Eco Fabrics – Sorting the Truth Out from the Hype

At Well Cultivated, we stock many eco fabrics and clothing and have had to look at each in turn to see if they really are eco or are they just a passing fashion fad. As we personally visit many manufacturers we try and sort out the truth from the rubbish and what constitutes classing a fabric as eco. Below, we give a list of popular fabrics as well as a few lesser know fabrics coming soon to you. We then mention at the end some brief eco facts, for you to take away with, about clothing and how a few choices can make a big difference.The first question is :- What is an eco fabric? It is not a simple case of man-made fibres or natural that makes a fabric eco, there are a lot more factors that need considering:-

• Is growing the raw material good for the environment?
• The harmful manufacturing processes to the planet and the workers.
• The eco-harmful dyes used.
• Is it grown close to demand (low shipping miles) or flown in by air?
• How long the fabric lasts before needing replacing
• The heat of washing and drying it required.
• Finally, the methods of disposal or recycling the clothes.

Glossary of Eco Fabrics (click below)

1. Alpaca
2. Bamboo
3. Bamboo Charcoal
4. Eco-Spun
5. Hemp
6. Ingeo
7. Cotton / Organic Cotton
8. Sasawashi
9. SeaCell
10. Somalar
11. Organic Silk
12. Soya
13. Tencel
14. Wool

Summary
Eco-Facts About Clothing


Alpaca
This funny looking animal produces a thick, full coat that makes incredibly warm jackets, sweaters, hats and blankets. Alpaca fibre is stronger, lighter and more resilient than wool. It is also finer than cashmere and equal to the warmth of Gortex.

• Properties of Alpaca :- Warmth, strength, lightness. Extra fine fabric


Bamboo
Bamboo is the world’s fastest growing plant. Some bamboo species grow one metre per day and the mature 20 metre tree can be harvested every three to four years! In fact, it is nature’s most sustainable resource, grown without pesticides or chemicals and is 100% biodegradable after disposing of the clothing. Bamboo takes in more carbon dioxide than trees and breathes out more oxygen than trees as well. As well as the 1000s of uses of bamboo around the home and in wood products, it is also being spun into luxurious fabrics and is leading the charge for eco fashion with bamboo clothing. It is regarded as a highly eco fabric that is very healthy to the wearer. There are some doubts about the quite intensive production process converting the hard bamboo into the soft “bamboo viscous”. It is called viscous by testing agencies because it is an extract of part of the plant and not the complete material like silk or cotton.

• Properties of Bamboo :- Stretchy, Breathable, hypoallergenic, soft as cashmere, absorbent and anti bacterial properties means it is good for towels, robes, underwear and socks as well as sports wear.


Eco-Fabric Made from Bamboo Charcoal
This bamboo is the Moso Bamboo (Phyllostachys heterocycla pubescens), the world’s most porous bamboo from the Jhushan “Bamboo Mountain” region of Taiwan. Eco-fabric does not contain any added chemicals that kill bacteria and fight odours, all the benefits are simply from the bamboo. The bamboo contains many tiny holes, making it excellent for absorbing odour-causing chemicals, controlling temperature, and wicking away moisture — an ideal fabric for footwear or undergarments. Particularly as the charcoal stops even more odours. The bamboo, although burnt still keeps it’s ability to naturally stop the growth of bacteria and fungi.

• Properties of Bamboo Charcoal :- Same as bamboo plus greater anti odourising action due to the charcoal.


Eco-Spun
Learn to love Eco-Spun! It is a high-quality polyester fibre which is made from 100% certified recycled PET (soda/pop) bottles, that is capable of keeping about three billion plastic PET bottles out of the world’s landfills each year. It saves over half a million barrels of oil and eliminates 400,000 tons of harmful emissions which contribute to global warming, acid rain, smog, etc. In fact, the amount of petroleum saved annually by using post-consumer bottles instead of virgin materials is enough to supply power to a large city
Eco-Spun can be found in many textile products. This includes eco friendly clothing, blankets, wall coverings, carpets, auto interiors, and various home furnishings.
It takes 6-20 bottles to make a sweatshirt, depending upon the weight, size and blend of the garment.

Hemp
Okay, get over the Hemp stigma of attaching it with marijuana and come out of the 70’s into modern times. Hemp is a great material for organic clothing. It requires no pesticides, herbicides or fungicides to grow and it replenishes the soil with nutrients such as nitrogen. It is also very adept at converting CO2 into oxygen. Hemp also yields about three times more fibre than cotton per acre. The hemp plant has many uses in such things as textiles, beauty and nutritional products. You can even find it in a Mercedes-Benz where it is added to various interior panels. And did you know that the American Declaration of Independence was drafted on hemp paper?

• Properties of Hemp :- Most eco fabric, very water resistant, light airy fabric, ease of washing, wrinkles easily, doesn’t like creasing over time, not as soft to touch


Ingeo
Which is pronounced “in-gee-o” is a relatively new fibre on the market that has begun to catch on. It can be found in such things as pillows, duvets and from carpeting to dresses, socks and other clothing items. The name literally means “ingredients from the earth.” It is the first commercially viable man-made fibre which comes from corn and it’s the first natural-based synthetic fibre to meet the performance requirements of traditional petroleum-based fibres; it is like a natural version of polyester. The environmental benefits include a significant reduction in greenhouse gases and use of fossil fuels. It is also biodegradable meaning that the complete life cycle of production, consumption, disposal and reuse if neatly closed.


