Why am I detoxing my wardrobe and what the heck does that even mean? Well, I had another wild epiphany. I actively reduce the amount of plastic that I buy in all areas of life, but I hadn’t ever thought about plastic clothing. Yes, plastic clothing. Polyester, acrylic, nylon, lycra - all of these fabrics are essentially made from plastic. That also means they won’t biodegrade like natural fabrics do.

Let’s face it, plastic is nasty. It can leach chemicals and shed microplastics. It’s been proven to contain and leach hormone mimicking and disrupting substances. Small doses that enter your body over time may even be more dangerous than large doses. Basically, when your body receives a large dose of something like BPA, it identifies it and gets it out of your system. But when you get small doses it’s harder for your body to identify, then it can build up in your system and cause problems.

So back to clothing. If I don’t want to drink out of plastic, especially warm plastic, why would I want to live in plastic? Also why would I want to workout in plastic? Most workout clothing is made from the crude oil derived fibers listed above. When humans workout they get hot and sweaty, and their pores open, right? Why on earth would we want to be enveloped in plastic as we do this? Yikes!

After this epiphany came to me, I stopped buying synthetic clothing. I typically only buy secondhand so I began checking labels on all clothing before I bought. Cotton, bamboo, wool, linen, hemp, and even rayon are on my “A-ok list”. This was a pretty easy rule for me to implement in my secondhand shopping routine. I tend to gravitate toward the look and feel of natural fabrics anyway. However, I hit a roadblock when it came to athletic clothing. I found it impossible to find secondhand non-plastic workout clothing, and I feel like that is the most important swap to make! I did some research online and stumbled on Purusha People. They make the most beautiful workout clothing I’ve ever seen, natural fiber or not! Organic cotton and eucalyptus fabrics are used, and they’re heavenly. Owner Hayley also educates people on synthetic versus natural fabrics in her instagram posts. I became an instant fan after buying a bra top and pair of leggings. The leggings are made from the softest most comfortable material I’ve ever touched, and they’re organic! The photo below shows off five outfits I created using the two pieces I purchased from Purusha People accented by secondhand clothing I’ve collected over the years.

AN OUTFIT FOR EVERY OCCASION (1.) Concert/festival (2.) Daytime (3.) Yoga (4.) Work (5.) Night out

Purusha People also has a Plastic Legging Buyback program where you can get $25 off an organic legging order by mailing in your old plastic leggings. Hayley will make your plastic leggings into yoga mat bags. She chose to make yoga mat bags since it’s an item that’s not washed frequently. Another downfall of plastic clothing is the millions of microplastic particles that it sheds when it’s washed. The particles go down the drain and can end up in the ocean where a vicious cycle of plastic pollution occurs that harms animals, humans, and the environment. By making these bags out of your plastic leggings Hayley is effectively removing plastic polluters one by one.

To detox your wardrobe, read all the labels of your current clothing items. If you have something made from polyester, acrylic, lycra, or a high content of spandex consider retiring it and making something new from it. Pillow covers, patchwork scarves, blankets, and headbands are great things to make by repurposing plastic fabric. They don’t get washed often so they won’t add as many microplastics into the environment. If you have an attachment to a plastic clothing item and do not want to repurpose it, start washing it by hand, and only washing the dirty areas (armpits/crotch), then air dry. This will lessen the amount of microplastics it sheds.

A Note About Donating:

Passing on your plastic clothing to be worn by someone else doesn’t do any good for the environment. Also, a sizable portion of donated items end up in the dumpster. We should all make a point to shop at thrift shops as much, or more than we donate to them. Thrift shops end up throwing out the amount they do because they get more donations than shoppers. If we support thrift shops it will make the world a better place in more ways than one.

A recent trend is for companies to make clothing from recycled plastic. You might see labels that say 100% recycled PET. I understand the good that these companies are trying to do, however I see this as a perpetuation of the problem. There is SO much plastic in our world and it rarely gets recycled (only 8.4% of plastic waste was recycled in 2017 according to the EPA). These companies are trying to help and do something with the plastic waste, but I do not see recycling as the solution. We have got to stop buying plastics and supporting the single-use plastics industry. Plastic is taking over every aspect of our lives. We are surrounded by it. The answer is simple, buy less plastic.

Some fabric items to be aware of are fleece and microfiber. Fleece is a common pajama fabric and usually made from plastic fibers. Consider substituting with 100% cotton flannel pajamas. You can also find natural fleece fabric if you look hard. I found a fabric retailer selling fleece made from organic cotton and bamboo (click here). Microfiber is another typically plastic fabric. It’s often used to make rags. That means they’re washed many times and shedding lots of microplastics. Replace your microfiber rags for free by retiring old cotton tees or sheets.

To sum up, detoxing your wardrobe is a healthy task for you and the planet. It’s not a difficult thing to do. Once again, doing what is best for the environment is a matter of buying less and shopping more consciously.

To delve further into this topic check out this article from The Weston A. Price Foundation.