When you’re into sustainable fashion, one thing is knowing which fabrics are durable, ethical and natural to make sustainable shopping choices. But buying sustainable clothing also means knowing which fabrics to avoid!
So, if you want to make a positive impact, you might be wondering… Which fabrics should you avoid if you want to shop sustainably?
1. Viscose (Rayon)
Viscose and rayon are used interchangeably, but technically, viscose is a type of rayon.
buy generic Pregabalin online Viscose is made with wood pulp and undergoes a chemical process with sodium hydroxide, carbon dioxide, bleach before it is turned into fabric. Viscose has many great benefits like being light, breathable and soft, but the toxic chemicals, water waste and deforestation are big downsides of it.
- Viscose is made of wood pulp and plant cellulose (whereas other types of rayon are made with bamboo, beech trees or eucalyptus).
Being a semi-synthetic or man-made natural fiber has led people to believe that rayon is a sustainable product. However, while it is biodegradable and made from renewable materials the environmental impact is high.
However, despite being renewable, rainforests cannot just be cut down in order to turn them into fashionable objects. Organizations like the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) and Canopy have been working with fast fashion companies to reduce their use of rayon based products.
2. Bamboo (Rayon)
While bamboo fabric was initially introduced as a sustainable fiber, concerns have been raised about how sustainable bamboo really is.
online Seroquel Bamboo fabric is almost always bamboo rayon, which means that it is produced by putting bamboo fibers through a chemical process to turn it into fabric. The chemicals used, the waste caused by factories, the deforestation and destroying of ecosystems are the main issues of bamboo fabric.
- According to The Green Hub 95% of all bamboo fabrics are viscose. A very small percentage is bamboo linen (which doesn’t use chemicals), but it is expensive, labor intensive and not as soft as linen made from flax. It is therefore limitedly available!
Just like any other type of viscose fabric, bamboo sounds more natural than it is. Terms like man-made natural fibers, regenerated cellulose fibers, semi-synthetic materials and closed-loop production honestly give the impression that bamboo viscose is sustainable and natural. Add “durable bamboo” to that and everyone is convinced that bamboo viscose is the way to go.
However, it is not. The chemicals used for viscose – whether it is bamboo or wood pulp – are still chemicals and they are toxic for the environment, the people who work with them and the communities that live near the places where they’re dumped.
What is durable about the plant bamboo is that it doesn’t require pesticides, doesn’t need a lot of water and grows quickly. However, the downside is that other forests are cut to make room for bamboo. On top of that, bamboo is hard to control and reduces tree regeneration and thus tree diversity.
- Read more here: Larpkern, Panadda & Moe, Stein & Totland, Orjan. (2011). Bamboo dominance reduces tree regeneration in a disturbed tropical forest. Oecologia. 165. 161-8. 10.1007/s00442-010-1707-0.
3. Modal
Modal is the stronger version of viscose, and is thus also a type of rayon.
Modal is a type of rayon with similar issues: deforestation to obtain wood fibers and harmful chemicals that are used in the production process. The main difference is that modal is stronger than other types of rayon. It is also biodegradable, requires less chemical dyes and uses closed-loop production.
While closed loop production might diminish the amount of chemical waste released in oceans, rivers and/or through air pollution, it doesn’t solve the issue of actually using the chemicals during the production process. The workers in the factory are still exposed to them.
Similarly, deforestation isn’t solved by using renewable resources. In fact, many rainforests are disappearing because they are being replaced by mono crop forests which are more lucrative.
With the rainforests disappearing, more issues arise: habitats of native people and animals are disappearing too.
4. Lyocell
Lyocell is another type of rayon.
Lyocell is possibly the most sustainable form of rayon: it uses a closed loop production process and does not use the harmful carbon disulfide. It is made of oak, birch and eucalyptus trees and is biodegradable. One major downside is that it is more energy intensive (and more expensive!).
TENCEL™ Lyocell is the main producer of lyocell and is probably your best bet if you’re looking for a sustainable type of rayon. They’re even considered
However, there are still issues: not all brands are transparent about the wood sources that they use, and in order to save the rainforests and put a halt to deforestation, it is incredibly important to look for certified sources, like FSC or PEFC certified trees.
Another important issue is that even with this sustainable material, TENCEL is only the yarn! It doesn’t include the production process of weaving the fibers into fabrics, which again uses high amounts of water and energy! (Read more on OECO Textiles Blog)
5. Polyester
65% of our clothes are made of polyester. Possibly the worst fiber of them all.
Polyester is a synthetic fiber that is made of petroleum, which is a non-renewable resource. It is not biodegradable and requires a chemical process which causes pollution and releases harmful chemicals. On top of that, microplastics are being released into the environment.
