Petition Florida to ban the production of virgin plastic-based fibers for textile use.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis
Ballot summary:
Micro-plastics are small pieces of plastic that are less than <5 mm in length. Textiles are the largest source of primary microplastics, accounting for 34.8% of global microplastic pollution. Microfibers are a type of microplastic released whenever synthetic clothing is washed. Which is clothing made from plastic such as polyester and acrylic. These fibers detach from our clothes during washing and go into the wastewater. The wastewater then goes to sewage treatment facilities. As the fibers are so small, many pass-through filtration processes and make their way into our rivers and seas. From there thousands of fish, turtles, and other aquatic life are mistaking these microplastics for food and eating the plastic until they starve. When humans eat these animals we also eat the plastic. Worryingly a research study has concluded that microplastics are actually small enough to breach the blood-brain barrier in mice. This is why it is important to ban the production of virgin plastic-based fibers for textile use.
Full Ballot: Petition Florida to ban the production of virgin plastic-based fibers for textile use.
The reason this is a necessity is because the environment has become highly polluted with plastic waste. This pollution has gone unchecked for so long that we have multiple gyres of plastic some as large as 617,763.5 square miles in area. (That’s twice the size of Texas.) Plastic risks the lives of wildlife when ingested. Thousands of fish, birds, turtles, and insects have died mistaking plastic for a viable meal. As larger and stronger animals eat those who have consumed plastic it then goes up the food chain. Humans being at the top of this chain have also been affected with microplastics being found in the umbilical cord between mother and baby, and in human stool samples collected from all around the world. The most alarming part of this information is researchers don’t know exactly how our bodies are affected by this infiltration. But here’s what we know so far, microplastics can alter the shape of human lung cells Other studies have found that microplastics can infiltrate the blood-brain barrier in mice, plastic chemicals have been linked to high cholesterol, heart disease, and damage to brain cells.
The only way to prevent this problem from continuing or worsening is if we stop producing clothing made of plastic fibers. The production of plastic-based fibers for textiles uses around 350 million barrels of oil each year which has more than doubled since 2000. This trend is projected to grow rapidly in the future unless a law is passed to prevent it. According to Carbon Tracker, plastic production accounts for 9% of current total oil demand, which the EMF projects will grow to 20% by 2050. Production of synthetic fibers for the textile sector accounted for 15% of plastic production according to the IEA, which makes the sector the third largest user of plastic, behind packaging and construction. Synthetics are made from heavily processed petrochemicals. Nylon and polyester yarns are most commonly produced by melting polymer chips or granules and then extruding them to produce very long, fine filaments that are wound together to form the yarn. Polyester is generally produced from PET.
The carbon footprint of a single polyester shirt is 5.5kg compared to 2.1kg for a cotton shirt. The fashion industry emits some 1.7-billion tons of CO2 per year, or 10% of all man-made carbon emissions. Research from the European Environment Agency has highlighted that textiles are the fourth-largest cause of environmental pressure after food, housing, and transport. The fashion industry consumes more energy than shipping and aviation combined, and by 2050 is anticipated to be responsible for 25% of the world’s remaining carbon budget. Furthermore, our clothes release half a million tons of microfibers into the ocean every year, equivalent to more than 50 billion plastic bottles. In the wastewater system, it is estimated that less than 50% of microfibers are filtered out (to be burnt, landfilled, or spread on agricultural land in sewage sludge for fertilizer, another source of soil-based microfiber pollution), with those remaining entering directly into the marine environment. Preliminary findings from The Plastic Soup Foundation show that the presence of nylon microfibers in the lungs hinders development in parts of the lung tissue. More research is needed to explore both the direct effects of microplastics and the knock-on effects of the toxic bioaccumulation of chemical additives on human health.
The average polyester product is likely to survive in landfills for over 200 years, leaching chemicals, shedding microfibers, and releasing methane as it rots. A whopping two-thirds of our clothing is made from fossil fuel synthetics, and 85% of this material is sent to landfills, unable to decay or decompose. The remainder of the plastic is swept into the ocean where it risks the lives of fish, turtles, sea birds, and as it goes up the food chain eventually humans.
