A Sea of Plastic
In a world of “throw away” mentalities, all manner of plastic ends up in global seas. Once you consider how unnecessary that is, you realize why there will be more plastic than fish in the sea by 2050: environmental irresponsibility.
Curiously, there seems to be no sense of equating chemical resins that produce plastics, even in food grade quality plastics, to the overall effect on human health. Will seafood lovers thus forego their love of their favorite fish and shellfish due to plastic chemical contamination?
The New Plastic Sea of 2050
It is important to place a spotlight on the types of chemicals that break down in salty sea water. Food grade quality plastics are generally composed of:
- PET (polyethylene terephthalate)
- High density polyethylene (HDPE)
- Polycarbonate (PC)
- Polypropylene (PP)
- Low density polyethylene (LDPE)
These are generally accepted resin ingredients that eventually become plastic bottles, plastic sheeting for babies’ diapers, plastic containers used for fast foods and fabrics containing poly resin components. When dyes are added to fabrics along with plastics, the potential for loss of environmentally safe sea water is imminent.
One other popular plastic found in the sea is Styrofoam. Styrofoam is made from polystyrene, a petroleum-based plastic derived styrene monomers.
These chemicals leach into sea water as they break down. The sea is not a huge self-cleaning, self-recycling body of water. The sea adapts to constant feedings of plastics by altering normal environmental balance to accommodate plastic chemicals.
Fish mutate according to these alterations, placing grave jeopardy on their ability to reproduce in abundance.
Responsible Fashion for a Safe Environment
The basic equation for preservation of sea life and ethical business practices that promote environmental responsibility depends on the will of people to design responsible fashion that is longer wearing.
This is not as archaic or difficult as it appears. It may mean slow fashion changes that create longer lasting fabrics that have the most impact on keeping plastic out of the sea and plastic chemicals from making fish and shellfish evolve in a more disastrous manner or worse, face extinction.
The Realities of Plastic in the Sea
In a Washington Post report of January 2016 by journalist, Susan Kaplan, data collected shows numerous urban and island shores that have become “plastic garbage patches.” (Ref).
Without ethical business practices in place to curb growth of beaches overloaded with plastics, the world finds it must return to slow fashion and products that do not need constant replacement and by association, increased growth of non-recyclables.