It blows my mind that one day in the past there was no plastic, then someone invented/discovered it, thought they were helping human advancement and had no idea how harmful it would be. Sometimes we are so clever and sometimes we are so stupid. Thing is, there are 7 billion of us, how can we completely replace plastic with something else? There's only so much materials to use in the world, is there such a thing as a perfect material? 😦 We are so reliant on plastics for things like sterile packaging of medical supplies etc. I wish there was some magical solution.
It was the moment humans witnessed the Earth's wound (aka petroleum, aka black gold) and discovered petroleum has unlimited uses to benefit humans. Then comes oil & gas industry....
Hemp is a close replacement to petroleum... problem is Rich entities will not give up their power and do literally anything and everything to keep their ways. 😢
The medical industry also needs to be scrutinized. Modern industry actually works together to keep us sick. Sure we need plastics for sterile packaging of medical supplies but the medical industry should simultaneously be restructured to primarily actually heal and prevent people from getting sick in the first place. Maybe we'd reduce (more realistic goal than "eliminate) the need for plastic packaging in the medical industry I think.
Unfortunately, oil and hydrocarbons are like alchemical dust. Many advancements of the modern world are owed to oil. Paints, flooring, pharmaceuticals, textiles, industrial lubricants, rubber, and of course fuel which enables flight and locomotion to drive militaries, world commerce, transit, etc. Oil is a miracle substance. It’s also our kryptonite as humans. Super long term, I think the earth is a lot heartier than people give it credit. Us and all of our plastics, our roads, our cities, will be swallowed up by the crust in due time, sinking to the mantle, never to be seen again. The earth will heal eventually. Only once we’re gone, perhaps by plastic, who knows.
Medical equipment should be an exception. It's always disposed of correctly in the hospital I work at and is standard. To make another sterile material is nigh impossible
I hate, hate, hate, hate, HATE the sensation of polyester fabric, particularly when it is ONLY polyester as it's fabric content. It feels wrong when touching my skin and as a result, I end up wanting to ABSOLUTELY crawl THE FUCK OUT of my skin. While spandex and acrylic and of course cotton are not a whole much better in ethics, I can at least tolerate staying inside my skin. And yes, I am on the Autism spectrum if that explains anything.
@@oaklynrehns yup. Damned right about that thought. Like in all honesty, polyester fabrics should burn but the earth might not take kindly to that. However, giving the downfall to product lines that produce straight polyester and polyester blends, I think the earth and the vast majority of those on the spectrum along with earth lovers could totally be down for that.
I didn't used to have problems with it, but I once heard that if you are in a fire it could melt to your skin, and now I hate it. It makes me anxious to wear it now. I don't think it physically feels any different on me, but it makes me anxious.
@@theoldaccountthatiusedtous6767same, I just wear synthetics when it’s unavoidable, like swimwear, leggings for exercising and waterproof coats. I can’t stand the feeling of draped polyester when it catches on dry skin 🥲. I will take wrinkles anyway over clothing that might melt and burn me.
Same. Very mild Autism but I can't cope with static that comes from acrylic yarns and clothing, the feel of polyester and I just feel panicked. Using only Marino (ethical Australian) and organic cotton, organic bamboo, hemp, linen and other materials. I unravel op shop wool jumpers and scarfs and make pet bedding. Take care.
I am avoiding the polyester clothing the most way I can, bc it is simply uncomfortable, hot and I sweat like hell in them and it smells for a long time. And btw, I have the few pair of shorts which are over 10 years old and they are in very good condition (two of them are jeans, one are cotton) and I just like them. I simply cannot understand the need, or maybe "need", of having new piece(s) of clothing every month/season. Why? What for? Where do you wear them? How many times a day you change? Meh...
i think globalization is the biggest issue.. whether it is food, clothes or other things i think it would be better if they were produced locally. Less transportation cost and more individuality
@@helenapflaum6800production will have an impact, true. What if local production as well as local consumption and mindful consumerism is applied, it might be the "lesser evil". We also simply buy too much too often in moder times
If we start produce everything locally, most Europe is economically f***ed lol. I'm all for it as I come from a country with plenty of resources to sustain itself, but let's face it - it's not gonna happen any time soon bc Europeans are the last people on Earth to give up their economic privileges.
