The environmental harm of sportswear
Greenpeace report
That clothes has huge negative impact on the environment might be evident to most of us by now. Materials require a lot of water and energy to be produced, some more water and fossil fuels for energy than others. But what is it about sportswear that makes it extra harmful? It has to do with the material and the extra chemicals used for it’s particular purpose of being stretchable, good to sweat in and its anti-bacterial properties.
Example of materials being used in sportswear
Cotton - is breathable but doesn’t absorb sweat very well so used more among clothes for relaxing sport activities. Cotton is a very water intense crop, it takes approximately 2700 kg of water for making one shirt. Cotton accounts for 24% of the worlds use of insecticide and 11% use of pesticides. Less than 1% of the worlds produced cotton is organic. Organic cotton uses less chemicals but might not necessarily mean less water use or better employment standards (depends on the certification). Learn more.
Gore-Tex - a hybrid material film of fabric that is generally coated over sportswear to make it air and waterproof. But also being breathable that enables the sweat to evaporate. The material is in other words made out of plastic but the brand has committed to; eliminate hazardous PFCs from its general outdoor weatherproofing laminates (85% of products produced with these laminates) by the end of 2020 and from its specialized weatherproofing laminates (15% of products produced with these laminates) by the end of 2023. Further reading!
Microfibre - made of tiny fine thread fibre. It’s synthetic material and it’s not a cheap material. It’s one of the responsible material for creating micro plastics. For example, one synthetic jackets when being washed generates an average 1,174 milligrams of microfibers that goes into the environment and might end up in oceans. Read this study from 2016.
Neoprene - a synthetic fabric that is thicker than most materials, looks like rubber! Often used for wetsuits. Some claim to do “green” ones that uses limestone instad of petroleum. However, even limestone has it’s environmental impact. It’s for example not renewable. Read this honest article from Patagonia.
Nylon - is a kind of polyamides, made from reacting carbon-based chemicals found in coal and petroleum in a high-pressure, heated environment. The chemical reaction forms a large polymer – in the form of a sheet of nylon. Then the nylon sheet is broken into chips, melted and drawn through a mechanical spinneriet to produce individual fibres that are woven into fabric. The production on nylon creates nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas more harmful than carbon dioxide. it also takes a lot of energy and water, plus it’s not biodegradable and ends up in landfills for more than 30 years. Read more on Good On You!
Polyester - made out of plastic fibers which is breathable but not absorbent in nature, which means that sweat is not absorbed. Polyester can also be insulating. Of all the clothes produced, 55% of them are made of polyester! In 2015 the oil required for the production of synthetic textiles were 21 000 swimming pools. The production process requires less water than natural fibres but the energy use is high. Read Common Objectives perspectives on polyester.
Spandex - one of the most common types of materials used in sportswear. It has a highly stretchable which makes the clothes comfortable for movements. It is used as blend though the material is known to absorb sweat, breathe and dry quickly. Has similar environmental impact as other synthetic fibres! using a lot of chemicals and energy. 75% of production are in China.
X-Static - made of metal with silver particles infused in it. Silver is because of it’s anti-bacterial properties.
Silver - used in clothes for being anti-bacterial. It’s environmental impact depends on what kind of silver and how it’s used, but it definitely harms nature to some extent. Read EUs perspective and you can read this article about Silver Nanoparticles. For Swedish readers, this is a movie from Svenskt Vatten:
The use of chemicals
A few years ago Greenpeace had their Detox campaign to highlight the hazardous chemicals used in sportswear and put a demand on brands to get rid of them. This was based on a study where 33 different products, everything from T-shirts to football boots, were included and the clothes come from countries like China, Chile, Germany, Mexico, Russia and Spain. The clothes were manufactures in countries like Indonesia, Vietnam and China. and what they found were hazardous chemicals in most of the products.
Example of chemicals found:
PFC (Per- and polyuorinated chemicals)- they’re highly persistent and do not easily break down that’s why they’re found even in very remote areas. They has hormone disturbing proporties which impact the productive system and immune system.
NPE (Nonylphenol ethoxylates/nonylphenols) - when reased into the environment its degraded to nonylphenol (NP) which is know to be toxic though it disturbs the hormone system.
Phthaltes - easily released both indoors and outdoors. Known to be found in households and easily exposed to children. They’re also known to disturb the hormone system and, is for example, capable of interfering in development of reproductive organis in males.
DMF (Dimethyle formamide)- harmful for reproduction and may create harm to unborn children. can also be a carrier for other hazardous substances. It can damage the liver and creates digestive disturbances for humans and animals.
For Swedish readers, more information about chemicals in clothes at Naturskyddsföreningen.
What you can do
Don’t buy new sportswear if it’s not absolutely necessary. It’s the only way to really reduce your water and carbon footprint.
Buy second hand! You will reduce your risk of being exposed to chemicals and your carbon and water footprint is massively lower!
Wash sportswear in a bag made for the purpose to catch microfibres.
Wash them before you use them to lower your exposure
Buy from brands taking a higher responsibility!
Questions to ask:
Does these clothes contain any anti-bacterial proprietress and what are those substances? Silver?
What materials are these clothes made of and how much energy and water is used to produce them? Ask for carbon footprint and better technologies.
Where are the clothes produced? What are the environmental laws of that country and how can you guarantee neither people or the environment gets harmed?
Use a list of dangers chemicals in clothes and ask if they can guarantee that non of them has been used!