FREE U. Facebook Instagram Pinterest. Cart 0. Check out our favorite eco-friendly fabrics and shop each via our suggested brands! However, harm is mitigated by the use of closed loop processing with Lenzing Tencel, which recycles the chemicals rather than releasing them into the environment.
Since this fabric comes from wood pulp, is best if the wood is sourced sustainably such as Lenzing Viscose, which ensures certain sustainable requirements are met. If brands are careful about the source and processing of the viscose, it can be a good eco-friendly fabric to use. It can shrink easily in the wash, so often must be dry cleaned. A variety of products can be made from forms of polyester: t-shirts, blankets, rope, conveyor belts, and bottles.
It is widely used in clothing items, which you may notice by looking at the tags in your closet. Polyester is partially derived from oil, which is a major source of pollution. In the United States alone, the oil and gas industry emits about 8 million metric tons of methane a greenhouse gas into the air per year. Large amounts of water are used for cooling in the energy-intensive process used to produce polyester.
This can be dangerous in areas of water scarcity, resulting in reduced access to clean drinking water. Not to mention, the excess water from production is full of chemical dyes that can cause harm to plants, animals, and humans. Each washing cycle may release over , mini plastic fibers into the environment. Microplastics add to pollution and are harmful to marine life when ingested.
Some of the most common uses for acrylic fabric are sweaters, hats, gloves, and area rugs. The environmental and health impacts may not give you as warm of a feeling. Acrylic production involves highly toxic chemicals that can be dangerous to the health of factory workers. Imagine that, wearing a certain fabric could be harmful to your health! Additionally, acrylic is not easily recycled and can lay in a landfill for up to years before biodegrading, similar to its synthetic sibling, polyester.
So, acrylic production and use is harmful to the health of humans, the environment, and animals. What more convincing do you need to avoid buying it? Cotton is one of the most common fabrics used in clothing. While cotton is a naturally occurring fiber, it poses many problems for the environment.
Studies show that it can take upwards of 20, liters of water to produce just one cotton t-shirt and a pair of jeans. The excess water is then polluted with chemicals and dyes. These hazardous materials are expensive to dispose of properly, so many companies end up polluting the riverways instead so their products can remain cheap.
When it comes to fabrics, the primary culprit of greenwashing is this material which is made from plants but is actually terrible for the environment. Rayon is made by dissolving cellulose the main constituent of plant cell walls into a chemical solution and then spinning it into threads.
The fiber itself is biodegradable and non-toxic, but the way that it is manufactured can cause harm to factory workers as well as the environment. The fast-fashion industry often uses rayon to produce cheap clothing using large amounts of water and energy as well as highly intensive chemical processes.
These processes release dangerous chemicals into the surrounding air and waterways, which can lead to health problems in both workers and local communities.
Also, the demand for this plant-based material obviously increases the demand for, you guessed it, plants! Many areas are suffering from deforestation due to the collection of trees to produce rayon, including endangered and protected forests. Animals that depend on these trees for their homes are facing habitat loss, which is threatening both endangered and non-endangered species.
Some of the animals that have been placed on the endangered species list specifically due to the fast fashion industry are orangutans, tigers, rhinoceroses, and elephants of Sumatra; the last place in the world where all of these animals co-exist. Typically used in clothing items such as tights and stockings you may even call them nylons , nylon is a material derived from crude oil. No form of nylon is biodegradable and in effect, nylon may sit in the landfill for 20 to years.
Unsurprisingly, it is partially derived from petroleum, one of the dirtiest industries and forms of energy. The production of nylon creates nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas, and it uses large amounts of water and energy. Similar to polyester, nylon also releases microplastics during use and through washing. A more sustainable alternative to conventional cotton is the organic version of the material. Organic cotton is grown without all the harmful pesticides and produced without the dangerous chemicals that normal cotton uses.
The most sustainable way to wear cotton is in its recycled form. This fabric is made with post-industrial and post-consumer waste and uses far less water and energy to produce in comparison with conventional and organic cotton. Hemp is often used in clothing, rope, and boat sails because of its excellent durability. It is also naturally insulating and cooling as well as protective from UV rays.
The plant itself is extremely resilient and requires little water to grow. Plus, when it is spun into a fabric, the process requires no chemicals whatsoever.
Note that some manufacturers do choose to use a more chemical-intensive process to speed the production, which is not so great for the environment.
As long as hemp is manufactured organically, without added chemicals, it is considered a very sustainable fabric choice. It even gets softer through washing , which adds to its level of comfort. Hemp plants also produce a nutritious seed which you may have noticed at your local grocery store. If hemp is safe enough to consume, you should have no problem wearing it! Known for its light and summery feel in clothing , linen is also produced from a plant: flax. Like hemp, it requires little water and little-to-no pesticides.
The fibre is produced by Austrian company Lenzing AG. Plus, the chemicals used to produce the fibre are managed in a closed-loop system. This means the solvent is recycled which reduces dangerous waste. In addition to this, Tencel has moisture-wicking and anti-bacterial properties, which makes it perfect for activewear!
This futuristic material made from pineapple leaf fibre and manufactured by Ananas Anam was featured in Vogue in ! Who knew pineapple food you can also wear? Not only is it a cruelty-free replacement for leather, it is natural and sustainable. Another recycled fabric we really like is Econyl. This fibre, created by Italian firm Aquafil , uses synthetic waste such as industrial plastic, waste fabric, and fishing nets from the ocean, then recycles and regenerates them into a new nylon yarn that is exactly the same quality as nylon.
This regeneration system forms a closed-loop, uses less water, and creates less waste than traditional nylon production methods. Waste is collected, then cleaned and shredded, depolymerised to extract nylon, polymerised, transformed into yarn, and then re-commercialised into textile products. Econyl is a promising fibre, far more sustainable than nylon.
We should caution that traditional washing of Econyl can still shed plastic microparticles that can end up in the ocean. In fact, Qmonos, a synthetic spider silk, has recently been developed through the fusion of spider silk genes and microbes.
The fibre is said to be five times stronger than steel, the toughest fibre in nature, while being very lightweight, more flexible than nylon, and entirely biodegradable. No spiders are farmed or harmed in the manufacturing process, making Qmonos a more sustainable and ethical alternative to silk and nylon.
At Good On You, we always recommend you check a brand before you buy from it. And when in doubt, know that buying second-hand is almost always the most sustainable option. Use our Directory to search more than 2, brands. We may earn a commission on sales made using our offer codes or affiliate links. To support our work, we may earn a commission on sales made using our offers code or affiliate links.
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