Organic Cotton
First, a word about traditional cotton. Cotton is the second most pesticide-laden crop in the world. Five of the top nine pesticides are that used on cotton in the U.S. (cyanide, dicofol, naled, propargite and trifluralin) are known cancer-causing chemicals. It takes approximately 1/3 of a pound of chemicals to grow enough cotton to make just one t-shirt. Organic cotton, on the other hand, is grown in certified pesticide-free and herbicide-free soil, using organic farming methods, which produce healthier fabrics, preserve the quality of our water and prevent toxins from entering the human food chain in the form of cottonseed and other by products.

• Properties of Cotton/Organic Cotton :- cool (if pure), soft, absorbent, irons easily, breathable, wrinkles easily
• Properties of UV Cut cotton :- protects from the sun
• Properties of early cut organic cotton :- much finer to the feel than standard organic cotton. Similar to feel of cashmere.


Sasawashi
Is a fabric made of Japanese paper and the kumazasa herb. We just know that it’s eco-friendly, looks like linen and is starting to be used by clothing designers.


SeaCell
Is a fabric made out of Lyocell (a 100% wood pulp fiber) and seaweed. Here’s the fun part; supposedly, the nutrients from the seaweed are absorbed by your body when you wear it, creating a sense of well-being. It is available in two versions “Pure” and “Active,” the latter of which has been enriched with silver. Silver has been known to have antibacterial properties which help to neutralize odours and provide the fabric with a clean feel.


Somalor
This amazing fibre is made with Dupont SoronaTM polymer. The PDO (PropaneDiol) material inside this polymer, is extracted from Corn. Somalor fibre can bring to fabrics softness, good stretch and recovery and easy dyeability. While at the boiling point, it can be fully dyed and the colour is vibrant, with colour fastness in the wash. It will be a new kind of synthetic fibre for the 21st century.


Organic Silk
Come on…we all know what silk is…that soft elegant cloth that feels cool in the heat and warm in the cold. It also absorbs moisture without feeling damp. Here are some things you may not know: Silk is a natural sustainable fibre. China still produces the finest silk. It takes a silk worm 3-4 days to spin a cocoon around itself, which is made out of a single continuous thread between 2000 and 3000 feet long (that is upto 1 kilometre). It takes about 110 cocoons to make a tie, about 630 cocoons to make a blouse and about 12,000 cocoons to make a silk-filled comforter.
Organic silk is organic because the silk worm is not killed in the production process, standard silk kills the worm. If put into perspective, millions of silk worms die in the production process of standard silk. This is a debatable subject to some because the silk worms are blind and have been bred over many centuries purely for silk production and serve no natural purpose in the outside world.

• Properties of Silk :- luxury fibre due to expensive production costs, very light, heat regulating, good to colour, one of the strongest natural fibres, good absorbency. Wrinkles easily, recommended to be dry cleaned


Soya
This fibre is made from tofu manufacturing waste. The soy protein is liquefied and then extruded as filaments (long continuous fibres) that are cut and processed. It is incredibly soft and feels similar to cashmere. It was neck and neck in popularity with bamboo before bamboo became quite a fashionable fibre to use.


Tencel
Tencel is a natural man-made fibre. It’s natural because it’s made from the cellulose in wood pulp which is harvested from farmed trees. The tree farms are established on land unsuitable for food crops or grazing. The fibre is produced via an advanced ‘closed loop’ solvent spinning process with minimal impact on the environment and an economical use of energy and waste.


Wool
Wool is a great fibre because no animals are killed in the process…just given a shave. Australia, China and New Zealand produce most of the sheeps wool in the world. There are ethical issues with the common practise of “mulesing” sheep by removing skin from the around the backside to stop diseases spreading from flies. The RSPCA are against the practise and is due to be phased out in the coming years. The fibre derived from the fur of animals, such as sheep, goats, llamas and even camels, has protected mankind for over 25,000 years. Wool has an abundance of natural attributes, like inhibiting bacterial growth (body odour) and it has built-in UV light protection, protecting skin from the sun’s rays.

• Properties of Wool :- It is soft, yet strong and durable, and is wrinkle, dirt and fire resistant (it will smoulder rather then burn or melt), making it a good textile for carpeting, home furnishings, bedding and, of course, sweaters!


A Few Final Eco-Facts About Clothing to Consider

The biggest impact from clothing is how much washing and drying it needs over its lifetime. Choosing low temperature fabrics is the most eco option here so read the label, if it is above 40o (or preferably 30o) then leave alone.

Hemp is regarded as generally the most eco of all as it can be sourced in the UK, the fabric can be made using environmentally friendly methods. It is easy to wash, and being hard wearing it lasts a long time.

Just a quick word about the disposal of clothing, (and any other biodegradable item for that matter). The highly non-eco friendly gas methane is 24 times more potent than CO2 and is emitted when food, packaging and clothing rots (biodegrades). Throwing clothes in the bin goes to landfill and produces methane, albeit strictly controlled there is leakage. The best and perhaps only option is to recycle clothes by passing them on to charities or the needy abroad.