If the United States is serious about reducing CO2 emissions to stay in line with the Paris Agreement. Then Florida will have to help and play a part in our CO2 reduction strategies. We will need to start producing clothing made from natural fibers or other alternatives. The “Alternative Apparel” label has stepped out of the box offering more sustainability through the use of organic cotton, recycled polyester, and plastic bottles for the creation of eco-fabrics, as well as non-toxic, gentle dyes and water-conserving washes. Manmade cellulosic fibers, such as viscose, which had constituted almost 12% of the total in 1975, had fallen to a mere 6% by 2019. Some brands have started using non-GMO soy clothing (which is made from soy protein and is a byproduct of tofu manufacturing), Organic linen fiber (made from organically grown flax plant), and Lyocell fiber (100% biodegradable fiber produced cellulose). The government should support companies that use materials like these in order to keep clothing prices low for the consumer while simultaneously lowering our emissions and preserving human and environmental health.
What do we do with all of the plastic-fiber clothes that’s already been produced? Individual companies can host clothing donations where they can donate to the less fortunate or reuse the old fabrics in order to turn it into a new garment or they can use fiber-to-fiber recycling although it is minuscule, representing between 0.1% and 1% of material use. Another option is to downcycle the rest, for uses such as teddy bear or pillow stuffing, rags, and insulation after which the material should be incinerated if there is any material left the rest should then be composted.
To summarize, Florida has multiple reasons to pass this policy. Including, protecting both human and environmental health, reducing our overall CO2 and methane emissions in order to stay in line with our international agreements, and providing a more sustainable source of energy through incinerating old clothes that can no longer be donated or otherwise used.
Resources:
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/How-Much-Oil-Does-The-15-Trillion-Fashion-Industry-Use.amp.html
http://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/FOSSIL-FASHION_Web-compressed.pdf
Sponsored by
To:
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis
From:
[Your Name]
Ballot summary:
Micro-plastics are small pieces of plastic that are less than <5 mm in length. Textiles are the largest source of primary microplastics, accounting for 34.8% of global microplastic pollution. Microfibers are a type of microplastic released whenever synthetic clothing is washed. Which is clothing made from plastic such as polyester and acrylic. These fibers detach from our clothes during washing and go into the wastewater. The wastewater then goes to sewage treatment facilities. As the fibers are so small, many pass-through filtration processes and make their way into our rivers and seas. From there thousands of fish, turtles, and other aquatic life are mistaking these microplastics for food and eating the plastic until they starve. When humans eat these animals we also eat the plastic. Worryingly a research study has concluded that microplastics are actually small enough to breach the blood-brain barrier in mice. This is why it is important to ban the production of virgin plastic-based fibers for textile use.
Full Ballot: Petition Florida to ban the production of virgin plastic-based fibers for textile use.
The reason this is a necessity is because the environment has become highly polluted with plastic waste. This pollution has gone unchecked for so long that we have multiple gyres of plastic some as large as 617,763.5 square miles in area. (That’s twice the size of Texas.) Plastic risks the lives of wildlife when ingested. Thousands of fish, birds, turtles, and insects have died mistaking plastic for a viable meal. As larger and stronger animals eat those who have consumed plastic it then goes up the food chain. Humans being at the top of this chain have also been affected with microplastics being found in the umbilical cord between mother and baby, and in human stool samples collected from all around the world. The most alarming part of this information is researchers don’t know exactly how our bodies are affected by this infiltration. But here’s what we know so far, microplastics can alter the shape of human lung cells Other studies have found that microplastics can infiltrate the blood-brain barrier in mice, plastic chemicals have been linked to high cholesterol, heart disease, and damage to brain cells.
