Plastic Soup Foundation
  • The issue
      • Plastic Soup
      • What is plastic?
      • Plastic in the environment
      • Harm to animals
      • Health effects
      • Regulations
      • Bogus solutions
      • Responsibilities
      • Sustainable development
      • Facts & Figures
  • What we do
      • Health
      • Microplastics
      • Education
      • Plastic Waste
  • What you can do
      • As a consumer
      • As an organization
      • As a school
  • Solutions
  • News
  • Donate
  • EN
  • NL
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
You are here: Blogs Should you throw away your polyester fleece?

Should you throw away your polyester fleece?

In Dutch talk show Radar of 7 October, our director Maria Westerbos said to presenter Antoinette Hertsenberg: ‘Fleece? No way, get rid of it.’ And then a discussion began at the Plastic Soup Foundation. After all, what is the most environmentally friendly way to deal with your old fleece sweaters? Not an easy question.

________

Should you throw away your polyester fleece?

Fleece or ‘polar fleece’ was invented as a light-weight replacement for wool in the late 1970s, keeping us warm in the winter. But it’s now coming back to haunt us. Why? You may ask. Fleece is commonly made of polyester, and polyester is a synthetic fabric, which means fleece release microplastics. And synthetic clothes are just one more of the hazards that are threatening the environment and, as we have recently learned, human health.

What makes polyester fleece a clothing item of high-risk is the way it’s made: fleece yarn is very weak because the microplastics fibers are very short, and they come off easier than from other clothing items. Just by wearing and washing fleece, thousands and millions of these plastic fibers are shed and end up in the environment, including the air around us. More than one-third of the microplastics in the ocean come from synthetic clothing. Plastic microfibers have been found in food, water, and air.

But don’t run to the bin with all your polyester fleece just yet! If you already own a polar fleece, there are other things you can do to protect yourself and the environment.

This is what you can do:

  • Change your washing habits: if you REALLY need to wash your polar fleece, wash it at low temperature, use washing liquid instead of powder, use fabric softener, avoid long washings, and don’t use a dryer. This will help reduce the microplastics from your fleece. Check out more tips in our website.
  • Use a washing machine filter: stopping the fibers already in your household, before they make their way to the ocean by adding a PlanetCare Microfiber Filter to your washing machine. This filter stops (proven!) 90% of the synthetic fibers.
  • Clothes pollute more the first few times we wash them, so consider buying less new clothing and keep your old for as long as possible.
  • Never buy very cheap fleece products. The fibers of these are extra vulnerable.
  • Consider donating old fleece, as well as other old clothing. If you donate your old fleece, you prevent other people from buying new one.
  • Find recycling initiatives for textiles in your area: there are some projects where old clothing is recycled into new material for new clothing.

Laura Díaz Sánchez – Microfiber campaigner


For more information about microfibers go to our campaign website Ocean Clean Wash.

Search

Categories

  • My little plastic footprint (5)
  • Blogs (16)
  • Synthetic fibers (19)
  • Plastic Soup Awards (3)
  • actions frontpage (1)
  • Political plume (3)
  • Pressreleases (2)
  • nurdles (5)
  • Junior (1)
  • Microplastics in cosmetics (1)
  • News (525)
  • What can you do? (13)
  • No category (1)
  • Health Files (38)
  • Clean rivers (24)
  • Plastic soupermarket (2)
  • Trash hunters (49)
  • What is plastic soup? (12)
  • What to do with plastic waste? (12)
  • Types of plastic (3)
  • Press releases (16)
  • Beat the microbead (16)
  • Solutions (11)
  • Don't use balloons (3)
  • Gezondheidseffecten (56)
  • Animal cruelty (13)
  • Job openings (1)
  • Microbeads (27)
  • sponsoring campaign (1)
  • Ocean Clean Wash (12)
  • Sponsor actions (3)
  • Plastic Urban Mining (4)
  • About us (1)

Subscribe to our newsletter

and stay informed about our activities!
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Donate now and contribute

I'll donate € 5I'll donate € 10I'll donate € 15Other amount

More news

Danone hauled up before the French court for excessive use of plastic

The multinational Danone has been charged in France for not having a plastic policy to prevent damage to the environment and health.

Read more

Research intern: Biodegradability of viscose

We are looking for a Campaigner for our (Plastic) Fashion campaign. You will strengthen the campaign team that works on the problems related to microplastics and what plastic is doing to our health.

Read more

Really? European Consumers’ Associations think the plastic bag is the best option? We don’t think so and here’s why!

In November 2022 the Dutch Consumers’ Association Consumentenbond published the results of a report which made us raise our eyebrows.

Read more

Tips for a plastic-free Christmas

During the Christmas season, there is a 30% increase in plastic use. Take a look at how you can reduce your plastic footprint.

Read more

About us

  • Frontrunners
  • Mission & Vision
  • Our People
  • Working with Us
  • Annual Reports
  • Inquiries Press
  • Newsletter

Our approach

  • Plastic Soup Angels
  • Funds & Partners
  • Ambassadors
  • Plastic Soup Awards
  • Plastic Soup Atlas
  • Facts & Figures
DONATE
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • LinkedIn

  • YouTube

  • Contact

 
© Copyright - Plastic Soup Foundation
  • Contact
  • Privacy policy
  • GDPR Consent Settings
Does plastic make us sick? Strong decline in growth of the respiratory trac...Does plastic make us sick? Contact with microplastics may lead to immune cell...
Scroll to top

GDPR settings

This website uses some cookies which are placed on your device. Your web browser stores these cookies when you visit our Website: www.plasticsoupfoundation.org. These cookies will be retrieved when you visit or use our Website again. This allows us to recognise you as a previous visitor/user.

x
Settings

Your privacy and this website...

This website uses some cookies which are placed on your device. Your web browser stores these cookies when you visit our Website: www.plasticsoupfoundation.org. These cookies will be retrieved when you visit or use our Website again. This allows us to recognise you as a previous visitor/user.

Functional technology enables a website to remember information that changes the way the website behaves or looks, like your preferred language or the region that you are in. No personalised information is collected.

See details

This consent is used to track visitors across websites. The intention is to display ads that are relevant and engaging for the individual user and thereby more valuable for publishers and third party advertisers.

See details

This consent helps website owners to understand how visitors interact with websites by collecting and reporting.

See details
Forget my settings Settings have been forgotten