Title Reads: What role do packaging choices (plastic vs. compostable vs. reusable) play in fashion’s sustainability?
What are some of the common packaging types for the fashion industry?
1. Plastic LDPE bags, most of the clothes we buy are wrapped in LDPE bags. They are cheap and readily available, but many places may not have a recycling stream for them, so they could end up as waste-to-energy.
Plastic LDPE bags may end up as waste-to-energy.
2. Plastic PP bags, similar to LDPE bags, are cheap and readily available, but many places may not have a recycling stream for them, so they could end up as waste-to-energy.
Plastic PP Bags don't have a recycling stream for them.
3. Compostable, we now have certified compostable bags; they cost more than LDPE or PP bags, but where they can be composted and under what conditions remains a challenge for most consumers. Compostable still can be made from a petroleum-based source.
Compostable bags can still be made from a petroleum-based source.
4. Biodegradable means it can biodegrade in a natural environment, but sometimes they can be mixed up with compostable. However, the process of biodegrading these bags is a mystery to many consumers. Biodegradable materials can still be made from petroleum-based sources.
Biodegradable - biodegrade in a natural environment.
5. Dust bags from cotton or other blended materials are nice and give the product a more premium touch, but cost more than other plastic bags and may have a higher carbon footprint since it is more complicated to make and heavier. Just how many of us reuse them?
Dust bags are more complicated to make. But how many of us reuse them?
6. Reusable bags, some reusable bags are made from recycled PP plastic, so they are better and have a lower carbon footprint, but they cost more, and the goal is to increase reuse, but how many of us reuse them?
Reusable bags are designed to encourage reuse, but how many do?
All packaging has pros and cons; there is no silver bullet here, so the best approach is to use less, and if you do use any, then use better materials and reuse them.