Ayanna Archie

It's largely fueled by fast fashion consumers who want to be on trend and pay as little as possible, and the retailers that want to meet consumers' demands while keeping expenses low.

But in some cases, polyester clothing doesn't hold up for long.

As people toss them, abandoned clothing is ending up on coastlines in other countries, and they could stay there.

Polyester isn't biodegradable.

Aaron Stubbins, an environmental sciences professor at Northeastern University, says a lot more research is needed to draw conclusions about how polyester could be impacting our surroundings.

Ayanna Archie, NPR News.

Polyester in clothing is more common than in recent years.

It's largely fueled by fast fashion consumers who want to be on trend and pay as little as possible, and the retailers that want to meet consumers' demands while keeping expenses low.

But in some cases, polyester clothing doesn't hold up for long.

As people toss them, abandoned clothing is ending up on coastlines in other countries.

And they could stay there.

Polyester isn't biodegradable.

Aaron Stubbins, an environmental sciences professor at Northeastern University, says a lot more research is needed to draw conclusions about how polyester could be impacting our surroundings.

Ayanna Archie, NPR News.