{"id":18661,"date":"2023-08-09T09:28:06","date_gmt":"2023-08-09T14:28:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sail.ca\/blog\/?p=18661"},"modified":"2023-10-17T09:37:20","modified_gmt":"2023-10-17T14:37:20","slug":"is-fleece-sustainable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sail.ca\/blog\/is-fleece-sustainable\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Your Fleece Impact Our Planet?"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Inexpensive, easy to wash and dry, ultra-warm, resistant, and breathable, it accompanies us everywhere and in all seasons. But do you know what these must-haves that dress adults and children are made of, and what their real impact on the planet is?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":18670,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[223,247],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-eco-friendly-tips","category-clothing"],"acf":{"post_flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text_content","content_anchor":false,"anchor_link_text":"","text_content":"Summer is not over yet, but back-to-school season is just around the corner!<\/strong>\r\nIt may be time for you to stock up on warm clothing in anticipation of the colder days ahead, or to renew some of your clothes worn out last season. This is a great opportunity to talk about the favourite material of outdoor enthusiasts: fleece! Inexpensive, easy to wash and dry, ultra-warm, resistant, and breathable, it accompanies us everywhere and in all seasons. But do you know what these must-haves that dress adults and children are made of, and what their real impact on the planet is? We spill the tea!<\/strong>\r\n\r\nThis article was produced in collaboration with Earth Day Canada<\/a><\/em>\r\n\r\n\"Earth"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content_anchors_list","anchors_section_title":"In this article, you will learn more about:"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_content","content_anchor":true,"anchor_link_text":"Fleece Under the Environmental Magnifying Glass","text_content":"

Fleece Under the Environmental Magnifying Glass<\/h2>\r\nInvented in the \u201880s as a synthetic substitute for wool, fleece has long been presented as an ecological alternative, because it is vegan.\r\n\r\nNearly 40 years later, however, the picture is a lot more contrasting.\r\nThe cause? A cocktail of chemicals that goes into this cozy material that we love so much.\r\n

Let\u2019s Examine Its Composition<\/h3>\r\nFleece is made of polyester fibres, PET to be precise, the same plastic used to make water bottles and many food containers. The plastic is melted until it stretches into long, flexible, hollow threads, which will allow the formation of air pockets and give the garment its warm properties.\r\n\r\nThis means fleece is a derivative of oil, a non-renewable resource whose rapid consumption by our societies is, let\u2019s remind ourselves of this, the primary cause of the climate crisis we are experiencing. The transformation of oil into synthetic fibres is energy-intensive and contributes to air and water pollution.\r\n

Other Ingredients in the Composition of Fleece<\/h3>\r\nPerfluorinated compounds (PFC) or polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFAS), which you can also find under the acronyms PFO and PFAO are chemical compounds used extensively by the textile industry to add technical properties to clothing. They are sprayed on fleece to render them waterproof and windproof.\r\n\r\nProblem: products in the vast PFC\/PFAS family are considered eternal pollutants and persist in the environment and living organisms for a very long time. Extremely volatile and persistent, they contaminate soil, air and water and impact all food chains and biodiversity.\r\n\r\nThis is a very sad outcome for a material that has become the best ally of our excursions in nature.\r\n\r\nIn response to this problem, many brands have chosen to use recycled polyester, made notably from plastic bottles that end up in our recycling bins. This limits the consumption of crude oil.\r\n