How does everyone handle knowing all that we know about climate change and the fears it brings for our environment but also for us and our children? I feel like my fear spirals out of control sometimes
It definitely seems like I learn more and more fear-inducing information every year, however, knowing that we have power as consumers to demand better has been very encouraging to me! The more we all talk about it and help others to also do better, the more we can all impact positive change 😊
I feel that when polyester and cotton are compared, organic cotton is almost never used as a third comparison. Using strong pesticides and so forth is cited as one of the main reasons cotton is worse than polyester but what happens when you compare it to organic cotton and take into account that you could, if you don’t mix it with polyester, technically throw it in your compost?
I remember a time that it was embarrassing to wear polyester. Now we are trained to think it is perfectly fine. Yet we have more health problems than ever.
Just to add on washing bags: I use some since you've mentioned it before and not only it filters most of the micro plastics, it also protects every kind of textile SOOO MUCH!!! Meaning we can keep it longer and as I hate finding new clothes that fit me right, it is another great argument in favour of washing bags. Also completely agree with you on the "buying only what we need" but between comfort or stuff that helps us out even though we don't need it (thinking gadgets that actually helps cooking more healthily when you hate to cook) AND the living constantly in an over consuming society, it is both difficult to determine what is useful to us and how to not yield to temptation, especially when it feels like everyone around is doing it. Especially the young generation who eat and recycle consciously but buy so much of the fast fashion clothing. Loved the video! Impact analysis are my favs (even though I like very much the living alone series). ❤
@@Offensive_Username Most of them are. However, the guppy washing bag is made to not break down at all and retain the micro plastic inside (the one Gittemary uses as per previous videos). For natural garments it also exist organic cotton laundry bags although they are often small and more expensive
polyester fibre's found in the lungs, when I heard that, I knew it was bad news, we should cease all plastic fabrics and phase it out, it's too easy for that to form into dangerous microplastics. It feels harder and harder to find natural fabrics that bio degrade.
Acrylic yarn is made from petroleum &can’t be in the sun & I’ve been using it for years on the kids! I’m going to help keep a few sheep cool in the summer from now on. Natural fibres
not to mention acrylic traps sweat molecules that can never be washed out, whereas wool can be treated with vinager to get rid of any smells without needing to wash (since wool also has antibacterial properties)
My skin reacts terribly to all petro-chemical based synthetic fibers, including polyester. If I try to wear it, my skin gets incredibly itchy and breaks out in rashes, welts and blisters. If it comes in contact with my sweat, it actually stings and feels like I'm getting a chemical burn.
it's so hard now to find clothes without polyester or elasthan in fast fashion stores, its better in sustainable stores. i only wear shirts and jeans with 100% cotton. its even harder with underwear and socks, bit there are some that i find and love. the only things with polyester would be my jackets and hats for the winter and gloves and leggings or tights . everything else is manageable.
Greetings from Bulgaria, Gittemary! Just popping in to say that our whole family loves all your work, and your super positive attitude, and I'd like to say a huge THANK YOU for always creating such quality content that helps so many people re-imagine their day-to-day reality :)))
A year ago I give up plastic clothing crazy how much money we pay for Zara banana republic for such a cheap material and toxic I can say banana republic have few good quality item now we need to read ingredients like we do with food before buying clothes 100 % organic cotton , silk pure, linen, cashmere and so on I am buy my clothing and keep it for years so I don’t have to buy more to take care of the planet 🌏
Loved this impact analysis!!!! I'm inspired to start washing my clothes less and be really mindful about how frequently I throw things in my laundry basket. Saving water, the integrity of my clothes and money on detergent! (Dropps is kind of expensive o.o)
Either the youtube algoritm does not want us to change, or people click this away, but 14.5k views is lousy on a channel this big. I banned all plastic from my clothing, including lycra/elasthane. There is 1 exception I keep though for polyester: 100% polyester is the best material for swimsuits, as it is way better in terms of durability than the common nylon/spandex. My 100% polyester ones do not degrade, and can be worn like 10 years in the swimming pool with ease. The 80/20 ones are falling apart after like one season.
real question, how do you reduce needing to wash polyester? I have some old pieces from very unsustainable places but I find they soak up every smell and need washing frequently to not cause smells in my wardrobe 🤮
thanks for this video! these are really useful to link to someone who wants to learn more about fabrics. I'm glad I don't own much polyester clothes, only a few that I got 2nd hand and some sport clothes that have polyester in them. I don't like the feeling of polyester so those few things are the exceptions!
