They don't precisely know when we started wearing clothes, but weirdly, based on the genetic analysis of lice, it was likely around 90-170 thousand years ago. However, woven fabrics (not animal pelts) are far more modern, only thirty thousand years ago. For some context, farming started only twelve thousand years ago. And for more context, Homo Sapiens have been around for 200-300 thousand years, with our ancestors dating back around six million years. That means most of the time,
We have been naked.
But what is interesting today, is that it is only in the last 130 years that synthetic materials have been used at all in fabrics (Rayon in 1891), but now make up around 70% of all textile material and clothes. And funnily enough, while they ban single-use plastics like straws from being used, there seems to be very little interest in banning plastic usage in clothing, which is the single largest contributor of microplastics. You know, the shit in everything that gets into our system including our blood and causes all kinds of health issues.
Like an incredible amount of issues.
And they don't know all of the issues caused yet.
Respiratory issues are high on the list, yet we cover ourselves with blankets made out of plastics that shed micro plastics. Our carpets are made out of plastics, our clothes, the toys we give our children and a million other items that we can't get away from. Even if you choose only natural fibres for absolutely everything in your home, microplastics are in our drinking water, all food and drink we consume and the air itself.
There is no escape.
And the microplastics have more than effects on allergies and cancers, they also affect our endocrine systems, which means are hormone production is affected also, which controls how we feel and behave. Diabetes, thyroid function, puberty and fertility issues are increasing, and these are all hormone driven.
So in 130 years, we have fucked ourselves with microplastics and we will continue to do so, because synthetics are far, far cheaper and far more convenient and versatile than natural fibres. And while natural fibres also shed micro particles, it is more likely that because they are natural, our system will cope with them more effectively, with less negative impact. Yet, little is actually being done to reduce the amount of microplastics, other than making decisions that impact on the lives of ordinary people, but do very little to actually reduce the amount in the environment or what we consume.
It is like pretty much all of the environmental initiatives that are implemented by the governments, where it is all for show that something is being done, even though that something is ineffective in actually doing what they say they are trying to improve. It is at a huge cost for the consumer, but has negligible effects on humanity. Much like reducing carbon footprints by taxing consumers for usage, while using the tax money to drop bombs on enemies. Charging people more for electricity, but building data centres for generative-AI processing of deepfakes.
Environmental nonsense.
It is not that looking after the environment is nonsense, because we as humans can only survive in a narrow band of conditions and those conditions are changing. But, what we are doing about it is nonsense because we aren't doing the right things at all, because what we are doing for the environment is affected by profit maximisation. When profit maximisation is the most valued economic rule, and profit is best maximised through environmental and human harm, nothing much can be done no matter what individuals do. If it doesn't happen at the economic level, where environmental and human health is the core goal, it isn't going to happen.
Even if we all went naked, stopped driving and got rid of all future plastics, it would take a very long time* for microplastics already in the environment to stop having an effect. But even that is not viable, in the same way that it is impossible to cut our pollution to zero, or even reduce it significantly in enough time. This means that the only way to make a significant impact on improvement, is to innovate the way we treat the pollution we create, the way we clean the environment after the fact. Yes, reduction needs to happen, but innovation is the thing that will have the largest impact.
Yet, what are we innovating? Robots to do the jobs we don't want to do? AI to better serve our consumption demands? Electronics so we can spend more time being entertained? Better military equipment and weapons? More efficient financial tools to generate wealth? None of this makes us healthier or improves our wellbeing as a species, yet this is where our collective brainpower is being spent. It isn't being used to solve the problems that improve the conditions we need to live, but rather to avoid thinking about the problems that are increasingly taking our quality of life away.
Going naked leaves our body exposed to the elements.
Current culture leaves our minds closed to the reality of what needs to be done.
Taraz
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You know, I didn't even realize that synthetic clothes are a source of micro plastics. I bet most people are in the same boat.
About 90% of my clothes are 100% cotton, but that is because I like how cotton feels. So i don't need to go naked, but if everyone else did, I would have no problem supporting that initiative 😀
Before microplastics was a thing in the media that people talked about, I have long thought about it. My sister when young (over 40 years ago) was allergic to polyester and would scratch her skin raw until it was identified. After that, no more polyester. But my daughter has allergies (not the same) and I have long wondered how much of our lives are affected by the dust we breathe, considering it contains plastic fibres that get stuck in our lungs.
70% overweight, 42% obese in the US - are you sure?
It would be different if in eastern Europe though!
Ha-Ha-Ha, you definitely have a point there...
It's a joke when you try to source any natural fibre clothing. My wife just ordered a woollen jumper (Norwegian style) and what arrived was 100% polyester.
Needless to say it went straight back.
Many people today have no idea that natural materials are even available for clothing.
In the human timeline we are done. As George Carlin once said.
"The earth will shrug us off like fleas"
As a species we are finished and the world will recover from our stupidity.
The world will recover, because the world itself is never out of balance. It doesn't have a consciousness, so it doesn't care. It is us that need a particular set of conditions to survive. We are the only ones to suffer from the change in conditions. And animals too, but at least they don't think too far into the future.
