Contrary to promises, major fashion brands are actually using more synthetic fabrics

NGO Changing Markets Foundation has come to a sobering conclusion: major fashion brands have actually started using more synthetic materials, not less. This is evident from a survey of 50 fashion brands.

Among the brands surveyed are 23 international clothing labels. Half of these indicate that they use more fossil fuel-based fabrics, mainly polyester. Only three of the international brands indicate that they actually use less of these fabrics.

This is not the first time that Changing Markets Foundation has conducted research into the use of fossil-based fabrics. The research was also conducted in 2022, which provides a similar basis. Several of the brands that participated in 2022 have broken promises to reduce the use of the fabrics, but a large number of fashion brands also refused to answer the NGO's questions.

Major fashion brands are using more rather than less synthetic materials

The concerns about synthetic materials arise from, among other things, the pollution of microplastics that these materials bring with them. These microplastics are released when washing clothes, for example, and pollute water, which ultimately ends up in food and humans and animals. However, synthetic materials are relatively cheap and versatile, which makes them popular with many brands. Especially now that the fashion cycle is becoming faster and faster with the advent of ultra-fast fashion, the use of these materials is increasing.

The report also warns that various EU initiatives to make the fashion industry more sustainable are having the wrong effect. For example, some synthetic fabrics are labelled as more sustainable than, for example, organic cotton or wool.

Some of the fashion companies highlighted by the Changing Markets Foundation are Shein, Zara parent company Inditex and Boohoo. Shein uses synthetic fabrics for over 80 percent of all products, while Boohoo uses 68 percent. Inditex says its use of the fabrics has grown by a fifth since the last survey.

Commenting on the report, marine pollution expert Dr Sedat Gündoğdu said: “Synthetic fibres from textiles have become one of the most common types of microplastic pollutants in the environment and are found in countless human organs. Their use by manufacturers and the pollution are so high that we can say that fashion itself poses a risk to the environment and human health.”