How much polyester does Shein use?

64-82% of Shein's material output comes from fossil-based sources. Tops, dresses, and blouses are frequently 95-100% polyester, even items styled to look like cotton or linen. Less than 1% of their polyester is recycled.

Is Zara or H&M better for natural fibres?

H&M uses approximately 22% polyester in its total material mix, with cotton as its single largest material. Zara (Inditex) uses approximately 27% polyester. Both are mid-range — significantly better than Shein (64-82%) but nowhere near brands like Reformation (under 3% synthetics).

Which major brands use the most natural fibres?

Reformation leads with synthetics at just 2.56% of materials. Among Inditex brands, Massimo Dutti uses significantly more natural fibres than Zara. H&M's premium brands COS and Arket consistently use higher-quality natural materials. Gap uses 90-95% cotton in basic T-shirts.

What Are Your Clothes Actually Made Of? We Audited 11 Major Brands

Brands don't make it easy to know what your clothes are actually made of. So we pulled the data. Here's what 11 major fashion brands really use.

The Rankings: Most to Least Synthetic

Brand	Synthetic %	Primary Material	Notes
Shein	64-82%	Polyester	Products frequently 95-100% polyester. <1% recycled.
ASOS	~67% contain synthetics	Polyester/Viscose	Trousers average 90%+ polyester.
Lululemon	~100%	Nylon/Polyester	Synthetic by design. No natural fibre lines.
Nike	~100%	Polyester	166,343 tonnes of synthetics. Dri-FIT is 100% polyester.
Adidas	~100%	Polyester	99% recycled polyester (2024). Still synthetic.
Zara	~27%	Cotton/Polyester	131,548 tonnes of synthetics. Fossil-based fabric use grew ~20%.
H&M	~22%	Cotton	94% of polyester is recycled. Cotton is largest material.
Primark	Significant	Cotton	55% of products use "lower impact" fibres.
Uniqlo	Varies	Mixed	AIRism/HeatTech are synthetic. Some lines 100% cotton.
Gap	~5-10%	Cotton	T-shirts 90-95% cotton.
Reformation	2.56%	Natural fibres	Committed to under 1% by 2025.

Shein: The Polyester Giant

Shein is the most synthetic-heavy brand we examined. The Changing Markets Foundation audit found 64% of Shein's fabric mix is polyester, with another analysis putting fossil-source materials at 82%.

Tops, dresses, blouses, and trousers are frequently 95-100% polyester — even items styled to look like cotton or linen. Natural fibres appear mainly in plain basics like T-shirts.

Only 8.3% of SHEIN-branded products met their own evoluSHEIN material standard in 2024. Discrepancies have been found between online claims ("recycled polyester") and actual garment labels.

The Athletic Wear Problem

Nike, Adidas, and Lululemon are essentially 100% synthetic. This isn't a secret — performance synthetic is the entire brand identity. But it means:

Nike's Dri-FIT products are primarily 100% polyester or polyester-spandex
Lululemon's Luon is 86% nylon, 14% Lycra. Nulu is ~90% polyester, 10% spandex.
Adidas has shifted to 99% recycled polyester (2024) — good for circularity, still synthetic on your skin

Natural-fibre athletic alternatives exist — merino wool (Smartwool, Icebreaker), TENCEL (Tripulse), organic cotton (Ryker Clothing Co) — but they're niche.

The Premium Brand Difference

Within the same parent companies, price tier directly correlates with natural fibre content:

Massimo Dutti vs Zara (both Inditex): Massimo Dutti focuses on premium natural fibres — linen, quality cotton, wool, silk, cashmere. Zara relies more on polyester and viscose blends.
COS/Arket vs H&M (both H&M Group): COS and Arket consistently use higher-quality natural materials and heavier fabric weights.
Gap vs Old Navy (both Gap Inc): Gap T-shirts are 90-95% cotton. Old Navy equivalents average 65-75% cotton with more polyester to cut costs.

The Industry Picture

Synthetic fibres make up 69% of all fibres used globally, projected to reach 73% by 2030. Only 6 major companies even publish their synthetics data. The Changing Markets Foundation's "Synthetics Anonymous" report studied 50+ brands and found most refuse to disclose.