I've often wondered just how far animals think into the future.
i.e. Goldfish are often used as an example of lack of memory but have you ever noticed that Goldfish always know when it's feeding time?
I have not noticed, as I have never owned one. But, I suspect some animals have some foresight. How much, I don't know.
That's the reason our ancestors lived healthier and stronger--they had very few environmental contaminations to contend with as opposed to today. The funny thing is that most of these contaminations are the handiwork of humanity themselves.
It means that while trying to improve our lives we are only destroying it. Yet we think we're making progress. We think we've become incredibly advanced when we look at our technologies, automobiles, the skyscrapers, the computers and smartphones, etc but we fail to look on areas like our physical and mental health, our social lives, etc, which would make us recognize that we are rather retrogressive as a species.
We think we're more progressive than our ancestors when we consider our scientific and technological prowess but fail to consider that we are also more retrogressive than them when we compare our overall wellbeing to theirs. It's like we are progressing and advancing but not in the things that matter.
They died younger, but I think lived fuller.
We can blow up asteroids with nukes, but we can't find a way to stop people overeating.
It is indeed a serious concern. But whom actually to blame...the innovation by manufacturer or the humans who wanted comfort at any cost without paying attention to hazards that it bring into our life ?
It is a combination. Supply and demand. But we are conditioned to consume, and we are wired to find comfort.
So basically it came to us who is responsible for everything .. ... I have seen, people in my village who to sleep in cot till few years and looking for high fibre mattress...now they dont get sleep in cot....it sounds strange to me.
It is interesting to think how our perspective changed over time. Quite recently some person would have walked naked without shame. Now that would be seen as disturbing, perverted behavior.
Perhaps the perverted behaviour is shame itself.
If I remember correctly, there is not enough cotton in the world to make clothes? There are so many garments stating they are cotton, when in fact they are not. We could solve this by rethinking how much we buy clothes or how we could recycle existing materials, but knowing humans, we will do absolutely nothing.
I don't know, but I assume so. It is super water intensive also. But, I think that it might be possible to use various natural fibres only, if we spent time innovating there, instead of into weapons and military.
I did a deep dive and it seems that: "The real issue is not material limitations, it’s the fashion industry’s addiction to cheap, disposable polyester." And of course the people who buy those clothes. People would have to buy less as the clothes would not be cheap anymore
No surprises there, right? Profit over humanity.
As per usual 😭
you left off gender dysphoria
problem, reaction, solution. False flags. A genre of false flags. You point out a glaring inconsistency with their solution to the problem (if it really is a problem, question everything), that they created (possibly out of thin air), which always involves the lowliest citizens to deprive themselves of something. Gas stoves are being prohibited in new construction in NYS, USA.
*Everything * our government tells us to get upset about, to be afraid of, is
a false flag.
mental health problems... :D
But cruise missiles are fine.
I get the feeling that 99% of people aren't concerned about microplastics these days. People happily drink water from plastic bottles; even in interviews with billionaires, plastic-wrapped water is on the table. But studies show that bottled water contains 70 times more microplastics than tap water. And there are studies showing a tens-fold increase in the accumulation of microplastics in human tissues in recent years, especially in the brain.
As fantastical as it may sound, I wouldn't be surprised if, in the future, clean food products from the Moon and Mars will be imported to Earth. Closed-loop fruit and vegetable production systems will also be established on Earth, where microplastics will be absent from the ecosystem.
Might be possible, but I suspect that I wont be around to see it, let alone afford it. Elon's children will have it.
A very interesting fact you stated here; we're suffering and feeling the effects of what we produce yet we can't do anything about it because we benefit some how from it. But what is short term benefit compared to the future harm and long term genetic aberrations that may arise from these products.
I guess we'll just have to live with it and do the much we can to protect ourselves because the government and it's institutions will do little or nothing to this regard as most of their programmes are just for hype, personal gain or politics.
If we start individually to reckon with the effects of these and take proactive measure to gradually cut down on them, it'll go a long way.
Also another suggestion, can the world government and its institutions find a cheaper replacement that will gradually phase out the current single use plastics that give out micro plastic that endanger our health. I believe that if researches towards that is well funded, we'll come up with positive results.
The problem is, the majority of people can't afford to do anything more than make ends meet, but the burden becomes theirs, while the corporations sanctioned by the governments turnover trillions.
There's one way to reduce microplastics in the environment. Bomb everything until there's no one left.
The planet doesn't need us, we need it - and we do not have any viable alternatives.(in terms of planets)
Yep. The earth doesn't care how much we pollute, we can't harm it. All we can do is harm the conditions we need to survive.
The difference between our extensive history as humans and the recent use of synthetic materials shows a major flaw in today's world. I think we are putting convenience ahead of sustainability and health.
It won't be a problem in the future - because most of us will be dead.
I'd rather say evolved into something different 😁
trues, but isn't life more FUN when u're naked?? :)
so maybe that's why this shirt I'm wearing is so itchy.. it's made of some plasticy shit.. i much prefer my cotton t-shirts..
Cotton T-shirts are better, but wrinkle more. People don't want to iron!
Wool makes me itch.... I avoid it like the plague.
