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“Softwear Update” is a series exploring the materials, minds, and moonshots redefining sustainable fashion—one system upgrade at a time.
By Jackie Warehime & Kasi Martin
By the time I finished my four-hour road trip last weekend, I’d accumulated two plastic bottles, a gas station snack wrapper, and a plastic veggie bag. I hadn’t planned ahead for the drive and was disappointed in my plastic output (and the general sentiment that this burden falls entirely on the consumer).
Plastic, today, is unavoidable. Even in fashion, fossil-fuel-based synthetics like polyester and acrylic have become staples because they’re cheap and versatile. In fact, 60% of global fiber production today comes from these virgin synthetics, meaning non-recycled, petroleum-based materials. ICYMI: Yes, we’re literally wearing plastic.
We’ve written about the issues with wearing plastic widely. (Check those out here and here). But for the TL:DR, plastic clothing pollutes the environment, perpetuates our dependence on fossil fuels, and poses a substantiated health risk to both the wearer and the producer. A single laundry load of polyester clothes sheds between 640,000 and 1.5 million plastic microfibers per wash, and can take up to 200 years to decompose when it ends up in landfills. Continuing to use virgin synthetics will create an unsustainable future, one none of us wants to live in. Not to mention the extra sweat in these extra hot times.
There are currently two “solutions” on the market to solve for our petulent plastics problem: one you’ve likely heard of—recycled synthetics that turn plastic waste into new fabric, and a newer alternative—bio-synthetics grown from plants. Here we’ll assess if these solutions are as great as they seem, and if either could build a genuinely sustainable future.
Some brands turn bottles into bottoms, and more…
You can find one potential solution in my closet: a pair of Rothy’s flats, made from recycled plastic bottles. It seems like a win-win—bottles that would go to waste get reused, and the virgin synthetics that would have been required are avoided.
The Promise: Transform existing plastic waste into new fabric. Your water bottles become workout leggings and fishing nets become swimwear. It’s circular, it’s clever, and it tackles two problems at once.
The Reality Check:
While some brands commit to using meaningful percentages of recycled content, many others don’t. Clothing labels with vague references to “recycled materials” can be misleading—companies can slap on a sustainability halo while using less than 10% recycled fiber. Even when garments are truly made from recycled synthetics, they still, shed microplastics, don’t biodegrade, and pose health concerns when worn close to the skin. In fact, some researchers question whether rPET may carry more harmful chemical residues due to its previous life as food-grade plastic, though the science here is still early and underfunded.
And let’s be crystal clear about the biggest issue: recycled polyester (or “rPET”) is more of a quick fix than a long-term solution. Most rPET comes from plastic bottles, which can typically only be recycled into fabric once before degrading in quality. That means it’s not truly circular—it just delays the inevitable trip to landfill and still perpetuates more fossil fuel usage.
Recycled polyester buys us time, but doesn’t solve the fundamental plastics problem.
Until the industry makes breakthroughs in safe, scalable alternatives—like bio-based synthetics or molecular and chemical recycling—your best move is to reduce synthetics overall. Look for pieces with less than 10% polyester content, especially in clothes worn close to skin or during workouts. When you do buy synthetics (we get it, the stretch is necessary sometimes), opt for high-quality, recycled versions from transparent brands. And look for chemical certifications like OEKO-TEX on product tags and descritipons. You can also wash your synthetic garments in a microfiber-catching bag or filter to reduce microplastic pollution.
It’s critical to know the difference between chemical-intensive semi-synthetics like Bamboo and better alternatives like Tencel
Another option is to make synthetics without fossil fuels and instead create man-made materials from natural sources. Going this route means turning plant-based materials into into fabrics that mimic synthetics.
The Promise: Use renewable plant materials as the base for synthetic-like performance. Get the stretch, durability, and (hopefully) affordability of synthetics without the fossil fuel dependency.
The Reality Check:
Many “first wave” bio-synthetics or rely on harsh chemical processing (this is why they’re called “semi-synthetics” in the industry). Take viscose rayon: it’s made from wood pulp, but the transformation requires carbon disulfide, a toxic solvent linked to health issues and environmental damage. The same goes for “bamboo” rayon, which often sounds eco-friendly but is chemically identical to viscose—processed with the same intensive solvents that undercut bamboo’s sustainability cred. (We like to call brands out when we see this!). Even ramie, a bast fiber from the nettle plant that’s naturally strong and biodegradable, is frequently blended with synthetics to improve softness or performance, which complicates recyclability and end-of-life impact.
The exception in first wave bio-synthetics? TENCEL™ lyocell, made by Lenzing. It’s also derived from wood pulp, but the key difference is its closed-loop process: over 99% of the non-toxic solvent used is recovered and reused, drastically reducing emissions and water pollution. It’s one of the few commercially available options that balances performance, comfort, and real-world applicability. While it’s starting to gain mass marketpickup, it’s a softer fabric that’t more often used in everyday apparel and not as suited for athletic or techinical apparel..
Note: If you do choose TENCEL, look for FSC-certifiications or standards around forest management. Even with better tech, wood-pulp sourcing can still drive deforestation if it’s not coming from responsibly managed forests.
Imagine we’ve solved this puzzle. We no longer wear virgin, petroleum-based synthetics, and we’ve addressed the limitations of today’s alternatives. What does that future look like?
For Recycled Synthetics: The system would grow increasingly less reliant on virgin fossil fuels as inputs until they became obsolte. Advanced recycling technologies would handle textile-to-textile recycling more effectively. And brands would design products with circularity in mind from the outset. Check out Cradle-to-Cradle if you want a true vision for that future. Eventually, we’d transition to “second-wave” bio-based recycled materials rather than fossil-fuel-based ones.
For Bio-Synthetics: This “second-wave” of bio-synthetics would use plants that don’t contribute to monoculture and processing that skips harsh chemicals, allowing the final product to biodegrade naturally. The materials would perform like traditional synthetics (without the crunch factor of cotton), but would return to the earth to nurish the soil when their useful life ends.
Companies like Amercycle are pioneering new methods of synthetic recycling using molecular science
Closer than you might think, but not close enough to solve the problem overnight.
Today, less than 1% of synthetic textiles globally are produced from recycled materials. While progress is slow, a few companies are advancing chemical and molecular recycling — processes that break synthetics down to their raw building blocks and rebuild them into new fibers, without the quality loss of mechanical recycling.
Sugarcup is coming for the synthetic elastane in your next bra…
The second-wave of plant-based and biotech materials are leaving the lab and entering the market, offering performance without the petroleum. Some mimic synthetics like polyester or spandex, others aim to outperform them altogether—with lower impact and better end-of-life options. Here are a few standouts: :
They’re not new, but they’re powerful. With the right processing, Merino wool and hemp can match synthetic performance—minus the plastic.
Note: Both fibers are often blended with a small amount of elastane (a plastic-based fiber) to improve stretch and shape retention—so check labels and aim for blends with 5% or less to keep synthetics to a minimum.
While the industry works on better materials, we can make smarter choices that nudge things in the right direction—and avoid the worst offenders.
The future of synthetics isn’t about choosing between recycled bottles and banana plants. It’s about building systems that work—materials that perform without locking us into cycles of pollution, oil dependency, and waste.
Yes, the plastic from my old road trip water bottle will stick around for centuries. But the next generation of synthetics? They’ll be designed to go back to the earth as naturally as they came from it.
And that’s a future we should be designing for—not just wearing.
Jackie Warehime is a New York-based designer and sustainability advocate with a background in product design. She writes about sustainable design on Substack to explore and expand the ethical and sustainable approaches to crafting our world.
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