A ex of mine lives in different country dealing with this first hand. They have on 24hour shift on then off. They give vary little safty gear to dye jeans. But only job he can find rate now. I worry this stuff. I gave another friend dealing side-effect of gold.
I'd love to watch River Blue, but it seems to be unavailable in my country... However, I watched The true cost and it's an absolute eye-opener, highly recommend!!!
Here's a question; how can we find a way to legislate such that manufacturers make dealing with waste products part of the cost of manufacture? Maybe any company that produces or deals with microplastics is responsible for extracting them from the water used and putting them to use in some other product before making new product, until microplastic waste is broken down to the degree that it can easily become it's respective natural components and go back to nature. Maybe the same could be applied to anyone using water to grow cotton, so that water is left drinkable at the end of the process and chemical byproducts become new products until they've been chemically picked back apart to their natural base components and nature can use them again. What if we aren't allowed to make new materials from nature until we've deal with the making process's waste and tried to get what we need from breaking down existing waste products? This sounds inordinately complex, slow, expensive and hard to regulate in a global world, but it starts to show us what true-cost design actually is and compels us to deal with true cost. It feels important to know if could work indefinitely materially speaking, leaving aside all the mass psychological thinking hurdles making it work would involve.
What kind of thermal will keep me warm in the winter? Most of them are polyester. Wool is too expensive. Cotton, when it gets wet it's cold. Is rayon or acrylic bad too?
Great video, thank you! I've been studying about materials I come across every day, history behind things, like what was there before all this, before plastic took over? And with every piece of knowledge it feels like digging grave, because realizing that our species got so far without relying on plastic everywhere, developed in so interesting ways... and we've been perfectly fine so far! Without shitton of unreliable things that are made by cooking dead dinosaur liquid. I mean, in some ways it was okay discovery. Cool, now we can manipulate one thing into million others. Some qualities of plastic as far as I know are uniquely useful, especially as relatively safe packaging material for medical supplies and in lots of tech & industry related stuff. But wearing it? Why???
I donated all my clothes and have a very very small collection of natural clothes. The key is not caring about fashion, instead caring about health and your skin being able to breath. If everyone was okay with o my having the clothes they need instead of want the problem would be solved.
It blows my mind that one day in the past there was no plastic, then someone invented/discovered it, thought they were helping human advancement and had no idea how harmful it would be. Sometimes we are so clever and sometimes we are so stupid. Thing is, there are 7 billion of us, how can we completely replace plastic with something else? There's only so much materials to use in the world, is there such a thing as a perfect material? 😦 We are so reliant on plastics for things like sterile packaging of medical supplies etc. I wish there was some magical solution.
It was the moment humans witnessed the Earth's wound (aka petroleum, aka black gold) and discovered petroleum has unlimited uses to benefit humans. Then comes oil & gas industry....
Hemp is a close replacement to petroleum... problem is Rich entities will not give up their power and do literally anything and everything to keep their ways. 😢
The medical industry also needs to be scrutinized. Modern industry actually works together to keep us sick. Sure we need plastics for sterile packaging of medical supplies but the medical industry should simultaneously be restructured to primarily actually heal and prevent people from getting sick in the first place. Maybe we'd reduce (more realistic goal than "eliminate) the need for plastic packaging in the medical industry I think.
Unfortunately, oil and hydrocarbons are like alchemical dust. Many advancements of the modern world are owed to oil. Paints, flooring, pharmaceuticals, textiles, industrial lubricants, rubber, and of course fuel which enables flight and locomotion to drive militaries, world commerce, transit, etc. Oil is a miracle substance. It’s also our kryptonite as humans.
