Plastic-Free Clothing
Clothes are textiles, and most modern textiles are plastic - polyester, nylon, and elastane are all synthetic fibers spun from petroleum. Start with the garments that spend the most time against your skin. Pick a type below.
Why plastic matters in clothing
"Plastic-free" for clothing isn't about a housing or a lid - it's the fiber itself. Polyester, nylon, acrylic, and elastane (spandex/Lycra) are plastics, and they make up the majority of what's sold today. Worn against skin all day - warm, damp with sweat, sometimes on the body's most absorptive areas - these fabrics both shed microplastics and can carry the chemistry applied to them: disperse dyes, wrinkle-free and anti-odor finishes, and PFAS-based stain/moisture treatments. They also shed microfibers into waterways with every wash. The cleaner answer is natural fibers - cotton, wool, linen, silk, and wood-based lyocell - but the details matter (an elastic waistband or a "moisture-wicking" finish can sneak synthetics into an otherwise natural garment), which is why we break it down by garment type rather than rating "clothing" as one thing.
Browse clothing by type
Socks
Socks knit from cotton, wool, and linen instead of the nylon-and-spandex blends that dominate the…
Undergarments
Underwear, bras, and base layers - the clothing in the most constant, most intimate contact with…
What to look for in clothing
- Read the fiber content tag - polyester, nylon, acrylic, and elastane/spandex are all plastic
- "100% cotton" often still has a synthetic or covered-elastic waistband/trim - check separately
- Natural fibers - organic cotton, wool/merino, linen, silk, and lyocell (TENCEL) - are the plastic-free base
- Certifications like GOTS (organic + restricted chemistry) and OEKO-TEX (tested for harmful substances) are useful signals
- "Performance," "moisture-wicking," "anti-odor," and "stain-resistant" finishes usually mean synthetics or PFAS
- Elastic is the hidden synthetic - look for natural rubber elastic instead of elastane where it exists
Related reading
How much microplastic do your clothes shed in the wash — and what actually reduces it?
Synthetic clothes shed plastic microfibers every wash, but the biggest levers aren't gadgets — they're which fabrics…
Do washing-machine microfiber filters actually work? (And is it weird that they're plastic?)
Synthetic clothes shed plastic microfibers every wash. Capture devices help — filters more than bags, bags more than…
Related:Undergarments· Socks