About The Polyester Problem

Look at the label on the shirt you’re wearing. There’s a good chance it says polyester, and polyester is plastic, a petroleum product melted and spun into thread. It now makes up 59% of all the fiber produced in the world.

Most people never chose that. It became the default in gym clothes, work shirts, sheets and baby clothes while nobody was looking. And the questions people ask about it, like “is polyester bad for you?” or “is viscose natural?”, mostly get answered by companies with something to sell. A lot of those answers are wrong.

Each page here takes one of those questions and answers it plainly, with the study or regulation behind every number listed at the bottom. We aren’t neutral about polyester. We think clothes should have a lot less of it, and we say so. We also don’t stretch the evidence to make that case, because we don’t need to.

Our editorial standards explain how we check things. If you find a mistake, email hello@polyesterproblem.org.