|
My shirt is what?I suppose I have had the benefit of a presidential campaign taking place, but I have just completed my own public polling in the Omaha and Minneapolis airports. I walked up to 10 complete strangers and asked if I could ask them a quick poll question. Only one person said "No" and my question was this: "Most of your shirts are made of what material?" Without hesitation, every single person responded "cotton," of course. Well, I hate to burst their bubble but I doubt their response. Most of them were wearing a polyester/cotton blend at the time. I then asked how many thought that their shirts contained polyester and not one did. My final question was: "Do you know where polyester comes from?" Again, not one did. Polyester is a petroleum product. My point is quite simple. Most of us complain about high fuel prices and our dependence on the Middle East for oil; yet, few of us understand how many petroleum-based products we use in everyday life. Cotton and wool are both renewable, domestically produced fibers that we, as American citizens, should be demanding. Instead, we go to the local SuperCenter and purchase the cheapest shirt on the rack. We need to take the time to look at what our clothes are made of. As a side note, the last lady I asked in Minneapolis had her dog with her. So I asked, "Why do you bring your dog?" With an offended tone of voice she said, "Well, he is my best friend." The United Kingdom has been monitoring its oil-based products because landfills are filling up with them. They indicate that 60 percent of the clothing waste that ends up in British landfills is composed of non-biodegradable synthetics, adding up to 720,000 tons of waste annually. But these figures are just for the UK, where the population is a paltry 60 million people. I don't believe our consuming habits are any different here and we have 304 million people. Think not only about the impact of this on pollution but what the demand would be for renewable farm products if we used more cotton and wool. Recognized as an expert in biodegradable and sustainable fibers, R.S. Blackburn has provided this information in a Woodhead Publishing article: The main problems with synthetic polymers are that they are non-degradable and non-renewable. Since their invention, the use of these synthetic fibres has increased oil consumption significantly, and this continues today; arguably, polyester now is the most used of all fibres, taking over from cotton. Oil and petroleum are non-renewable (non-sustainable) resources and at the current rate of consumption, these fossil fuels are only expected to last for another 50-60 years; the current petroleum consumption rate is estimated to be 100,000 times the natural generation rate. An even more important problem with the use of fossil energy is the huge translocation of carbon from the ground into the atmosphere accompanied by emissions of sulphur and nitrogen oxides as well as all kinds of hydrocarbons, and heavy metals. Fossil fuels are also the dominant global source of anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHG). Of even more concern is the ability of polymeric fibres to remain unchanged in the environment as polymers do not degrade very readily, which has exacerbated the already existing ecological and environmental problems of waste building; the volume in waste disposal and landfill is very high. So, as our nation attempts to achieve its energy independence, it would bode well for us to first realize all of the places that we actually use oil, and polyester clothing is just the tip of the iceberg. The USDA has indicated that U.S. cotton production is severely lower than usual this year. I have been told that U.S. cotton producers are not competitive in the world market any longer. Of course, we can't be competitive because we have allowed our last textile mill to migrate to China. I propose that we start asking citizens to look at their labels before making a purchase because I fully believe they don't even know what they are buying. It is up to us to convince them that we should be the ones to provide the shirt on their backs and not allow the Saudis to do it. While a low percentage of polyester may save some electricity in reducing ironing, we can't allow it to dominate our garment manufacturing practices. Editor's note: Trent Loos is a sixth generation United States farmer, host of the daily radio show, Loos Tales, and founder of Faces of Agriculture, a non-profit organization putting the human element back into the production of food. Get more information at www.FacesOfAg.com, or e-mail Trent at trent@loostales.com. 9/1/08 Date: 8/28/08
1
Copyright/Privacy
Copyright 1995-2008. High Plains Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Any republishing of these pages, including electronic reproduction of the editorial archives or classified advertising, is strictly prohibited. If you have questions or comments you can reach us at High Plains Journal 1500 E. Wyatt Earp Blvd., P.O. Box 760, Dodge City, KS 67801 or call 1-800-452-7171. Email: webmaster@hpj.com |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
