‘It gives Shein’: how did polyester become the world’s most-hated material?

‘I think the hatred towards polyester is more indicative of everyone being dissatisfied with the choices available to them,’ says Ione Gamble, editor of Polyester zine. Photograph: luanateutzi/Getty Images/iStockphoto

In 2015, Kate Moss called an easyJet pilot a “basic bitch” and a catchy new insult meaning obvious and uncool hit the mainstream. Had it happened in 2026, Moss might have used the word “polyester”, reportedly gen Z’s new favorite diss, levied at cheap-looking videos on TikTok, and sometimes at other users’ taste.

But its use as a figurative insult also echoes a literal backlash against polyester, now the most-produced synthetic fibre on the planet.