Did you know?
Every year, the fashion industry releases over 500,000 tonnes of microplastics into the ocean - just from washing synthetic clothes like polyester. And that’s not all. Polyester fabric, is made from fossil fuels, takes up to 200 years to decompose, silently worsening the polyester pollution in landfills and waterways long after the trend has faded. So why is no one talking about it? 🤔
👋 Hello, Roar for Good community!
Welcome back to our 💬 Let’s Talk Threads series - where we unravel fashion truths, one thread at a time.
The Illusive Purchase 🛍️✨🕵️♀️
Walk through any Indian bazaar, online fashion site, or shopping mall, and you’ll spot it everywhere - that affordable, wrinkle-free, silky-looking fabric called polyester. From gym wear to sarees, party tops to school uniforms, polyester is practically stitched into the fabric of Indian wardrobes. Polyester pollution is one of the fashion industry's most persistent problems.
But what starts off looking so perfect on the hanger… has a dark, dusty, and devastating journey ahead.
Worn in Every Season, But Fails You Every Time ☀️🌧️❄️
At first glance, polyester fabric seems like the perfect all-weather companion - light, wrinkle-free, quick-drying, often marketed as “climate-friendly.” But India’s ever-shifting weather exposes its flaws.
Your daily routine becomes a battlefield. From the chill of over-air-conditioned offices to the chaos of crowded metros and buses, polyester fails to regulate body temperature - leaving you cold indoors and sweltering outdoors. At the gym, it wicks sweat but locks in odour. At home, it’s prone to static, clings to dust, and stains often become permanent.
So why do we keep wearing it? Because it’s cheap, because it looks good at first, because it’s everywhere. But the truth remains: polyester was never made for India’s climate or our skin. It’s uncomfortable, impractical, and ultimately unsustainable. The result? A life lived in discomfort… followed by a death that never ends, contributing to long-term polyester pollution.
The Myth of "Durable" Polyester: Why Its Longevity Is a Curse, Not a Virtue 🏭💀🌍
It doesn’t wear out - it just wears you down.
Polyester fabrics don’t rip, stretch, or disintegrate easily. But that’s the problem. It degrades slowly, disguised as durability.
After a few washes, vibrant colors fade, the surface pills, and the texture turns rough and scratchy. Fits warp - sagging hems and clinging where they shouldn’t. The shiny “new” look becomes a dull, plastic glare.
Beneath the surface, polyester fibres trap heat, sweat, and odour inside its tight synthetic weave. Over time, it becomes a breeding ground for bacteria and skin irritation - especially in India’s sticky summers and humid cities.
Unlike cotton or linen, which soften and adapt with use, polyester fabrics grow harsher. You don’t discard it because it’s torn - you toss it because it’s unbearable.
Yet it doesn’t leave. Not your wardrobe, not your washing machine, and definitely not the planet. This is polyester pollution in its most invisible, dangerous form.
A Second Life, But Still No Afterlife 👚🔁
In most Indian homes, clothes never retire quietly. That old polyester dupatta? It becomes a cloth for ironing. The faded T-shirt? A duster. A torn kurta? Wrapped around an old printer.
Before anything ends up in the bin, it gets a second, third - even fourth life: ceiling fan cleaner, shoe duster, car wiper. We don’t just reuse - we reinvent.
But even our legendary jugaad has limits. Eventually, the cloth frays beyond use, Polyester fibres break down - even the most creatively reused polyester fabric ends up in landfills, contributing to irreversible polyester pollution.
The Final Destination - Landfills That Never Let Go 🗑️
Here’s the uncomfortable truth:
With all our ingenious reuse, the final chapter is still always the same. Once polyester fabric reaches the end of its repurposed life, it’s tossed. From that moment on, it’s no longer our problem - it becomes the Earth’s.
It doesn’t return to earth like cotton, hemp, or linen. It chokes it.
This is about the microplastics seeping into the groundwater of towns that never asked for your fashion waste.
This is about toxic dyes bleeding into rivers where children play, bathe, and drink.
This is about the stray cow who accidentally ingests polyester mixed with food scraps, and dies in silent agony.
This is about rummaging hands of garbage-picking women and children, sorting through rotting textiles, inhaling fumes from slow-burning synthetic piles.
Their lives don’t smell like Zara’s perfume aisle.
They smell like polyester melting under the sun.
And no - recycling doesn’t solve it. Recycled polyester is still polyester. It still won’t decompose. It still ends up in landfills. Just a little later.
This is why polyester pollution is not just about fashion - it’s about climate, public health, and injustice.
⚠️ Biodegradable fabrics decompose. Polyester fabrics decompose everything around it.
While organic cotton and bamboo vanish within months, polyester clings to existence like a ghost - a haunting relic of our careless consumption.
The Problem No One Sees - Toxic at Every Stage 🏭🗑️
Polyester’s lifecycle is toxic from start to finish:
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Its production depends on petroleum and energy-intensive chemical processes that emit greenhouse gases, fueling climate change.
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Every wash releases microplastics polluting ecosystems and food chains.
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Even recycled polyester involves energy use and ends up polluting eventually.
This toxic legacy is invisible to most consumers, masked by polyester’s convenience and low price.
Recognizing that polyester is toxic at every stage is crucial to pushing for sustainable fabric choices and circular fashion that minimizes harm.
The whole cycle is dirty, deadly, and profit-driven.
That’s the full scope of polyester pollution - toxic from start to finish.
Polyester pollution is not just a fabric issue - it’s a climate, health, and future issue.
It clogs our oceans, toxifies our lands, and still gets labelled “durable.” But durable for whom?
Polyester pollution is real.
It’s not just about synthetic threads - it’s about the toxins we wear, wash, and waste without even knowing.
It’s time to break up with plastic fashion.
🌱 Choose planet-friendly fabrics.
🧵 Support conscious clothing.
💚 Be part of the revolution.
Stop – And Switch 🔁🌱
Let’s reimagine fashion with sustainable alternatives that truly make a difference.
At Roar For Good, every purchase over ₹2000 plants a tree - helping restore the planet one garment at a time.
Hemp: The ultimate sustainable game-changer. Grows fast, needs barely any water, zero pesticides, naturally antibacterial, and rock-solid durable. Perfect for skin and planet.
Organic Cotton: The OG of natural comfort. Soft, breathable, 100% biodegradable, chemical-free - kind to earth and farmers alike.
We champion these superstar fabrics because they blend sustainability, durability, and comfort - all while supporting responsible farming and reducing environmental impact.
Explore our collections:
Remember: Every Polyester Purchase Is a Plastic Purchase!!
Next time you shop, take a moment to check the label.
You’re not just buying a top - you’re choosing a future problem for the Earth.
Every polyester garment carries a hidden cost - to our environment, our health, and generations to come.
Ready to make a change?
Join the movement toward sustainable fashion today. Swap polyester for natural, biodegradable fabrics that care for you - and the planet.
Shop consciously. Choose wisely. Roar for Good.
🌿 Explore our eco-friendly collections now and be part of the solution.
Because every choice counts. Every garment matters. Every purchase plants a tree.
Keep roaring, keep choosing good.
With gratitude and grit,
Roar For Good