Is Wool Destroying the Planet?! Environmental Chemist Dissects the EU PEF Method

Video link: https://youtu.be/jrJxb6ePq1c

Ya’ll, I hope you are ready to be hit with ✨science✨

Also known as: Watch me stumble over the word “synthetic” for almost 20 minutes straight. 🙃

With special thanks to @Shannon Makes and my lovely partner for valuable feedback during the drafting stage. Think I am getting too political with the science? Science never has been, and will never be neutral.

Since I am pushing my academic clout in this video, you can find my published articles here, and my PhD thesis here.

Full, descriptive literature list below, since YouTube character limits would only allow me to fit the URLs themselves.

Bibliography:

1. Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) Guide. Published online 2013:160. https://ec.europa.eu/environment/eussd/pdf/footprint/PEF%20methodology%20final%20draft.pdf

2. Suggestions for Updating the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) Method.; 2019. Accessed March 10, 2022. http://publications.europa.eu/publication/manifestation_identifier/PUB_KJNA29682ENN

3. Ditching the “Cradle to Grave” Mentality. Environmental Center. Published February 2, 2021. Accessed March 10, 2022. https://www.colorado.edu/ecenter/2021/02/02/ditching-cradle-grave-mentality

4. Guarantee and service | ORTLIEB. Accessed March 14, 2022. https://www.ortlieb.com/en_us/sustainability/products/guarantee-and-service

5. Martinuzzi TRFN. Tekstil: Rød tråd fra gård til garderobe? REN MAT. Accessed March 14, 2022. https://www.renmat.no/artikler/2021/fra-gard-til-garderobe-knute-pa-ulltraden

6. Coronavirus: Sheep wool “barely worth selling any more.” BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-53421546. Published July 16, 2020. Accessed March 14, 2022.

7. Draft Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules PEFCR apparel and footwear. Accessed March 10, 2022. https://eeb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Draft-Product-Environmental-Footprint-Category-Rules-PEFCR-apparel-and-footwear.pdf

8. Lim X. Microplastics are everywhere — but are they harmful? Nature. 2021;593(7857):22-25. doi:10.1038/d41586-021-01143-3

9. Sait STL, Sørensen L, Kubowicz S, et al. Microplastic fibres from synthetic textiles: Environmental degradation and additive chemical content. Environ Pollut. 2021;268:115745. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115745

10. Beall A. Why clothes are so hard to recycle. Accessed March 14, 2022. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200710-why-clothes-are-so-hard-to-recycle

11. Sustainably MSK. Why Is Superwash Yarn Not Sustainable? Making Stories – Knitting Sustainably. Accessed March 16, 2022. https://making-stories.com/blogs/blog/why-is-superwash-yarn-not-sustainable

12. Franklin-Wallis O. “Plastic recycling is a myth”: what really happens to your rubbish? The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/17/plastic-recycling-myth-what-really-happens-your-rubbish. Published August 17, 2019. Accessed March 17, 2022.

13. Happen Films. Nicole Foss Interview on Peak Oil, Financial Crisis, Resilience, and More.; 2015. Accessed March 16, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdNvmIfyQPY

14. Parliament wants to grant EU consumers a “right to repair” | News | European Parliament. Published November 25, 2020. Accessed March 16, 2022. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20201120IPR92118/parliament-wants-to-grant-eu-consumers-a-right-to-repair

15. Norrøna. Repair of Norrøna products. Accessed March 16, 2022. http://www.norrona.com/en-GB/warranty-and-repair/repair/

16. Repairs | Bergans.com. Accessed March 17, 2022. https://www.bergans.com/en/customer-service/repairs

17. Lieber C. Burberry says it won’t destroy unsold merch anymore. But plenty of other fashion brands still do. Vox. Published September 17, 2018. Accessed March 16, 2022. https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/9/17/17852294/fashion-brands-burning-merchandise-burberry-nike-h-and-m

18. Destruction of brand-new consumer goods harms circular economy goals | Euroconsumers. Accessed March 16, 2022. https://www.euroconsumers.org/activities/destruction-brand-new-consumer-products

19. Mitloehner F. Big oil distracts from their carbon footprint by tricking you to focus on yours. CLEAR Center. Published October 16, 2020. Accessed March 10, 2022. https://clear.ucdavis.edu/blog/big-oil-distracts-their-carbon-footprint-tricking-you-focus-yours

20. Solnit R. Big oil coined ‘carbon footprints’ to blame us for their greed. Keep them on the hook. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/aug/23/big-oil-coined-carbon-footprints-to-blame-us-for-their-greed-keep-them-on-the-hook. Published August 23, 2021. Accessed March 10, 2022.

21. Make the Label Count. Accessed March 16, 2022. https://www.makethelabelcount.org/

22. MakeTheLabelCount EU PEFoverview new labeling proposal. Accessed March 16, 2022. https://www.makethelabelcount.org/globalassets/make-the-label-count/documents/EU-PEF-overview-new-labelling-proposal.pdf


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