First of all let’s find out about the different types of fabrics:
1. Natural fibres (‘cellulose based’ = made from stems, leaves, seeds or ‘protein based’ = wool, silk, cashmere)
a- ready to be spun: ex. cotton
* This seems to be the most eco-friendly option as it is ready to be spun but cotton is known to be heavily water consuming for growing its crop (av. 10,000-20,000 Litres for 1kg of raw cotton*, which is more than any other plant based fibre), also it needs a lot pesticides to get protected against insects and diseases, uses a lot of land (which degrades soil quality) and is very labour intensive (could lead to insecure incomes). Also, cotton needs to be chemically treated and bleached to remove all impurities before being spun, which added to the above points greatly impacts the environment.
* Eco-friendly alternatives are, for the most known, organic cotton (i.e. 91% less water** so av. 900-1,800L for 1Kg
of raw cotton - but this was contested, see bottom page article -, no synthetic pesticides) and Better Cotton (BCI) which solve some of the above problems but not all of cotton’s impacts.
b- needs to be transformed with “retting” (releases the fibres from the stem): ex. linen, hemp, nettle
* those fibres are known as the least impactful to the environment due to their ‘Mechanical’ (vs. Chemical) making process and the nature of the raw materials (plant source) that require less maintenance (I.e. pesticides, water, land, manpower) than Cotton does. But, it is important to note that there are various types of retting commonly used, each with different impacts on the environment and process’ lead time (I.e. dew, water, mechanical, enzymatic, chemical).
* Also, mechanically made fibres tend to be rougher than the ones with other making process.
* Also, mechanically made fibres tend to be rougher than the ones with other making process.
* the most eco-friendly options would be the fibres made without any chemicals and with a sustainable management of the land, water, energy, manpower.
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Note : protein based fibres (like wool, silk, cashmere) are not being addressed here but we found below an interesting study that puts things into perspective and gives more in-depth data …
2. Man-made “Natural polymers” (‘cellulose based’ = made from trees, bamboo and other Cellulosic base, or ‘protein based’ = milk, soy )
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* not to be confused with Synthetic fabrics, these fibres are Plant based (or protein based) but chemically transformed from cellulose (or protein) paste to fibre.
* usually from Eucalyptus Trees or Bamboo (i.e. non-mechanically processed ones), Man-made Cellulosic fibres (MMCs) are commonly known as Viscose, Modal, Rayon and also Cupro (made of ‘linter’, tiny fibres sticking out of the cottonseed and too small to spin). Their making process requires the use of various chemicals, water and energy, which greatly impact the environment.
* as they are plant (or protein) based, they are known to be soft, breathable and very easy to wear, with great comfort and absorbing properties.
* one of the eco-friendly option is Lyocell, which is made with less and non-toxic chemicals (amine oxide being considered non-toxic) in ‘closed-loop’ system with water & chemicals being reused trough the different batches instead of being dumped in nature. More and more companies (like Lenzing) are using wood from sustainably managed forests (I.e. Canopy planet), with a sustainable management of water and energy.
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3. Man-made “Synthetic polymers” (from petroleum/ fossil fuel) - ex. Polyester, nylon, acrylic, faux fur, faux leather
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* their making process requires the use of non renewable resources (petroleum), heavy metals and toxic chemicals that are realised in waters, and is very energy intensive (125 MJ of energy is needed and
14.2 kg of CO 2 is released to produce for 1kg of polyester*), which greatly impact the environment.
* as they are purely synthetic, those fibres are known to be not very comfortable to wear and not breathable.
* sustainable option are those same fibres in recycled version, which doesn’t solve the micro-fibre shedding (through the garment’s lifetime washings) and their accumulation in the waters/ ecosystems. Also recycled options rely on virgin fibres (newly made ones) to increase their strength and durability (see below points).
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4. Recycled fibres:
* Unfortunately (as of today) recycled fibres aren’t strong enough to get spun as it is. It needs to be blent with newly made (virgin) fibres which limits greatly its positive impact, especially if blended with fibres that aren't made in a sustainable way.
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** what about fibres blends?
Also another question raised is the recyclability of blended fibres (ex. Cotton with elastane) as, depending on their content, they could be difficult to recycle (I.e.different technologies for different materials). Many researches and tests are being made for technologies allowing to sort out and recycle a wide range of fibres, as well as blends, on a large scale but this hasn’t reach mainstream yet. Hopefully more progress will be made in the future regarding the range of fibres that could be recycled as well as their strength and quality (I.e. not requiring further blends).
** And what about the dyed/ printed fabric?
This is also to be taken into account as an eco-friendly made fabric could end up impacting the environment if bleached and dyed or printed with products containing harmful chemicals. (nb. In the “finishing” process of a fabric, including bleaching and dyeing, there are also many treatments that can be applied to add more properties to the fabric, such as waterproofing, anti-wrinkling, stain resistance etc…; those also usually include various harmful chemicals…)
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Note : the “use phase” shouldn't be forgotten either > how many times will I need to wash this fabric? What are the impacts of washing and drying it on the environment (I.e. micro fibres’ shedding into the waters/ oceans, energy consumption)?
> while natural based fabrics’ micro-fibres eventually breakdown, synthetic ones don’t and accumulate in the environment.
Note : the “use phase” shouldn't be forgotten either > how many times will I need to wash this fabric? What are the impacts of washing and drying it on the environment (I.e. micro fibres’ shedding into the waters/ oceans, energy consumption)?
> while natural based fabrics’ micro-fibres eventually breakdown, synthetic ones don’t and accumulate in the environment.
Just to give a scope, in 2020 the Global fibre production was shared as follow: 62% Synthetic Fibres (of which 52% Polyester), 30% Plant fibres (of which 24% Cotton), 6% Man-made Cellulosic fibres (of which 5% Viscose), 2% Animal fibres (of which 1% Wool).
> Full report from Textile Exchange here
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Then how can we know which option is best, would you ask?
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Well, it is difficult to compare since all depends on the environmental impacts of the processes (water, energy, manpower) and products (chemicals) used to grow the plant - or to make the fibre’s base - then to transform it into fibre + the “finishing” added to the fabric (bleach, dye, waterproof properties etc.) which is another layer of impacts on the environment… Then the biodegradability (natural vs. synthetic fibre base) and recyclability (Mono-material vs. blends) of the fibre need to be taken into account.
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Well, it is difficult to compare since all depends on the environmental impacts of the processes (water, energy, manpower) and products (chemicals) used to grow the plant - or to make the fibre’s base - then to transform it into fibre + the “finishing” added to the fabric (bleach, dye, waterproof properties etc.) which is another layer of impacts on the environment… Then the biodegradability (natural vs. synthetic fibre base) and recyclability (Mono-material vs. blends) of the fibre need to be taken into account.
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Anyways, we believe there could be some sort of benchmark tool developed to have a better idea of each type of material’s impact as some data are nowadays better known even if the industry isn’t very transparent yet…
(I.e. As of today we know about the Higgs index, which we don’t find very clear, especially when comparing linen - more sustainable - with cotton and polyester).
> More topics about sustainability here
> More topics about sustainability here
More readings: