Leaving aside the opinion that "traditional fabrics" work better, most polyester fleece is made of recycled PETE beverage containers.
Perhaps. But once the item tears or gets holes in it, all too easy for these materials, then it exists in a landfill or forest for thousands of years. It also releases plastic into the water system every time you wash it, and likely causes skin cancer. Not a very good trade.
It is not an opinion, it is just a simple fact that wool/cotton canvas is warmer, breathes better, is better on the skin, offers much more consistent insulation, has self-cleaning properties, is more durable (especially in the woods), and is inflammable/fire resistant. The only real advantage that plastics have is that they are lightweight and cheaper for certain articles, but for many this is not worth the poor quality and quick degradation of insulating value. Once you buy the same item five times it is much more expensive than top of the line wool or tin cloth.
That is not to say synthetics are necessarily bad, but they do have very significant shortcomings. They also feel wet and cold even when dry, whereas wool feels warm and dry even when wet.
As for what to wear, it largely depends on temperature, but this is what I tend to wear:
Dry-cold/Wet-cold
Wool toque and hood, wool balaclava/ wool or synthetic toque
Wool scarf
Moose mitts with wool liner, windstopper gloves/wool mitts, or windstopper gloves when warmer
Wool under-shirt, wool sweater, cotton canvas anorak/wool or synthetic undershirt, waxed canvas or synthetic coat
Wool underpants, wool overpants/bibs/wool or synthetic underpants, waxed cotton bibs or synthetic water resistant pants
Heavy wool sock, light wool sock/ medium wool sock, or two light wool socks
Winter moccassins/calked pac boots, or rubber boots at the higher end of wet-cold
And a down sleeping bag. The required extra insulation for synthetics just is not worth it, and it will only last a few years before it's 20-30 off from the official rating.
Wool balaclava, synthetic took, and canvas coat for bivy when sleeping.
Mors Kochanski's DVD is really good, as well as the books and pamphlets. Good video here too about his upcoming book:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvLg17eqr5w