supply; uncertain if it would help for those inside the house) https://planetcare.org/ https://planetcare.org/
- tinco 4y ago
  I think recent research showed that microplastics are caught by waste management processes, and I think dumped in land fills so not much of a threat to the environment if they get into the sewage.
- willcipriano 4y ago
  Looks like it filters the water the washing machine outputs, that would've just went down the drain anyway so it won't help keep it out of your house.

scythe 4y ago

>ban polyester clothing I'm sympathetic, but I'm afraid people don't realize just how incredibly difficult this would be. Polyethylene terephthalate, colloquially "polyester", has completely transformed the textile industry. You want mold-resistant carpets and kitchen towels? Polyester. Water-resistant lightweight warm clothes? Polyester. Ultra-light athletic clothes? Polyester. Bathing suits that don't chafe? Polyester. Durable, stain-resistant upholstery? Polyester. Fuzzy blankets? Polyester. Cheap suits? Polyester. Gore-Tex? You bet it's on polyester. Lyocell can pick up some of the slack in terms of durability, and if we ever nail down artificial silk it can insulate pretty well, but for water and mold resistance, pretty much everything else you can use will also leave behind microplastics. We're talking big downgrades in the quality of everything. Rumplestiltskin never seemed so real.

bdcravens 4y ago
I've looked into this myself. I've moved to as many plastic-free and sustainable options as I can, but I just can't give up my preference for things like tri-blend shirts. Additionally, cotton is a very resource-intensive crop.
corrral 4y ago
> You want mold-resistant carpets and kitchen towels Ugh, synthetic towels. They don't absorb anything, just push it around. They burn and/or melt if you try to use them as a substitute oven mitt. They're beyond awful. Get white cotton ones and bleach them. They actually function as towels, which should be the minimum standard for, you know, a towel. You don't need mold resistant towels. As for the rest: The cost problem's the main issue. Take away the cheapest materials, demand goes up for the next-cheapest and pretty soon it's not cheap anymore (yes, they can make more, but only to a point). Our society's totally adapted to clothes so cheap they're not worth repairing, that don't need special care because, even if extra care would make them last longer, they're so cheap it's not worth any time or materials, et c. Given the modern cost of labor in the developed world, a large chunk of the population would be doing a lot more DIY clothing repair than they do now.
- scythe 4y ago
  >Take away the cheapest materials, demand goes up for the next-cheapest and pretty soon it's not cheap anymore This is why I didn't even mention wool. It's not so expensive now, but if PETE was gone, surging demand for wool would quickly make it very expensive.
  - corrral 4y ago
    Yeah, goodbye wool shirts, as it all gets sucked into suit production again.

bdcravens 4y ago

It's not a perfect solution, but you can get filters for your washing machine to capture microplastics put off by clothes (though it's more for preventing it from going into the water supply; uncertain if it would help for those inside the house) https://planetcare.org/ https://planetcare.org/

tinco 4y ago
I think recent research showed that microplastics are caught by waste management processes, and I think dumped in land fills so not much of a threat to the environment if they get into the sewage.
willcipriano 4y ago
Looks like it filters the water the washing machine outputs, that would've just went down the drain anyway so it won't help keep it out of your house.