mfad•13mo ago

Polyester, Patagonia and understanding materials

Hi all,
Question that has been bugging me for a while. People seem to heavily favor natural fabrics (primarily cotton, wool) in nearly all cases. At the same time, I see certain brands hyped that upon examination seem to heavily lean into olsynthetic fabrics. Patagonia being just an example, but a pretty extreme one where it seems like almost everything I've found is heavily recycled polyester or other synthetics, including almost all their staples.

Is there a consensus on when synthetics are acceptable or is this just differences in taste/priorities across members?

carrion•11/27/24, 2:52 AM

ur just seeing differences in opinions.
polyester isn't evil and it's one of the few ways we can have affordable outerwear.

lots of ppl like to swear off synthetic fabrics in favor of smth like cotton assuming that natural fibers are inherently better when that's just not the case.

will•11/27/24, 2:53 AM

some design is only possible because of synthetic material

raisinpie•11/27/24, 2:55 AM

lots of uses in outdoor rec

raisinpie•11/27/24, 2:55 AM

patagonia started out as and still is an outdoors company

SteveOP•11/27/24, 2:56 AM

Makes sense. And I do see it more in things (e.g. Patagonia fleeces) where you would invariably wear something underneath. Which makes sense as now that I am attending to it a bit more....I do not like how my clothes with poly (primarily cheap dress pants) feel.

raisinpie•11/27/24, 2:57 AM

Plastic lets us have stuff like poly fleece and synthetic down whose natural counterparts are significantly more expensive

thomas•11/27/24, 2:57 AM

They use polyester because it has material properties that work really well for their garments.

thomas•11/27/24, 2:57 AM

For example the windbreaker from patagonia I run with is fully synthetic but because of that it is able to block the wind better and stay lighter than any natural fabric. Plus it's packable.

carrion•11/27/24, 2:57 AM

there are levels to it. u can have cheap nasty cotton the same way u can have cheap nasty poly.

SteveOP•11/27/24, 2:58 AM

Have just been trying to reconcile "synthetic=bad" with "Here are some favorite brands who make everything out of polyester"

thomas•11/27/24, 2:58 AM

Many synthetic fabrics are also more durable than their natural counterparts, which is why they will be woven into technical garments.

SSteve Makes sense. And I do see it more in things (e.g. Patagonia fleeces) where you w...

raisinpie•11/27/24, 2:58 AM

Yeah just like any other material there's good and bad. Fleece good because it is insulating and dries quickly; polyester dress pants on the other hand are almost always bad because they are just a cheap version of wool dress pants

Ccarrion + there are levels to it. u can have cheap nasty cotton the same way u can have ...

oman121•11/27/24, 3:00 AM

on the there end theres plent of very nice synthetics, the issey pleats feels quite nice from when i have touched it

carrion•11/27/24, 3:01 AM

some of my fav shit is fully or mostly synthetic, it's crazy what science can do the modern world is full of wonders

thomas•11/27/24, 3:01 AM

I think they're nice but as someone who own a lot of it they'd feel nicer if they were a different fabric. But again it's a case where the only way to get those pleats is to use poly.

thomas•11/27/24, 3:02 AM

This is the sort of texture and structure a synthetic can give you that a natural fiber probably can't, or if it can, it won't last.

will•11/27/24, 3:02 AM

There’s also blends that utilise organic + synthetic that can be very effective. Wool poly mixes can be really light, wash well without shrinkage that you would find with just wool.

thomas•11/27/24, 3:02 AM

Just as an example of what we're talking about.

SteveOP•11/27/24, 3:45 AM

Thanks all, this was helpful. My style is very basic/traditional so I do think it makes sense to avoid poly for the culprits where it tends to show up as a cheap substitute (primarily dress pants, cheap sweaters, etc.) but probably not do so as religiously as I was. Being new to this it was helpful to have what seemed like a simple heuristic. I don't feel really well poised to judge what makes an effective blend for instance. Not surprisingly though, reality is more complex and the simple heuristics don't cut it....

SteveOP•11/27/24, 3:46 AM

Long story short, I'll probably buy the Patagonia fleece I've been wanting to keep in my office and/or ask y'all's input before categorically rejecting things based on fabric content alone.

SteveOP•11/27/24, 3:48 AM

Tie Bar socks are another thing on my list I've been avoiding because of the polyamide...

shuvi•11/27/24, 4:10 AM

i dont know about that brand in particular, but a lot of nice socks are blends because synthetics are much more wear resistant, so the socks last a lot longer

shuvi•11/27/24, 4:11 AM

a fully natural sock will wear a hole through faster than a blend

shuvi•11/27/24, 4:11 AM

socks also benefit from being stretchy, so a bit of lycra/elastane is usually a good thing

shuvi•11/27/24, 4:13 AM

ultimately synthetic and natural fibers span a wide range materials and properties, so it really comes down to what's the purpose in using a particular fiber

chopper•11/27/24, 6:34 AM

To take fleece as an example, I have a cotton fleece garment (basically a towel). If I wore it in a setting when I was heavily sweating (like climbing a mountain) it would be horrible because cotton absorbs moisture and stays wet - that can be actively dangerous. It's also relatively heavy for the low level of warmth it provides.

Wool fleece is warm but expensive, and dries relatively slowly. A lot of people find it itchy or are allergic to it, meaning it can't be next to the skin. Very fine wools which aren't as itchy aren't very durable and are more expensive.

Poly fleece is warm, and doesn't absorb moisture, dries quickly and can be made relatively cheap. It's also soft to the touch, doesn't itch and pretty durable.

Taking all of those things, you can see why a technical fleece garment from a brand like Patagonia might be better made of Poly.

Sshuvi i dont know about that brand in particular, but a lot of nice socks are blends b...

Mahadi•11/27/24, 12:13 PM

Darn tough the socks brand is a great example. I don't think they have any pure wool socks, because of durability, as stated on their website. They seem quite confident about this too, considering they offer lifetime warranty on their socks

WieDelphine•11/27/24, 1:21 PM

One of the downsides of poly fabrics is they are much harder to recycle, particularly poly blends. While generally all fabrics aren't great from an enviromental point of view, thats one of the major downsides of poly from my point of view

goblin•11/27/24, 4:10 PM

another downside i haven't seen anyone mention is that everytime a polymer-based garment is washed or worn it is leaching microplastics into the surroundings, which havent solidly been linked to adverse health affects in the current concentration they exist in, but may at higher concentrations (i.e. full synthetic wardrobe), i think there is (as usual) a happy medium somewhere in between full synth and full natural that you have to feel out based on personal tastes

SteveOP•11/27/24, 5:07 PM

Makes sense. The micro plastics health data do look somewhat concerning but I find it tough to tell how much comes from diet vs clothing vs something else at present. Either way, also makes sense that it would matter more for things like shirts, undergarments vs outerwear with limited skin contact.

shuvi•11/27/24, 5:11 PM

most of it probably comes from tire rubber that gets into your water tbh

goblin•11/27/24, 5:19 PM

also very true

WieDelphine•11/27/24, 5:33 PM

https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/microplastics-from-textiles-towards-a this suggests its between 10%-35% from textiles depending on which geographical region you are in

European Environment Agency

Microplastics from textiles: towards a circular economy for textile...

Awareness is increasing about the presence of microplastics in our seas, land and air — and of their negative effects on ecosystems, animals and people. Microplastics can be released directly into the environment or can result from the degradation of larger pieces of plastic. The wearing and washing of textiles made from synthetic (plastic) fibe...

Polyester, Patagonia and understanding materials

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