It was a bikini-top and cut-offs kind of night in Las Vegas. My high school girlfriend and I made our way down The Strip to the 2-story Westward Ho motel. For $19 a night, including the use of pools and hot tubs, we could spend an entire night going from pool to hot tub to ice chest. And back again. For a long time, we didn’t even rent a room. But one night the motel’s owner figured out we were local kids rather than tourists. Vegas being Vegas back then, he took me aside and said we needed to rent a room. Just one or two, even though there were often 10 or 15 of us using the pools.
I recalled that recently while driving down The Strip, now packed tightly with high-rise hotels and high-def billboards. There are so many it’s almost impossible to know which sign belongs to which casino. Back in the day it was all neon. And the bikini-tops and cut-offs were all cotton; polyester wasn’t particularly popular yet. Now it’s everywhere (like the electronic signs polluting The Strip), and it’s practically impossible to distinguish between natural fabrics, blends or pure polyester that feels like silk. [1]
Polyester is prevalent from yoga pants and Tommy Johns to shirts, blouses, everything. Like the signs at the Flamingo Hotel and all along The Strip, you need to check twice to know whose playing where or what you’re wearing.
Check out Plastic Soup Foundation to learn what polyester microfibers are doing to our environment.
One company I invest in, zNanoTech, is working on a solution for commercial laundries and dry cleaners to the problem of microfibers.
Plastic Soup, a non-profit based in Amsterdam, is working on solutions, too.
Next time you’re on The Strip and headed to the pool, check the labels on what you’re wearing. Remember us — all cotton, all natural — and have fun.
[1] History of Polyester Fabrics: POSTED DEC 22, 2016 BY JOHN GLASE
All the best,