Combating plastic pollution one fashion garment at a time

It’s here, it’s officially Plastic-Free July. At the opportunity of the Plastic-Free July charity’s most important annual project, we’ve decided to shed some light on our work behind the scenes and how we reduce our environmental impact by avoiding plastic materials.

Why are plastic materials bad?

Plastic-derived polyamides or nylons, polyester and polyvinyl or PVC are the most commonly used synthetic materials in fashion – and therefore the biggest polluters. As they’re directly derived from fossil fuel-based chemicals, their existence is controversial from the very beginning. Not only are fossil fuels unsustainable as they’re only available in limited quantities, but they also produce harmful emissions during the making of products, while they’re being used and later after they’ve been discarded.

We only use natural fibres, like 100% organic cotton or 100% tencel, to avoid virgin plastics being mixed in our materials. Just imagine: as many as 700,000 plastic fibers are released into the environment during each cycle of a washing machine. Eventually, microfibers make up 85 % of human-made debris on shorelines around the world. By using pure materials, they are more durable, but can also be recycled or passed on.

No plastic packaging – ever!

We use no plastic in our productions and transportation from our producers to our studio (or reuse an occasional old plastic bag as many times as possible). Our packaging materials are made of biodegradable paper and cardboard too – this means you can safely discard them with the rest of your paper waste or reuse them and give them a new life and purpose.

"It’s not an easy task, but we’re doing it. We’re far from perfect when it comes to reducing our waste, but we’re doing our bit slowly but surely. Being mindful and actively avoiding plastic materials has proved to work best for us – be it in our production, packaging or later in our homes."

_ Tina, Mila.Vert's founder and designer

How do you reduce your plastic waste? Let us know.