Super long term, I think the earth is a lot heartier than people give it credit. Us and all of our plastics, our roads, our cities, will be swallowed up by the crust in due time, sinking to the mantle, never to be seen again. The earth will heal eventually. Only once we’re gone, perhaps by plastic, who knows.
Medical equipment should be an exception. It's always disposed of correctly in the hospital I work at and is standard. To make another sterile material is nigh impossible
I hate, hate, hate, hate, HATE the sensation of polyester fabric, particularly when it is ONLY polyester as it's fabric content. It feels wrong when touching my skin and as a result, I end up wanting to ABSOLUTELY crawl THE FUCK OUT of my skin. While spandex and acrylic and of course cotton are not a whole much better in ethics, I can at least tolerate staying inside my skin.
And yes, I am on the Autism spectrum if that explains anything.
read the first part and thought, “hmm sounds like autism,” and then read the rest lol
@@oaklynrehns yup. Damned right about that thought.
Like in all honesty, polyester fabrics should burn but the earth might not take kindly to that. However, giving the downfall to product lines that produce straight polyester and polyester blends, I think the earth and the vast majority of those on the spectrum along with earth lovers could totally be down for that.
I didn't used to have problems with it, but I once heard that if you are in a fire it could melt to your skin, and now I hate it. It makes me anxious to wear it now. I don't think it physically feels any different on me, but it makes me anxious.
@@theoldaccountthatiusedtous6767same, I just wear synthetics when it’s unavoidable, like swimwear, leggings for exercising and waterproof coats. I can’t stand the feeling of draped polyester when it catches on dry skin 🥲. I will take wrinkles anyway over clothing that might melt and burn me.
Same. Very mild Autism but I can't cope with static that comes from acrylic yarns and clothing, the feel of polyester and I just feel panicked. Using only Marino (ethical Australian) and organic cotton, organic bamboo, hemp, linen and other materials. I unravel op shop wool jumpers and scarfs and make pet bedding. Take care.
I am avoiding the polyester clothing the most way I can, bc it is simply uncomfortable, hot and I sweat like hell in them and it smells for a long time.
And btw, I have the few pair of shorts which are over 10 years old and they are in very good condition (two of them are jeans, one are cotton) and I just like them.
I simply cannot understand the need, or maybe "need", of having new piece(s) of clothing every month/season. Why? What for? Where do you wear them? How many times a day you change? Meh...
i think globalization is the biggest issue.. whether it is food, clothes or other things i think it would be better if they were produced locally. Less transportation cost and more individuality
While this is a good point, the majority of a product’s emissions usually don’t come transportation they come from its production
@@helenapflaum6800production will have an impact, true. What if local production as well as local consumption and mindful consumerism is applied, it might be the "lesser evil". We also simply buy too much too often in moder times
If we start produce everything locally, most Europe is economically f***ed lol. I'm all for it as I come from a country with plenty of resources to sustain itself, but let's face it - it's not gonna happen any time soon bc Europeans are the last people on Earth to give up their economic privileges.
Also, the biggest issue is capitalism. Global socialism wouldn't result in overproduction.
@@humanlikecaterpillar and who would decide you had enough shoes, or bags, or enough bread?
How does everyone handle knowing all that we know about climate change and the fears it brings for our environment but also for us and our children? I feel like my fear spirals out of control sometimes
It definitely seems like I learn more and more fear-inducing information every year, however, knowing that we have power as consumers to demand better has been very encouraging to me! The more we all talk about it and help others to also do better, the more we can all impact positive change 😊
I feel that when polyester and cotton are compared, organic cotton is almost never used as a third comparison. Using strong pesticides and so forth is cited as one of the main reasons cotton is worse than polyester but what happens when you compare it to organic cotton and take into account that you could, if you don’t mix it with polyester, technically throw it in your compost?
I remember a time that it was embarrassing to wear polyester. Now we are trained to think it is perfectly fine. Yet we have more health problems than ever.
Just to add on washing bags: I use some since you've mentioned it before and not only it filters most of the micro plastics, it also protects every kind of textile SOOO MUCH!!! Meaning we can keep it longer and as I hate finding new clothes that fit me right, it is another great argument in favour of washing bags.