The only way to prevent this problem from continuing or worsening is if we stop producing clothing made of plastic fibers. The production of plastic-based fibers for textiles uses around 350 million barrels of oil each year which has more than doubled since 2000. This trend is projected to grow rapidly in the future unless a law is passed to prevent it. According to Carbon Tracker, plastic production accounts for 9% of current total oil demand, which the EMF projects will grow to 20% by 2050. Production of synthetic fibers for the textile sector accounted for 15% of plastic production according to the IEA, which makes the sector the third largest user of plastic, behind packaging and construction. Synthetics are made from heavily processed petrochemicals. Nylon and polyester yarns are most commonly produced by melting polymer chips or granules and then extruding them to produce very long, fine filaments that are wound together to form the yarn. Polyester is generally produced from PET.
The carbon footprint of a single polyester shirt is 5.5kg compared to 2.1kg for a cotton shirt. The fashion industry emits some 1.7-billion tons of CO2 per year, or 10% of all man-made carbon emissions. Research from the European Environment Agency has highlighted that textiles are the fourth-largest cause of environmental pressure after food, housing, and transport. The fashion industry consumes more energy than shipping and aviation combined, and by 2050 is anticipated to be responsible for 25% of the world’s remaining carbon budget. Furthermore, our clothes release half a million tons of microfibers into the ocean every year, equivalent to more than 50 billion plastic bottles. In the wastewater system, it is estimated that less than 50% of microfibers are filtered out (to be burnt, landfilled, or spread on agricultural land in sewage sludge for fertilizer, another source of soil-based microfiber pollution), with those remaining entering directly into the marine environment. Preliminary findings from The Plastic Soup Foundation show that the presence of nylon microfibers in the lungs hinders development in parts of the lung tissue. More research is needed to explore both the direct effects of microplastics and the knock-on effects of the toxic bioaccumulation of chemical additives on human health.
The average polyester product is likely to survive in landfills for over 200 years, leaching chemicals, shedding microfibers, and releasing methane as it rots. A whopping two-thirds of our clothing is made from fossil fuel synthetics, and 85% of this material is sent to landfills, unable to decay or decompose. The remainder of the plastic is swept into the ocean where it risks the lives of fish, turtles, sea birds, and as it goes up the food chain eventually humans.
If the United States is serious about reducing CO2 emissions to stay in line with the Paris Agreement. Then Florida will have to help and play a part in our CO2 reduction strategies. We will need to start producing clothing made from natural fibers or other alternatives. The “Alternative Apparel” label has stepped out of the box offering more sustainability through the use of organic cotton, recycled polyester, and plastic bottles for the creation of eco-fabrics, as well as non-toxic, gentle dyes and water-conserving washes. Manmade cellulosic fibers, such as viscose, which had constituted almost 12% of the total in 1975, had fallen to a mere 6% by 2019. Some brands have started using non-GMO soy clothing (which is made from soy protein and is a byproduct of tofu manufacturing), Organic linen fiber (made from organically grown flax plant), and Lyocell fiber (100% biodegradable fiber produced cellulose). The government should support companies that use materials like these in order to keep clothing prices low for the consumer while simultaneously lowering our emissions and preserving human and environmental health.
What do we do with all of the plastic-fiber clothes that’s already been produced? Individual companies can host clothing donations where they can donate to the less fortunate or reuse the old fabrics in order to turn it into a new garment or they can use fiber-to-fiber recycling although it is minuscule, representing between 0.1% and 1% of material use. Another option is to downcycle the rest, for uses such as teddy bear or pillow stuffing, rags, and insulation after which the material should be incinerated if there is any material left the rest should then be composted.
To summarize, Florida has multiple reasons to pass this policy. Including, protecting both human and environmental health, reducing our overall CO2 and methane emissions in order to stay in line with our international agreements, and providing a more sustainable source of energy through incinerating old clothes that can no longer be donated or otherwise used.
Resources:
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/How-Much-Oil-Does-The-15-Trillion-Fashion-Industry-Use.amp.html
http://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/FOSSIL-FASHION_Web-compressed.pdf