If you’ve been on social media lately, you’ve likely seen posts from folks about their desire to only buy clothing made from “natural fibers.” Meaning, items made from from 100% cotton, linen, silk or wool — and not clothing made of synthetic fibers such as polyester.
Folks have many reasons for making the switch. Some people are doing it for comfort, while others are doing it to protect the environment, to follow a “non-toxic” lifestyle or just to avoid the plastics that are inherent to polyester.
Yet, none of this is black and white, experts stressed to HuffPost. Natural fibers like cotton are not all good and synthetic fibers like polyester are not all bad.
But, it is true that polyester is plastic, said Meagan Phipps, a textile designer, and a critic in the textiles department at the Rhode Island School of Design.
“It’s a plastic fiber,” Phipps said. Polyester is made of a common plastic known as polyethylene terephthalate or PET.
