Gen Z is using ‘polyester’ as an insult. It’s actually a throwback.

TikTok users have revived “polyester” as an insult for inauthenticity, applying it to influencer lifestyles and fast-fashion outfits, but lexicographers note the usage dates back to at least 1979. Once marketed as a wrinkle-free “miracle” fabric in the 1950s and 60s, polyester fell from favor as environmentalism rose and synthetic materials came to signal cheapness and insincerity.

Cultural historians point out that the anti-synthetic sentiment ignores the messiness of the natural-versus-synthetic divide: cotton requires heavy water use and chemical processing too, while polyester generates more greenhouse gas emissions and sheds microplastics. A new industry report found fashion emissions rose in both 2023 and 2024, partly due to increased polyester production.

Researchers argue the real environmental fix — buying less and wearing clothes longer — gets lost in the fabric-shaming, since praising cotton as 'natural' lets people buy more of it guilt-free. One academic calls the current online discourse a regression to the polarized, oversimplified thinking of the 1970s.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.