Analysis of the polyester clothing value chain to identify key intervention points for sustainability

Environmental Sciences Europe

Table 3 Key recommendations to improve the sustainability of polyester garments during the use phase of the value chain

Issue	Goal	Measure
Resources	Phase out fossil fuels as source of energy	Incentivize use of renewable energy in the household
	Reduce energy consumption	Improve machine efficiency
		Wash at lower temperatures
		Avoid tumble drying when possible
	Reduce freshwater consumption	Switch to horizontal-axis washing machines
	Reduce freshwater consumption	Improve and encourage greywater recycling systems within households or laundry stores
Detergents	Produce more sustainable detergents	Determine which type of detergent is more sustainable considering: Production Packaging Effects on the environment upon release Effects on microfiber release
Microfibers	Prevention of microfiber release from clothing	Wash at full load to avoid high water volume to garment ratios
	Prevention of microfiber release from clothing	Standardization of quantifying methods to facilitate more informative research
	Retroactive solutions for microfiber release from clothing	Use filters to capture microfibers in washing machines
		Develop air filtration systems to remove airborne microfibers indoors
		Bioremediation: can enzymes or whole microorganisms be added to agricultural soils to degrade PET without disturbing soil properties or causing other side effects?