Hubbub, a UK charity, analyzed 108 sweaters from 11 online retailers and small high street shops and found that 95% of them were made entirely or partly from plastic.
Acrylic was the most common plastic fiber found in these holiday sweaters, with 44% being made entirely from acrylic material and the remaining three-quarters containing acrylic to some extent.
A 2016 study from the University of Plymouth in the UK found that acrylic releases nearly 730,000 microfibers per wash, more than polyester or polyester-cotton blends. With so much acrylic, Hubbub warns that a single Christmas sweater “has the potential to exacerbate the problem of plastic pollution in our oceans.”
The charity estimates that UK shoppers will buy 12 million Christmas jumpers this festive season, despite already owning 65 million. Remarkably, these products will be worn just once during the holidays.
“Fast fashion is a huge threat to the natural world and Christmas jumpers are particularly plastic-heavy,” said Sarah Divall, project coordinator at Hubbub. Divall added that jumpers should be “worn regularly, not just for Christmas.” To tackle the environmental issues, charities are urging people to swap their jumpers with friends or buy secondhand.
The warning comes ahead of Save the Children Christmas Jumper Day on December 13, when people in the UK are encouraged to dress up in festive clothing and donate to charity. Gemma Sherrington, executive director of marketing and fundraising at Save the Children UK, told CNN that the charity has been "working hard" to ensure the annual event goes ahead without adding to the huge climate problems facing the world. Sherrington added that Save the Children wants to make this year's event "the most sustainable yet" and has encouraged offices and schools to hold jumper exchanges.
