How many people would buy clothes made of waste plastic?
In the past two days, the author's circle of friends has been swiped by a silk scarf. Guo Fang, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, specially brought a beautiful silk scarf at the launch of the white paper "China's Marine Ecological and Environmental Protection." Minister Guo introduced,"This beautiful silk scarf is actually made of three discarded plastic bottles. These plastic bottles are all from the public welfare beach clearing operation in Nansha District, Guangzhou." Minister Guo's move is undoubtedly the best publicity for the reuse of waste plastics.
Waste plastic can not only make silk scarves, but also make clothes. With the continuous improvement of awareness of ecological and environmental protection, the textile industry is also actively undergoing transformation. Many companies try to make clothes from waste plastic that is difficult to degrade. Clothes made from plastic bottles are the same as our ordinary polyester clothes. A large amount of thrown away plastic waste can be processed into "recycled artificial fibers" after more than 20 processes such as cleaning, drying, melting, and filtering. These fibers are wound together by a machine to form cloth. Waste plastic has achieved a gorgeous transformation from garbage to clothes. This approach can not only reduce plastic waste pollution, but also reduce carbon emissions. Data shows that for every ton of waste plastic recycled and reused, 6 tons of oil consumption can be reduced and 3.2 tons of carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced. Making clothes from waste plastic undoubtedly has multiple environmental benefits.
Regrettably, clothes made from waste plastic bottles are currently facing the embarrassment of being praised but not being popular. Faced with clothes made of waste plastic, many people still have concerns. Some people think that clothes made from chemical fiber are not as comfortable as pure cotton cloth; some people think that toxic and harmful substances may remain in waste plastic, which will make people sick when wearing them; some people think that the so-called clothes made from waste plastic are nothing more than fancy corporate publicity. One kind of, it is just an environmental gimmick; there are still some people who are willing to buy clothes made from waste plastic, but when they see the price 40% higher than clothes of the same quality, they are discouraged.
Our country is a big country in the textile industry and a country deeply troubled by plastic waste pollution. If we can use waste plastic on a large scale to make clothes and find a way out for plastic waste, it will be of great significance to solving the problem of plastic waste pollution. To promote clothes made from waste plastic, there is an urgent need to work hard from the consumer side to win consumer recognition and support.
The important reason why consumers have concerns of one kind or another is that they do not understand the process of making clothes from waste plastic. From the perspective of comfort, clothes made of plastic have good fiber strength and high softness, and have a high sense of comfort in wearing. Moreover, clothes made of plastic are not easy to wear and are more durable than ordinary cotton fabrics. At the same time, plastic fibers have good air permeability and will not absorb water and deform. If consumers can have a personal experience, I believe they can relieve previous concerns. It is hoped that more companies can display clothes made of waste plastic in physical stores, so that people can have a more intuitive experience.
Information asymmetry has become the most important factor preventing consumers from purchasing low-carbon and environmentally friendly products. To eliminate consumer concerns, corporate information disclosure is crucial. In response to concerns that toxic and harmful substances may remain in waste plastics, companies should comprehensively display all aspects of the production process, especially the cleaning process of recycled plastic bottles. In view of the view that making clothes from plastic waste is an environmental gimmick, while companies fully display the production process, they must also measure the environmental benefits of all links in the supply chain, and truly use data to convince consumers.
As the public's awareness of the ecological environment continues to increase, more and more people are willing to buy low-carbon and environmentally friendly products, but the premium cannot be too high. Studies show that nearly half of Chinese consumers are willing to pay an environmental premium of no more than 5%. Excessive environmental premiums will dampen the public's enthusiasm for purchasing green and low-carbon products. Textile companies should reduce the price of plastic-made clothes through technological innovation and management improvement. Allow more people to make choices from the perspective of cost performance, rather than just paying for environmental concerns.
Young people are the pioneers of the times and the group who is most concerned about ecological and environmental protection. Young people are also the most fashionable group that keeps up with the trend. In promoting plastic clothes, textile companies must seize this group of young people and design more clothes that integrate fashion and environmental protection, so that wearing plastic clothes becomes a new fashion.
