There’s a good chance the clothing you’re wearing right now is made from plastic.
New plastics — including fabrics like polyester, nylon, and elastane — have soared in popularity with modern styles from athleisure to faux furs, according to Bloomberg.
The issue is that these materials are often blended. Recycling clothes is already hard, but recycling clothes with blends is even harder because you need to sort by material. One recent report found less than 1% of clothing marked for recycling is actually reused.
And in case you were wondering where most clothes end up, we’ve got you covered (and it’s not pretty).