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Image by Elena Putina

Thea's Textile Project

Thea's Textile Project is on a mission to find (or create) the most sustainable fabric in the world. We analyze factors like production process, fibers and chemicals used, environmental impact, cost and end product. We hope through this research to illuminate both companies and consumers about the materials they make and wear. 

BioCirTM
Cupro

BioCir™

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Cotton

  • Completely natural and biodegradable

  • Light and breathable

  • Machine washable 

  • Can be tumble dried 

  • Requires a lot of water and arid conditions to grow. Often uses up water supply in areas that desperately need it

  • Often, harsh pesticides are used to yield greater crops, and these pollute local food and water systems. Buy organic cotton to avoid this 

  • There is still a lot of child labor, slave labor, and poor working conditions happening in the cotton industry today. Look for cotton backed by the Fairtrade Alliance and Global Organic Textile Standard

BioCir

Cupro

  • Semi-synthetic fabric: made of rayon that goes through a chemical process

  • Machine washable

  • Cannot be tumble-dried, as it can ignite easily at high temperatures

  • Wrinkles easily, can be ironed

  • Uses waste products from cotton production 

  • Fully biodegradable, breaks down into non-toxic components that won’t harm the environment

  • Compatible with other fabrics 

  • During production, uses harsh chemicals such as ammonia 

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Faux Fur
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Faux Fur

  • Synthetic. Blend of polyester, modacrylic, and acrylic fibers

  • It is easy to wash and resistant to insect attacks

  • Faux fur was first introduced as a more sustainable, and cruelty-free fashion option

  • It is said that synthetic materials used in the production of faux fur have a higher negative environmental impact than animal fur

  • Washing faux fur may also release microfibres into the water system.

  • According to reports, this is a major culprit of microplastic pollution

  • Not biodegradable 

ECONYL® 

ECONYL® 

  • Natural fabric derived from the flax plant

  • Machine washable 

  • Can be tumble-dried at low temperatures

  • So crinkly! But can be ironed

  • One of the most biodegradable fabrics

  • “Because of the laborious time it takes to produce linen yarn, and the manual processes that have to be undertaken, linen has become a higher-priced commodity and considered among many to be a ‘luxury’ fabric.” The Truth About Thread Count

  • Most linen grown using nitrates

  • White linen has to go through a heavy bleaching process and if you buy non-organic linen there is no guarantee that harmful dyes were not used

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Linen
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Linen

  • Natural fabric derived from the flax plant

  • Machine washable 

  • Can be tumble-dried at low temperatures

  • So crinkly! But can be ironed

  • One of the most biodegradable fabrics

  • “Because of the laborious time it takes to produce linen yarn, and the manual processes that have to be undertaken, linen has become a higher-priced commodity and considered among many to be a ‘luxury’ fabric.” The Truth About Thread Count

  • Most linen grown using nitrates

  • White linen has to go through a heavy bleaching process and if you buy non-organic linen there is no guarantee that harmful dyes were not used

Modal

Modal

  • Semi-synthetic fabric​​

  • Machine washable 

  • Can be tumble dried 

  • Can be ironed

  • Made from reconstituted cellulose from beech trees

  • During production, caustic soda is used to dissolve and purify the cellulose. This step, called “xanthation,” uses a neurotoxin which often makes its way into the environment and is not only harmful to animals, but also humans who can experience medical problems from liver damage, blindness, and death

  • Not inherently sustainable or environmentally friendly, but it can be under certain circumstances (depends on the company’s manufacturing methods)

  • Deforestation: As Sewport says, many manufacturers “only use cellulose from trees that have been grown on land that is not suitable for any other agricultural purposes.”

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Mycelium
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Mycelium (MycoTEX)

  • Natural, made from mushrooms

  • MycoTEX is a flexible version of Mycelium, which is already used to make lampshades, chairs, and packing materials. It's currently only been showcased on the runway

  • Unclear how to wash it

  • Can feel like paper (MycoTEX), but flexible and comfortable, or like a spongy leather (Mylium)

  • Waterproof and fire resistant

  • Has good insulation and moisture absorbing properties

  • Anti-microbial 

  • Made though bio-fabrication, meaning the material is grown from fungi

  • Current production process is time consuming and laborious which makes commercializing production difficult

  • Biodegradable

Nylon

Nylon

  • Synthetic textile

  • Machine washable 

  • Can be tumble dried on low 

  • Easy to tear

  • Lacks moisture wicking properties

  • Most nylon consists of a blend of various fabrics in order to keep the desirable traits and eliminate the undesirable traits of nylon

  • First step to make nylon is by extracting diamine acid from crude oil

  • Traditional production methods require huge amounts of water and a lot of nitrous oxide (which is about 10x more potent than CO2)

  • Not biodegradable

  • Used to be produced in the US, but now most production is overseas

  • Low cost in manufacturing

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Orange Fiber
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Orange Fiber