Also completely agree with you on the "buying only what we need" but between comfort or stuff that helps us out even though we don't need it (thinking gadgets that actually helps cooking more healthily when you hate to cook) AND the living constantly in an over consuming society, it is both difficult to determine what is useful to us and how to not yield to temptation, especially when it feels like everyone around is doing it. Especially the young generation who eat and recycle consciously but buy so much of the fast fashion clothing.
Loved the video! Impact analysis are my favs (even though I like very much the living alone series).
❤
Washing bags are made of plastic...
@@Offensive_Username Most of them are. However, the guppy washing bag is made to not break down at all and retain the micro plastic inside (the one Gittemary uses as per previous videos). For natural garments it also exist organic cotton laundry bags although they are often small and more expensive
polyester fibre's found in the lungs, when I heard that, I knew it was bad news, we should cease all plastic fabrics and phase it out, it's too easy for that to form into dangerous microplastics. It feels harder and harder to find natural fabrics that bio degrade.
Acrylic yarn is made from petroleum &can’t be in the sun & I’ve been using it for years on the kids! I’m going to help keep a few sheep cool in the summer from now on. Natural fibres
not to mention acrylic traps sweat molecules that can never be washed out, whereas wool can be treated with vinager to get rid of any smells without needing to wash (since wool also has antibacterial properties)
@@iSharSharboss you drink polyester you know filter in water is pilyester
My skin reacts terribly to all petro-chemical based synthetic fibers, including polyester. If I try to wear it, my skin gets incredibly itchy and breaks out in rashes, welts and blisters. If it comes in contact with my sweat, it actually stings and feels like I'm getting a chemical burn.
Ah! The exact reason why I just returned some clothing items.. can't believe we would voluntarily choose to wear plastic right on our skin! x/ yikes.
it's so hard now to find clothes without polyester or elasthan in fast fashion stores, its better in sustainable stores. i only wear shirts and jeans with 100% cotton. its even harder with underwear and socks, bit there are some that i find and love. the only things with polyester would be my jackets and hats for the winter and gloves and leggings or tights . everything else is manageable.
and shoes. I cant find anything without rubber or plastic.
If you are ok with wool i recommend 100%merino wool leggings, hats, gloves etc. Definitely pricier than synthetics but absolutely amazing.
@@sunshineprincespolyester in botled water because filter is polyester
@@Gabrielacreates maybe second hand, but not new ones.
@@ElmerSolis-wn7js what?
Greetings from Bulgaria, Gittemary! Just popping in to say that our whole family loves all your work, and your super positive attitude, and I'd like to say a huge THANK YOU for always creating such quality content that helps so many people re-imagine their day-to-day reality :)))
she’s back!!
Would love a video on semi-synthetic fabric at some point in the future as well, this was super helpful!
I talk more about it in the video about bamboo fabric 😁👌
A year ago I give up plastic clothing crazy how much money we pay for Zara banana republic for such a cheap material and toxic I can say banana republic have few good quality item now we need to read ingredients like we do with food before buying clothes 100 % organic cotton , silk pure, linen, cashmere and so on I am buy my clothing and keep it for years so I don’t have to buy more to take care of the planet 🌏
Thank you.
Very useful, informative & well researched
When someone uses something that filters out microplastics what should they do with the microplastics that have been collected?
Loved this impact analysis!!!! I'm inspired to start washing my clothes less and be really mindful about how frequently I throw things in my laundry basket. Saving water, the integrity of my clothes and money on detergent! (Dropps is kind of expensive o.o)
Thanks for this video ❤ really enjoyed it ❤❤❤❤❤
Some of those micro plastic figures are startlingly horrifying
Either the youtube algoritm does not want us to change, or people click this away, but 14.5k views is lousy on a channel this big. I banned all plastic from my clothing, including lycra/elasthane.
There is 1 exception I keep though for polyester: 100% polyester is the best material for swimsuits, as it is way better in terms of durability than the common nylon/spandex. My 100% polyester ones do not degrade, and can be worn like 10 years in the swimming pool with ease. The 80/20 ones are falling apart after like one season.
real question, how do you reduce needing to wash polyester? I have some old pieces from very unsustainable places but I find they soak up every smell and need washing frequently to not cause smells in my wardrobe 🤮
These videos are so helpful!🤍
thanks for this video! these are really useful to link to someone who wants to learn more about fabrics. I'm glad I don't own much polyester clothes, only a few that I got 2nd hand and some sport clothes that have polyester in them. I don't like the feeling of polyester so those few things are the exceptions!
