Not transparent

Good luck sourcing your Polyester Flag Fabric back to its raw material source. We haven’t found any company that does (if you know of any, please let us know). Tracing back beyond the yarn producer is rare. Petroleum is one of the most difficult raw materials to trace back to the source. It’s worth noting that the top sources of crude oil are (in order): Saudi Arabia, Russia, the U.S., China, Iraq, Iran, and Canada. Some bio polyesters and recycled polyesters offer a more traceable supply chain.
“The chains of labour, natural resource extraction, and chemical production involved in the making of textiles and apparel are almost completely invisible in the final product. Entire systems are at work to keep things this way.” - Petrocultures: Oil, Politics, Culture
Suggestion: Start by asking questions of your suppliers. If everybody asks, the polyester supply chain could become more transparent in time. Choose recycled polyester or polyester derived from renewable resources (like biosynthetics) over virgin polyester.
Derived from non-renewable petrochemicals

Polyester requires high amounts of energy to produce.

According to CO, the energy required to produce polyester (125 MJ of energy per kilogram produced) and the greenhouse gas emitted (14.2 kg of CO 2 per kilogram produced) make it a high-impact process. In 2015, polyester produced for clothing emitted 282 billion kg of CO2 – nearly three times more than for cotton.
Suggestions: Use recycled polyester - 30% less energy is required to make shirts from recycled PET than from virgin polyester.

Highly polluting

In 2015, polyester produced for clothing emitted 282 billion kg of CO 2 – nearly three times more than for cotton, according to CO.
Water pollution is a big problem. During production, facilities producing polyester without treating wastewater have a high probability of causing environmental damage through the release of heavy metals, and toxic chemicals. The washing and disposal of polyester contributes to a significant amount of water pollution in terms of heavy metals, toxic chemicals, and plastic pollution (in the form of microplastics). Leaks or spills related to the extraction or transport of oil can also have detrimental effects on groundwater, oceans, and other water sources.