5 ms·

The easiest way would be to curtail the supply of oil, which is the raw input of all plastics and there is more of it being extracted than ever before. As long

The easiest way would be to curtail the supply of oil, which is the raw input of all plastics and there is more of it being extracted than ever before. As long as there is a glut of cheap oil on the market, companies will find a way to make a profit while outcompeting companies that use natural products like cotton. The major ways we use oil all harm the planet in some ways.

deleted 2y ago
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ars 2y ago
Cotton uses an order of magnitude more oil than "plastic" clothing.
- PaulHoule 2y ago
  Also almost all cotton clothing today is "permanent press" which means the fibers are coated in plastic.
  - notnullorvoid 2y ago
    Here's an idea, maybe we stop doing that.
  - alanbernstein 2y ago
    Are you claiming that "100% cotton" clothing labels can be inaccurate? Do you have a source for this?
    - giantg2 2y ago
      Wouldn't surprise me. The premium "not from concentrate" orange juices contain additives not required to be listed on the packaging. Great value "natural flavor" chocolate syrup contains vanilin (artificial vanilla). So I guess the natural part only applies to the chocolate and not other flavors used. Many "100% alpaca" socks contain other fibers too (elastics, etc). The list goes on... Edit: why disagree? You can even see stuff like "100% cotton with Scotchgard" or the sublimation process used on clothes. Want to share any evidence to the contrary or tell me why it's wrong?
    - starspangled 2y ago
      You can see they are inaccurate because cotton doesn't grow in many different colors. The bulk fabric may be 100% cotton, but the dyes implanted into the substrate are not counted.
  - robocat 2y ago
    > fibers are coated in plastic No: Cotton is chemically treated. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrinkle-resistant_fabric https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrinkle-resistant_fabric Perhaps you are thinking of "However, almost all the wrinkle resistant garments are made with poly/cotton blends fabrics."
    - giantg2 2y ago
      They could be thinking of the stain resistant treatments which are a ureathane (plastic) coating.
  - s1artibartfast 2y ago
    I don't think that is true, but am open to learning otherwise. A quick review of Wikipedia indicates dimethylol ethylene urea (DMEU) is used to crosslink the cellulose polymers itself. Cotton is already a polymer (albeit a bio-degradable one). DMEU is not a polymer/plastic in its own right. As far as I was able to see, permanent press is biodegradable. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimethylol_ethylene_urea https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimethylol_ethylene_urea
    - giantg2 2y ago
      The sublimation process on cotton clothes uses synthetics as the bonding base. It could be a polyester resin or a vinyl. The shirt itself will still be listed as 100% cotton.
      - s1artibartfast 2y ago
        DMEU is a synthectic bonding resin. but im not sure that by itself is in any way a problem. Are you talking about pattens that are sublimated onto cotton shirts?
        giantg2 2y ago
        Yes
- juujian 2y ago
  Doesn't really change the point about cutting off supply.
stoperaticless 2y ago
Planet and nature will be just fine. Number of species bounce back after extinction events. As long as there is at least one ameba, life will find a way. Humans on the other hand might have tougher time during each next century.
- dTal 2y ago
  This is not a useful take and does not contribute to the discussion. Nature being reduced to "one amoeba" is not "just fine" according to any human value system. I don't understand this need to say "akshually the planet will be fine" just because someone used the phrase "harm the planet". I would add that it is also not true that life will bounce back; Earth is 4.5 billion years old, the vast majority of which time it was inhabited by no more than microbes; and we have 1 billion years left before the sun boils the oceans. Humans are the first technological civilization the Earth has seen, and will likely be the last - there isn't time for another go-around. Addendum: I googled "akshually the planet will be fine" and the top result was this[0] HN thread. Even has the "one amoeba" line. Is anyone working on some sort of platform that can crosslink parallel discussions so we don't have to have the same discussions over and over ad nauseam forever? [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36714256 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36714256

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

ars 2y ago

Cotton uses an order of magnitude more oil than "plastic" clothing.

PaulHoule 2y ago
Also almost all cotton clothing today is "permanent press" which means the fibers are coated in plastic.
- notnullorvoid 2y ago
  Here's an idea, maybe we stop doing that.
- alanbernstein 2y ago
  Are you claiming that "100% cotton" clothing labels can be inaccurate? Do you have a source for this?
  - giantg2 2y ago
    Wouldn't surprise me. The premium "not from concentrate" orange juices contain additives not required to be listed on the packaging. Great value "natural flavor" chocolate syrup contains vanilin (artificial vanilla). So I guess the natural part only applies to the chocolate and not other flavors used. Many "100% alpaca" socks contain other fibers too (elastics, etc). The list goes on... Edit: why disagree? You can even see stuff like "100% cotton with Scotchgard" or the sublimation process used on clothes. Want to share any evidence to the contrary or tell me why it's wrong?
  - starspangled 2y ago
    You can see they are inaccurate because cotton doesn't grow in many different colors. The bulk fabric may be 100% cotton, but the dyes implanted into the substrate are not counted.
- robocat 2y ago
  > fibers are coated in plastic No: Cotton is chemically treated. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrinkle-resistant_fabric https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrinkle-resistant_fabric Perhaps you are thinking of "However, almost all the wrinkle resistant garments are made with poly/cotton blends fabrics."
  - giantg2 2y ago
    They could be thinking of the stain resistant treatments which are a ureathane (plastic) coating.
- s1artibartfast 2y ago
  I don't think that is true, but am open to learning otherwise. A quick review of Wikipedia indicates dimethylol ethylene urea (DMEU) is used to crosslink the cellulose polymers itself. Cotton is already a polymer (albeit a bio-degradable one). DMEU is not a polymer/plastic in its own right. As far as I was able to see, permanent press is biodegradable. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimethylol_ethylene_urea https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimethylol_ethylene_urea
  - giantg2 2y ago
    The sublimation process on cotton clothes uses synthetics as the bonding base. It could be a polyester resin or a vinyl. The shirt itself will still be listed as 100% cotton.
    - s1artibartfast 2y ago
      DMEU is a synthectic bonding resin. but im not sure that by itself is in any way a problem. Are you talking about pattens that are sublimated onto cotton shirts?
      - giantg2 2y ago
        Yes
juujian 2y ago
Doesn't really change the point about cutting off supply.

stoperaticless 2y ago

Planet and nature will be just fine. Number of species bounce back after extinction events. As long as there is at least one ameba, life will find a way. Humans on the other hand might have tougher time during each next century.

dTal 2y ago
This is not a useful take and does not contribute to the discussion. Nature being reduced to "one amoeba" is not "just fine" according to any human value system. I don't understand this need to say "akshually the planet will be fine" just because someone used the phrase "harm the planet". I would add that it is also not true that life will bounce back; Earth is 4.5 billion years old, the vast majority of which time it was inhabited by no more than microbes; and we have 1 billion years left before the sun boils the oceans. Humans are the first technological civilization the Earth has seen, and will likely be the last - there isn't time for another go-around. Addendum: I googled "akshually the planet will be fine" and the top result was this[0] HN thread. Even has the "one amoeba" line. Is anyone working on some sort of platform that can crosslink parallel discussions so we don't have to have the same discussions over and over ad nauseam forever? [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36714256 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36714256