Your 'Organic' TShirt Still Hurts the Planet More Than You Think

"Over 180 billion polybags are used by the fashion industry each year. The U.K. alone shipped nearly a billion plastic delivery bags for clothing last year. In India, the ecommerce industry generated nearly 98,000 tonnes of plastic packaging waste in 2021, up 73% from the year before."

"We have entire teams designing eco-friendly fabrics, running LCA analyses and investing in certifications only to then throw it all away, literally, with the packaging. 'Easy return policies' only compound the logic."

"First, there was the grey plastic courier bag - tough, crinkly and sealed with tape. Inside that, a glossy branded polymailer, just big enough for a T-shirt. Inside that, the T-shirt itself, folded tight and zipped into a clear garment polybag, plus a tiny sachet of desiccant."

The fashion industry faces a fundamental contradiction: brands invest in sustainable fabrics and certifications while packaging products in multiple layers of single-use plastic. A personal experience of receiving an organic cotton T-shirt wrapped in three plastic layers exemplifies this irony. The scale is substantial—over 180 billion polybags are used annually by the fashion industry, with the U.K. shipping nearly a billion plastic delivery bags for clothing last year and India generating 98,000 tonnes of plastic packaging waste in 2021, a 73% increase from the previous year. This contradiction undermines sustainability efforts, as careful design of eco-friendly materials becomes negated by wasteful packaging practices. Easy return policies further exacerbate the problem, creating additional packaging waste.

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