Almost half of women’s clothing for sale on UK fast fashion sites is made entirely from new plastics like polyester, nylon, elastane and acrylic, according to a new study.
Researchers from the RSA looked at over 10,000 “new in” items for sale on ASOS, Boohoo, Missguided and PrettyLittleThing in May, finding 49% were made completely from synthetic fibres derived from fossil fuels.
In total, a whopping 80% of all garments for sale on the sites contained some amount of ‘virgin’ plastic which has not been recycled. Retailers are also failing to make use of recycled plastic, with just 1% of items containing this kind of fibre.
The worst offender was PrettyLittleThing, with 89% of clothes containing some plastic, while Boohoo had the highest proportion of clothes entirely made from synthetic fibres (60%). ASOS fared the best in the survey, with 65% of its clothes containing new plastics and just 36% entirely made from plastic.
The RSA says use of these fibres has “doubled” over the past 20 years. This is a problem because they will never break down in the environment, fuelling plastic waste. Creating the synthetic fibres from petroleum also produces a high amount of carbon emissions.
Josie Warden, who co-authored the report, said: “The sheer volume of clothing produced by these websites is shocking — we should see many of these items, which go for rock-bottom prices, as akin to other short-lived plastics. The nature of fast fashion trends means they are not designed to have long lives in our wardrobes.”
The RSA also called on the government to take action to ensure retailers use plastic “carefully,” including a per-item plastic tax. It added 76% of the public want to see fewer plastics used in clothing.
In 2019, an enquiry found Boohoo and Missguided are among the least sustainable companies in the UK fashion industry. This week’s report follows previous scandals involving the companies, including dresses selling for just pence and an infamous £1 bikini.
In response to the report, all four brands told the Guardian they would take action to increase the amount of recycled materials they use.