I never realised how quickly things changed from natural clothing to the synthetic materials we use everywhere today. It is shocking to see that something as simple as the clothes on our bodies, the carpets under our feet, and even our blankets are quietly filling us with microplastics. Yet governments focus on banning straws while ignoring the bigger dangers.
Also, what you said about profit shaping environmental decisions is very true. Most policies look like they are helping, but they barely touch the real issues. From my own perspective, it feels like we are living in a world where convenience is chosen over health, and the long-term effects are pushed aside.
And we keep doing it over and over - hoping something would change.
btw, I delegated some hive power to you for the next month.
Wow! I wanted to say that my voting power increased. I was wondering how come. I'm super grateful for this. I don't know how well to appreciate you for this kind gesture.
The current culture also leaves us naked. In difficult and uncertain times, everything is false, everything is replaced, it is a vision, about our possibilities as a society where there is even respect for the given word.
I hold so little value in culture.
It is possible, Mr. Tarazkp, that the historical influence of Nazism casts a shadow that still persists even within the country, and certain frustrations related to bureaucracy and rigidity for people (immigrants) seeking to integrate.
Humanity succeeded in increasing life expectancy. Now our goal is to decrease it. Or we can evolve (nobody knows). At this point, I prefer live like apes, without clothes, phone or toys. Just a bombfire and hunting animals 😶
Life expectancy and quality of life are two different things. I reckon most people are living longer, but not better.
There is a movie about it: Midsomar I think
It's the bloody tradeoffs 🤣
For sure. Profit or health.
I'd say both increasing one reduces other abd vice versa although there are exceptions who're quite immune but they pay in other ways. Lucky are those who're both rich in mind and body 😊
This is such an eye-opening perspectiv and honestly, it’s a bit frightening how deeply microplastics have infiltrated every part of our lives. We created these materials for convenience yet we’re now dealing with the long-term consequences in our bodies, in our environment, and even our future generations. It’s saddening how something so “useful” ended up becoming such a massive threat. Your post really highlights how urgent this issue is. Thanks for sharing it. More people need to hear this.
It wouldn't surprise me if plastics are part of conception now.
I would say you've made an excellent point there, talking about environmental policies being more for show than real results. The solution here is to push on people is that we don't really tackle the real cause of this problem.
Microplastics are just found everywhere and we think that abandoning stores or tax energy is somewhat misleading. We need real innovations. We should focus on how we can clean up and also how we can prioritize human health. Not just the convenience but more of the profits.
If we want to change the world from the current supply, we have to demand and incentivise better supply.
This post is an eye-opening one. We always talk about plastic pollution but what we usually forget is that the clothes on our body are major source too. It's very alarming how these micro plastics are just found in our water, food and even in our blood. I just agree that the change has to happen at the economic and innovation level. Individual effort not enough when the entire system is beat on profits instead of health.
Even though individual effort isn't enough, we are a population of 8 billion individuals that can make a difference.
Your words draw attention to something we may not have considered before but it's actually happening... how could humanity in such a short time have altered a planet that existed for millions of years without so much damage?
We are the most idiotic smart species ever.
Either way we'll have to suffer from something.
How can we be loosing at both ends.
While using plastic may be dangerous to our health, I think the current culture if it's about technology, innovation, AI, better electronics, and sophisticated military equipment, we need them.
Cos these things are the only signs that human race is making some amount of progress.
While we look for better replacements for the harmful plastics.
You think that we are making progress as a species with what we are spending our time creating at the moment?
I want to firstly appreciate you for enlightening us with your post,public enlightenment go a long way in these situation,because not all definitely is aware,I think it starts by creating awareness even if it doesn’t solve the problem but I believe it’s a step……information is power,Growing up I learnt how glass is better used to take hot water and hot food it’s safe for health…all this little change in routine are mini but significant even if it doesn’t solve the problem entirely but it’s a mini step to staying healthy thank you.
Glass is better for sure. But we are consuming from all kinds of sources, filled with all kinds of crap.
Most of the clothes and blankets we use for winter now trap various types of dust particles. Which are very bad for our lungs and are responsible for respiratory problems. In this, the clothes or our daily necessities that are being made using many materials starting from microplastics, bring some harm to us. Although earlier people used to walk around naked.
Our necessities seem to often be more our desires.
Yes I really got something from this post especially the parts about how long human existed without clothes if I had to compare this to how fast plastic took over. It is very important to take note that in just 130 years we introduced materials that that have affected so many parts of us, our hormones, our lungs, our future generation. It is crazy to see how little attention that this has gotten.
We have been paying less attention to this as humans and its impact. I think that innovation should be aimed at repairing the environment not creating more destruction but in the aspect of consumer products that is it.
Instead of creating machines of war, they should be creating machines that clean the air and water.
I have heard of microplastics on dresses that contaminates the body... I myself wear basically only cotton, but we still are wrapped in microplastics, most of the food is packed in plastic, the water we drink is contaminated most likely, even animals have microplastics... I have read like this week of this integrator called Plastikdren from Guna, it should reduce up to 40-60% of microplastics that daily get in our body
Cheers.