Synthetic Sports Bra
120g, polyester / elastane with foam cups
Four polymers, foam cups and moulded hardware in a single small garment. Nothing about it can be separated at end of life, and activewear sheds heavily every wash.
Material breakdown
4 components- Polyester fabric78g
- Elastane22g
- Polyurethane foam cups16g
- Nylon hardware4g
Production footprint
Per unitEstimated upstream manufacturing footprint per unit, based on resin LCA averages.
Lower-impact alternatives
- Unlined cotton-blend braletteFar less synthetic mass, softer on skin.20gplastic
- Take-back scheme braSome brands shred returned activewear into insulation.120gplastic
- Buy fewer, better brasHigher-quality construction lasts several times longer.0gplastic
Suggest more alternatives
Get 3 lower-plastic options researched in real time.
Tap suggest to fetch fresh ideas from our AI researcher.
References for this item
Peer-reviewed studies and institutional reports behind the figures above.
- The contribution of washing processes of synthetic clothes to microplastic pollution ↗De Falco, F., Di Pace, E., Cocca, M. & Avella, M. (2019) · Scientific Reports, 9, 6633
Measures microfibre release per wash for polyester, polypropylene and polyamide garments, the basis for our shedding notes.
- Environmental impact of textile reuse and recycling – A review ↗Sandin, G. & Peters, G. M. (2018) · Journal of Cleaner Production, 184, 353–365
Reviews 41 studies on textile reuse and recycling; shows reuse consistently beats recycling, and blended fabrics are rarely recycled fibre-to-fibre. Backs our low recycling odds for blends.
- Analysis of the polyester clothing value chain to identify key intervention points for sustainability ↗Palacios-Mateo, C., van der Meer, Y. & Seide, G. (2021) · Environmental Sciences Europe, 33(1), 2
Cradle-to-grave analysis of polyester garments: fibre production energy, dyeing and finishing impacts, and end-of-life fate. Primary basis for our polyester weights and energy figures.