A ex of mine lives in different country dealing with this first hand. They have on 24hour shift on then off. They give vary little safty gear to dye jeans. But only job he can find rate now. I worry this stuff. I gave another friend dealing side-effect of gold.
I like this video!! Great points!!! I love it
Very informative and great as usual 👏
I'd love to watch River Blue, but it seems to be unavailable in my country... However, I watched The true cost and it's an absolute eye-opener, highly recommend!!!
Is it on Vimeo apple or UA-cam movies google play?
Here's a question; how can we find a way to legislate such that manufacturers make dealing with waste products part of the cost of manufacture? Maybe any company that produces or deals with microplastics is responsible for extracting them from the water used and putting them to use in some other product before making new product, until microplastic waste is broken down to the degree that it can easily become it's respective natural components and go back to nature. Maybe the same could be applied to anyone using water to grow cotton, so that water is left drinkable at the end of the process and chemical byproducts become new products until they've been chemically picked back apart to their natural base components and nature can use them again. What if we aren't allowed to make new materials from nature until we've deal with the making process's waste and tried to get what we need from breaking down existing waste products?
This sounds inordinately complex, slow, expensive and hard to regulate in a global world, but it starts to show us what true-cost design actually is and compels us to deal with true cost. It feels important to know if could work indefinitely materially speaking, leaving aside all the mass psychological thinking hurdles making it work would involve.
YES love these videos lady!! So interesting and informative and you always make me laugh 😂❤ love from the UK x
For every second hand item. .I'm gonna ask "what's it made of" and be super disappointed when it has polyester :P
That's why I take a loupe or use my phone as magnifier in thrift stores. No tag = no buy.
Remember too our pets bedding and clothing (god forbid) is very toxic to them as they lick their fur ingesting the fibres. Causes endocrine damage.
Where can I watch the documentaries? 😊
Do you have recommendations for good filters to use or bags for the washing machine? Many thanks
Planet care have a filter to fit on your washing machine which you return after use
What kind of thermal will keep me warm in the winter? Most of them are polyester. Wool is too expensive. Cotton, when it gets wet it's cold. Is rayon or acrylic bad too?
I hate synthetics! Easily stained, easily pills, falls apart.
Well, learning about the GPGP was a good pre-bedtime activity 😳
Great video, thank you!
I've been studying about materials I come across every day, history behind things, like what was there before all this, before plastic took over? And with every piece of knowledge it feels like digging grave, because realizing that our species got so far without relying on plastic everywhere, developed in so interesting ways... and we've been perfectly fine so far! Without shitton of unreliable things that are made by cooking dead dinosaur liquid.
I mean, in some ways it was okay discovery. Cool, now we can manipulate one thing into million others. Some qualities of plastic as far as I know are uniquely useful, especially as relatively safe packaging material for medical supplies and in lots of tech & industry related stuff. But wearing it? Why???
I found a yarn that has a mix of polyester and recycled polyester.
The ultimate greenwashing mixture!
Plastic is almost impossible to avoid at this point
Sports is a huge culprit in in plastic waste. Nearly all sports apparel and equipment is made of plastic.
Not only that, also waste of time, waste of money, waste of food.
I bicycle communte a day keeps the health problems away!
This is so depressing. 😢 I don't think we can fix this.
I donated all my clothes and have a very very small collection of natural clothes. The key is not caring about fashion, instead caring about health and your skin being able to breath. If everyone was okay with o my having the clothes they need instead of want the problem would be solved.
This has me wondering if my thread is made of an unsustainable material.
Breathing in tiny plastic particles all day everyday... What could go wrong ?
I’m going to donate all my clothes. Gonna by better fabrics. 90 percent of my wardrobe is polyester 😢
❤️
I purchased a pair of "linen" pants but when I saw in the description later I saw it has 40%polyester and I got pretty frustrated