Fast Fashion Report Cards Show What’s Really in Your Clothes
- Polyester makes up 64% of Shein’s materials mix, 21% at H&M
- Cotton is another commonly used material that draws scrutiny
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Consumers’ drive for quantity over quality is transforming the world’s textile industry, sparking an almost doubling in global fiber production over the past two decades.
Underpinning the explosive growth is synthetics — in particular polyester. Its cheapness, allowing dresses and t-shirts to be sold for as little as a few dollars, has helped make it the most widely used fabric in the world.