Biodegradability
- The majority of polyesters are not biodegradable meaning that the polyester fabric shirt you bought last season will not decompose for 20 years at best and 200 years at worst, depending on conditions.
- Polyester dyes are not environmentally friendly
Clothing use
Intro
Artificial Fleece, aka polar fleece or microfleece, is a good insulator. Usually made of PET of the polyester family. Suitable for outer and middle layers. Can be made breathable: So suitable for physical exertion involving perspiration.
Advantages
It is light, soft, comfortable, hydrophobic (holding less than 1% of its weight in water when fully soaked), highly breathable. Dries fast.
Disadvantages
It tends to generate very high static electricity charges. This makes it a magnet for pet hairs and other dust and fluff. Not windproof (although some more expensive grades are denser and designed to be windproof. Can be damaged by high-temperature washing and drying. But looses insulation when wet. The down-side for polyester is odor retention, and lower durability.