According to Wikipedia, the main concerns of polyester are:
- Polyester fabrics shedding microplastics that cause sea and water pollution worldwide
- It is non-renewable (not biodegradable), which means that it can take up to 200 years to decompose
According to Tortoise and Lady Grey the negative impacts of polyester are even bigger, and also include:
- Environmental damage due to the carcinogenic chemicals that are used during production
- Pollution that damage communities that live close by production plants
- High energy consumption for production
The polyester problem is mostly caused by the fast-paced fashion industry using the material as one of their main materials. With trends rapidly changing, fashion is not required to be durable, but affordable.
And that is exactly what polyester is.
This cheap fabric is accessible to basically everyone, which makes fashion affordable for basically every budget, and an affordable necessity for everyone else.
- Fun fact: mechanically recycled polyester is actually one of the most sustainable fabrics on this planet!
6. Nylon
Originally meant to replace hemp and silk, nylon stuck around and is used instead of many other fabrics!
Nylon is a completely synthetic fabric, sourced from petroleum oil and is not biodegradable. Nowadays, nylon is mostly used for stockings and activewear because of its flexibility. However, nylon requires high amounts of energy, water and chemicals for its production.
Obtaining polyester is harmful for the environment when it is sourced because it causes negative impact on many different ecosystems. But, just like polyester, nylon is affordable at the expense of the environment.
On top of that, the combustion of fossil fuels contributes to the emission of greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide. On top of that, according to Sewport, it also releases nitrous oxide, another greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.
Not being biodegradable adds to the issue of plastic waste in landfills and there is very little to do about it. One solution is to recycle nylon (mechanically) to decrease the amount of waste it causes.
- Check out this article from 1 Million Women to see what you can do with your old stockings (which are often made of nylon!).
7. Elastane
Elastane comes in a couple different versions (like Lycra and Spandex), but all of them refer to the same elastic fabric.
Elastane is non-biodegradable and because it’s often blended, it becomes hard to recycle, too. The main issue is therefore post-consumer related. Another issue is its production process: it is energy intensive and it uses toxic chemicals, which can potentially be carcinogenic for the workers.
Elastane is another man-made synthetic fiber that is produced by using fossil fuels that cause long lists of issues to the environment (from land degradation to pollution, destruction of ecosystems and global warming).
Elastane is often considered ‘necessary’ because it makes garments more elastic and thus more comfortable. However, there are new sustainable alternatives appearing, like these listed by the Common Objective.
8. Acrylic
Another man-made synthetic fiber produced from fossil fuels like petroleum, gas and coal.
The benefit of acrylic fibers is that they can be recycled “forever”, however, they’re not biodegradable and they cause several issues when produced and used. Producing acrylic requires fossil fuels and high amounts of energy. Acrylic also sheds microplastics into the environment.
Acrylic is not biodegradable and the fact that it is recyclable is one of its benefits. However, the recycling process is complicated and therefore not always done. When acrylic is exposed in the wrong ways, it can release its toxic components in the environment.
Luckily, technical innovation is finding new ways to improve the recycling process, making it easier to recycle acrylic (in the future).
9. Conventional Cotton
While organic, certified cotton is one of the most sustainable fabrics in the world, conventional cotton is not!
Despite being a biodegradable plant fiber, the production of cotton requires huge amounts of water and causes land degradation, leaving entire cotton fields depleted. On top of that, it requires massive amounts of water and pesticides. Cotton is also negatively related to slavery and child-labor.
Cotton is the perfect example of all the things that can go wrong when demand outgrows supply.
In order to keep up with the demand, the amount of cotton plants that were planted on one single area increased. The increased number of plants caused that the Earth could not provide for enough water and nutrients, and thus increasing amounts of water are needed.
Since crops grow so closely together, they are highly vulnerable to insects, fungal diseases and even weeds, and so pesticides are needed to “protect” the plants. However, pesticides are not good for the environment as they release toxic chemicals into the soil and air.
Another area of concern is the fact that many cotton farms have no standard to protect workers from forced labor. Similarly, UNICEF has found child labor on cotton farms in Turkey (in 2017).
10. Conventional Wool
Similar to cotton, wool was once one of the most cherished fabrics. But then mass-production changed everything!
The issues with wool go beyond the negative impact on the environment and chemical production. Large scale wool production is highly unethical as animals are treated poorly and inhumanely. The high amount of animals farmed have a very negative impact on the planet.
Wool in-and-of-itself has a lot of benefits: it is strong, durable, warm, versatile and soft (if you find the right quality). It is 100% biodegradable and you can even recycle it – although with its long lifespan you probably don’t need to!
However, because wool is such a high quality material, its demand grew and the increased demand is now taking its toll on living animals: mass farming and animal cruelty causing the main issues.
Large-scale farms have too many animals on the farm, which leads to a multitude of problems:
- Emission of high amounts of greenhouse gases
- Land deterioration due to the high amount of animals walking on it
- Lack of animal welfare due to overcrowded farms, extreme efforts to be more cost-efficient, and absence of sustainable, ethical and animal friendly standards
- Chemical treatment of wool to speed up the process
- Decreased quality due to excessive shearing and lack of nutrients
11. Conventional Mohair
Mohair is another fiber that can be sustainable if it weren’t for some unsustainable features!