  • Made from 100% natural cellulose from citrus fruit production waste, which is transformed into a biodegradable fiber similar to silk

  • Can be machine washed, but on delicate cycle and preferably not higher than 30 degrees

  • Can’t be tumble dried 

  • Can be ironed at a medium temperature at most, and doesn’t wrinkle easily 

  • Only uses natural dyes and ecological chemicals

  • In Italy alone, in Italy alone, 700 thousand tons of citrus by-products are thrown away every year. Orange Fiber makes use of these by-products

  • Used by Salvatore Ferragamo and in H&M Conscious collection

  • Biodegradable

Piñatex

Piñatex®

  • Semi-synthetic leather 

  • Hand wash, no tumble dry 

  • Water resistant 

  • Made from an agricultural waste product, pineapple leaf fiber, mostly sourced from the Philippines 

  • Can biodegrade naturally (though not 100% biodegradable) even when combined with wood-based PLA

  • Once the fiber has been stripped from the leaf, the rest is used for fertilizer 

  • Creates extra job opportunities and product to sell in pre-existing pineapple farms

  • According to Ananas Anam, the official site for Piñatex, “Piñatex® is an innovative textile that was developed for use as a sustainable alternative to both mass-produced leather and polluting synthetic materials.”

  • Affordable: used by Zara, H&M and Nike in their shoes and bags

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Polyester
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Polyester

  • Synthetic fabric 

  • Machine washable

  • Can be tumble dried, not on high heat though

  • Can be ironed (but be careful when using heat to avoid iron burns) and doesn’t wrinkle easily 

  • Can resist water better than nylon

  • Some polyester textiles are made from recycled plastic bottles, but these textiles still aren’t biodegradable and can release microfibers

  • A kind of plastic usually made from petroleum (a non-renewable resource) 

  • Harsh chemicals used in dyes

  • Plays a big role in fast fashion culture, due to easy and cheap production

Silk

Silk

  • A natural protein fiber produced by the larvae of a moth 

  • Machine washable, but it is a good idea to buy a mesh bag to protect it during the wash

  • Can’t be tumble dried 

  • Can be ironed, but it can be difficult

  • Requires the planting and maintenance of mulberry trees, which feed the moths

  • Expensive. About 3,000 cocoons are needed to make one yard of silk. One hectare of mulberry trees can produce around 200 kg of cocoons, equaling just 40 kg of silk (even less if the silk is reeled by hand rather than by machine)

  • Not cruelty-free in commercial production, the usual moth used in this kind of production (Bombyx mori moth) will barely survive after emerging from its cocoon, due to selective breeding by human

  • In cruelty free production, silk cocoons are harvested after the moth has left the cocoon and are found in open forests, but lower in quality than conventional silk

  • Biodegradable and a renewable resource 

  • The oldest evidence of silk production has been found buried in 8,500-year-old tombs in China. Historically, the trading of silk led to a vast global network that we now call the silk road. It contributed to the exchange of knowledge, culture and more throughout history

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TENCEL®
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TENCEL®

  • Cellulose fabric created by dissolving wood pulp

  • Machine washable on delicate cycle, hand-wash preferable 

  • Cannot be tumble-dried 

  • Best to steam rather than iron

  • Said to be 50% more absorbent than cotton, and requires less energy and water to produce

  • The fiber is produced by Austrian company Lenzing AG, who use sustainably sourced wood

  • Has moisture-wicking and anti-bacterial properties, which makes it perfect for activewear

  • Requires less energy and water than conventional cotton

  • The traditional viscose process is chemically-intensive, using harmful sodium hydroxide. TENCEL® replaces it with the NMMO process

Viscose

Viscose

  • Semi-synthetic type of rayon fabric

  • Made from wood pulp 

  • Considered a silk substitute and has a similar drape and smooth feel to it

  • Needs to be dry cleaned

  • If you do wash it, it needs to be hand washed with cold water and mild detergent and then hanged to dry

  • Spot-treatments can lead to permanent stains

  • Not waterproof

  • Uses a high concentration of toxic chemicals that pollute the water and air in production

  • Production uses a lot of water in watering trees and making fabric

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Wool
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Wool

  • Natural and renewable textile

  • Most wool is machine washable on a delicate cycle with cold water and low spin

  • Can only be air dried

  • Can’t be ironed, but can be steamed 

  • Water resistant, fire retardant, and odor and stain resistant too

  • Can come from goats, yaks, rabbits, llamas, camels, bison, musk oxen, but most commonly come from sheep

  • About half of wool’s carbon footprint comes from the sheep themselves because they release methane gas

  • Several wool products have harmful finishes or chemical dyes in them which can be released into the environment when wool biodegrades

  • Biodegradable as long as it is not superwash wool which is coated in plastic

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