They don’t do this for all their lines, but it would be good if they could abandon such superfluous packaging altogether or at least switch to using sustainable, biodegradable materials.
The environmental costs of production, transporation, storage, promotion, and display of each of their t-shirts would dwarf 1000 times the environmental cost of the plastic wrapper. So much so that removing it would be a moot point -- like optimising a function that the code spends 0.01% of its time in. Removing it would be just the environment theater / token gesture companies love.
What's worse, the "fast fashion", "consume clothing/throw it away/don't hand it down/don't keep it longer" mentality necessary for Uniqlo and others to show growth year after year has even worse impact on the environment.
The majority of their products are unbranded essentials with far greater durability and build quality than your typical “fast fashion” retailers.
And true, there are worst clothing companies than Uniqlo.
Although, from the uniqlo website, I can find "Our commitment to making great clothing begins with sourcing ethically produced materials, minimizing environmental impacts, putting workers first, and developing new materials and technologies with better futures in mind."
Sadly, I don't think any of it is true.
I don't have anything against Uniqlo though. They make affordable basics (and some nice collab releases). It is just shameful that it has high environmental and human costs.
> If you can afford, on some principles there are better options.
Absolutely, whether you are after quality, ethical sourcing, treating your worker correctly or even style, there are some awesome alternative. Unfortunately, you have to be able to afford it.
It's not exactly fast-fashion, but not the opposite of it.
When the short-term effects are bad, is it really necessary to wait to figure out the long-term effects?
Primary contrasts with secondary; the former is emitted directly as microplastics, the latter become microplastics by degradation of larger pieces. According to that report, "in some countries benefitting from advanced waste treatment facilities, primary microplastics releases even outweigh that of secondary microplastics." p. 5.
All of which is to say, if that plastic bag is properly disposed of (and perhaps even if not), the primary concern might be to avoid synthetic fabrics. That's increasingly difficult considering that so many brands are replacing all-cotton fabrics with blends.
Microplastics are not just in the ocean, this is in London air.
I got a recipe book with a Japanese toaster, in addition to like 9 other pieces of paper or cardstock, in addition to the regulatory pamphlet.
I think most places in Japan have pretty extreme recycling policies. I wonder what came first, the excess of trash or the ability to deal with it?
I had no idea Japan had high humidity until today. Thanks!
It’s not as bad as Japan, but when it comes to produce in supermarkets, the UK shares this “wrap everything in plastic” mentality.
I hope they would do better, but I am not surprised that they don't even try to reduce single use plastic usage such as this.
plastic wrapped t-shirts is literally the least environmentally damaging thing about their business.
Recycled wool is also common.