No.1 Killer Against Sustainable development---Toxic plastic hangers!

The concern over one-use plastics is expanding to such a degree that retailers are clamoring for solutions to replace plastics in their stores and their packaging. Major retailers are finding that excessive plastic in stores and supply chains is becoming a liability to a brand’s image and connection to their consumer.

One of the major retail items coming under new scrutiny are plastic retail hangers. Most are made from virgin plastic and an incredible 85% of them do not get recycled, but go into landfills.

In an effort to lessen the focus on all the plastic hanger waste, in 2011 VICS or the Voluntary Interindustry Commerce Solutions, established their version of a “sustainable garment hanger” that was made from black plastic. The idea was that hanger companies could use recycled materials in the plastic rather than the clear or white 100% virgin plastic used in retail hangers.

There are two significant problems with the VICS “sustainable” solution.

One is that black plastic has a very low recycling value. Infrared scanners, used at MRFs (Material Recovery Facilities) to identify and separate similar plastics, can’t penetrate black plastic. The vast majority goes unidentified, unsorted and straight into landfills. Alvin Orbaek White, at the Energy Safety Research Institute at Swansea University, states that “black plastic is already at the end of the food chain. And black plastic hides all kinds of other stuff in there.” Most recycling programs refuse to accept black plastic as a result.

The second, most alarming issue, is what goes into black plastic. According to a University of Plymouth study so little black plastic is recycled that manufacturers have to get their plastic from other sources, such as old consumer electronics and e-waste. E-waste plastics are filled and/or coated with toxic lead and flame-retardant chemicals such as bromine, which can cause severe skin reactions. These poisonous additives exceed legal limits and can off-gas into clothing or closets. It’s been shown that ongoing exposure to these chemicals can result in systematic poisoning of the brain and kidneys.

The use of black plastic in retail hangers is not sustainable, making a bad situation even worse. The toxic chemicals, unrecyclability and unknown materials make it a poor choice for the garments we wear. 

Now you have a better choice! #runhee cardboard hangers#