Mohair is a strong, durable and biodegradable fiber, but it has some unsustainable features that include large amounts of water that are needed for production, mass production causing lots of waste and chemicals used for production. On top of that, there have been issues with animal cruelty.
Only recently standards for sustainable and ethical mohair production have been established (like the Sustainable Mohair Production Guidelines and Responsible Mohair Standard), and according to recent developments, South Africa (the world’s leading mohair producer) is working hard to live up to these.
The main issues concerned the well-being of the animals, which were treated unethically (like quick and careless shearing due to the high pressure on workers, dehorning baby goats, and excessive shearing leaving the animals cold and vulnerable).
The new mohair standard and production guidelines aim to bring betterment to the fields of ethical, sustainable and fair trade production. It seems like issues related to underpayment, long working hours and discrimation are disappearing.
12. Conventional Cashmere
Just like sheep, cashmere goats got populair!
While the cashmere fiber is sustainable in and of itself, the production process has lost some of its exclusivity, leading to unsustainable practises, like land degradation, decreased quality of life of the animals and deterioration of living circumstances for farmers.
Cashmere is incredibly soft and warm. Cashmere garments are known to be luxury items that are durable and high quality. However, with the arrival of fast fashion, the demand for cashmere grew and cashmere goats don’t produce much wool!
Farmers saw themselves forced to addmore animals to their herds, which led to land degradation and decreased the quality of life for the animals.
On top of that, the best way to obtain the fiber from the goats is by combing them… Something that is hard to do if you’re pushed into producing more fleece (within the timeframe of their shedding season!).
Another issue that was caused by the increased number of animals is land deterioration in Mongolia. According to Science Mag, the Monogolian steppe is slowly turning into a desert!
13. Conventional Merino
A lot of merino wool is sourced sustainably, however, there are some things to take into consideration.
Merino wool is durable, soft and has many natural features, like water-resistance and flexibility. It’s also biodegradable (when undyed). M erino wool is mostly farmed in Australia and New Zealand, where animal rights are generally well established, however mulesing (without anesthetic) might occur.
While there are many advantages of using merino wool as a sustainable material, there is one issue that needs to be addressed: many standards and regulations have been established to regulate animal welfare on merino farms, except for mulesing.
Mulesing is the procedure of cutting off the folded skin on the buttocks of merino sheep to protect them from strikefly (blowfly). This procedure is often done without anaesthesia (read more about the procedure in this RSPCA article)
The procedure is controversial because while it is done to protect the animals, it shouldn’t be necessary if proper veterinary care is given. However, the size of many farms makes it hard to ensure such a level of attention.
- If you can find mulesing-free merino wool, it’s a great sustainable option!
14. Conventional Angora
Angora is the fluffy wool from a fluffy rabbit!
Angora wool is a sustainable option if it is obtained ethically. However, the issue of angora wool is that large scale production has resulted in terrible treatment of angora rabbits – and since sustainability involves animal welfare, too, it can be an unsustainable option.
Angora rabbits produce a fluffy fiber that is incredibly warm and comfortable to wear. It requires very little chemicals to be produced, although it needs to be blended to add durability and elasticity to its garments. It is generally considered a sustainable fiber.
However, the issue with angora wool is the large-scale production that has been linked to animal cruelty like plucking the wool from living animals and killing the animals when they’re no longer producing enough.
- Ethical angora requires careful treatment including handcombing and appropriate veterinary care.
Another issue of angora wool is that it needs to be blended due to its lack of elasticity. This isn’t necessarily a problem, as it can be perfectly blended with other organic fibers like alpaca wool! However, it does become an issue when it is blended with synthetic fibers like polyester or acrylic, as it brings many disadvantages to an otherwise sustainable fiber.
So, what DO you buy?
Knowing what not to buy is one part of the equation. The other part is to know which fabrics you “should” buy. Depending on what you’re looking for, the answer will depend.
I wrote several other articles about which fabrics are sustainable (and why!). You can find them here, by clicking the links:
- Which Fabrics Should You Wear (and When!)? (List of 28 Sustainable Fabrics!)
- 10 Durable Fabrics: Strong Fibers For a Lasting Wardrobe!
- 8 Fabrics That Require Less Washing! (Make Washing Your Clothes SUSTAINABLE!)
- 12 Characteristics of Sustainable Fabrics (with Examples)
- 16 Fabrics That Are Emotionally DURABLE (And Why it Matters)
Or, you can go straight for my personal favorite: ALPACA WOOL! I started my own brand of sustainable, alpaca woolen products. PLUS, every item is made to empower women in Bolivia!
Have a look at my products by clicking the links below:
