The materials that your clothes are made of have a significant impact: Global Fashion Agenda's 2020 report Fashion on Climate estimates that raw materials make out over 50% of the total carbon emissions produced by the fashion industry. In this article we will walk you through the story behind the fiber content label.
Very few people actually ever look at it, but the fiber content label captures a treasure of information on the footprint of that T-shirt or dress: for example, Global Fashion Agenda's 2020 report Fashion on Climate estimated that raw materials make out over 50% of the total carbon emissions produced by the fashion industry, divided between material production (38%), yarn preparation (8%) and fabric manufacturing (6%). In this article, we will give an overview of the main materials used and present a number of thumb rules to understand the trade-offs to be made.
Global Fashion Agenda's 2020 report Fashion on Climate estimates that >50% of the carbon emissions produced by the fashion industry is related to raw materials and fabric production
First of all, a few definitions to shape your thinking. Typically two categories of textiles are considered: synthetic and natural fibers. Synthetic fibers are manmade fibers prepared based on chemicals and include polyester, nylon, rayon, acrylic etc. Natural fibers are produced from plants, animals and geological processes - examples are cotton, linen, wool and silk. Man-made cellulosic fibers (i.e. viscose, rayon, modal and lyocell) are derived of wood pulp and other natural plant materials and are sometimes considered a third category. As they stem from a natural source, we will consider them part of the natural fibers. In addition to the textile categories, the fabric from which your garment is made can be either pure (e.g., 100% cotton) or blended, where blends can be made from synthetics only or from a mixed with natural fibers. Finally, fibers can be brand-new (called "virgin" or conventional), or can be recycled, organic (in case of natural fibers) or bio-based (in case of synthetics).
Today the fashion industry is surprisingly dominated by 2 textiles: ca. 60% of garments are made of synthetics and 25% of cotton
Today the fashion industry is surprisingly dominated by 2 textiles: around 60% of all garments are made of synthetics (polyester representing 50% of all), 25% of cotton and the remaining 15% is divided between man-made cellulosic fibers (10%) and other natural fibers like wool, silk, linnen, hemp and linen/flax (5%). The impact of these different materials, and in other words the trade-offs between them, are very different. Kate Fletcher summarizes the areas of greatest impact as follows:
High emissions from producing synthetic and cellulosic fibers
High usage of energy and nonrenewable resources for synthetics
Shedding of microplastics during washing of synthetic fabrics
Large quantities of pesticides required to grow conventional cotton
Adverse impact on water linked to production of natural fibers (cotton, linen,...)
But let's take a closer look at some of the different materials out there.
Synthetics
Synthetics are used so extensively mostly because they're cheap, but also because they offer additional features like drying quickly, being waterproof and elasticity/stretchiness, especially relevant for sportwear, swimwear and lingerie. Two types of synthetics exist: oil-based synthetic fibers (incl. polyester and nylon) and biodegradeable synthetics made from plants (incl. soya bean fibre and polylactic acid (PLA)). However, today polyester makes up ca. 80% of all synthetics.
There are 3 environmental concerns with oil-based synthetics. First, the production process is very energy-intensive: for example, the production of polyester requires double the energy as needed for the production of the same amount of cotton. In addition, synthetic fibers are made from petroleum, which is a nonrenewable fossil fuel: the emissions related to this production process are therefore substantial. Finally, when washing synthetic garments, microplastics are shed from our garments to make their way into natural waterways: scientists have found that these make up 85% of plastic pollution in our oceans.
The production of polyester requires double the energy as needed for the production of the same amount of cotton
More sustainable alternatives include recycled synthetics (where it is important to note that almost all are recycled PET bottles, not recycled textiles - and that they still shed microfibers in the washing machine) and bio-based synthetics, including soya bean fibre and PLA.
In the meantime, start-ups are experimenting with mindblowing innovations in this space, such as biofabrication and fruit-based fibers. Examples of biofabrication are Microsilk™ by Bolt Threads ('silk' fibres created in a lab with yeast, sugar and water) and Zoa™ by Modern Meadows (lab-grown leather created with a specially designed collagen protein). For every kilo of many food crops harvested, 1.5 kg of plant residue is left to rot or be burned, and entrepreneurs are using this waste to develop a more sustainable resource for fashion textiles while providing additional income for farmers. Examples are Pinatex (a leather alternative made from pineapple leaves), Orange Fiber (a cellulosic fiber made from orange juice production waste), Bananatex® (a durable waterproof material made from banana plant stalks). Unfortunately these projects are not yet economically viable at scale.
Cotton
Cotton is a popular fiber thanks to its properties: it's strong, durable, comfortable and absorbing. It grows from the cotton plant, native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, India, and Africa.
Despite its natural origin, several concerns are linked to the fiber. First, the industrialization of cotton has grown beyond proportion: taking up only 2.5% of agricultural land, the plant now consumes around 11% of all pesticides and 25% of all insecticides in the world, contaminating soil and water, and poisoning other organisms in the ecosystem. In addition, cotton production consumes an enormous amount of water: 3,800 liters of water are required to produce one kilogram of cotton, whereas the same amount of polyester would require ca.17 litres. At the same time, vast amounts of the world's cotton are produced in poor labour conditions and even slavery-like conditions. For example, it is believed that 1 in 5 cotton products globally is produced in concentration camps in the Xinjiang region.
Taking up only 2.5% of agricultural land, cotton plants now consumes ca. 11% of all pesticides and 25% of all insecticides
Sustainable alternatives exist, but are not easy to find. The Better Cotton initiative accredits cotton farmers as BCI Farmers when they produce cotton in a in a way that is measurably better for the environment and farming communities. Organic cotton is another alternative, but be aware of greenwashing - it's a well known fact that the total volume of cotton claimed to be organic by brands largely exceeds the harvested volume of organic cotton! Recycled cotton (or regenerated or reclaimed cotton) presents a final alternative. However, most of the recycled cotton is scrap recovery (i.e. the waste in the production process) and current technologies do not allow to obtain the same level of quality than virgin cotton (length, uniformity, resistance...), often requiring the recycled cotton to be blended with another fiber (e.g. polyester) to improve it.
Substitute fibers include hemp and linen (flax).
Man-made cellulosic fibers
Man-made cellulosic fibers (MMCFs) include viscose, rayon, modal and lyocell, and are made from wood pulp and other natural plant materials. The material's properties are similar to cotton: soft, smooth and with a good drape.
Overall MMCFs are considered to be the sustainable alternative to synthetic fibers. They have the potential to tackle some of the fashion industry’s most significant sustainability challenges, including the regeneration of ecosystems and creation of carbon sinks. However, if not done well, MMCFs risk deforestation and biodiversity impacts related to raw material sourcing, unsafe chemical use, high emissions and labour rights concerns in the production process.
Always look for brands accredited by Canopy, an organisation that strives for sustainable viscose production, producing annual Hot Button rankings of global viscose producers to protect ancient and endangered forests.
Blended fabrics
Blended fabrics have seen a steep increase in adoption, as they allow to bring down costs and improve the fabrics' properties (for example, a skinny jeans is often made from cotton blended with elastane and lycra to obtain the stretchiness). However, blended fabrics are very difficult, in many cases impossible, to recycle compared to pure fabrics, which renders a circular lifecycle nearly impossible.
What can you do as a consumer
It's clear that raw materials offer trade-offs more than anything else: energy vs. water usage, emissions vs. pesticides etc. Sustainable alternatives exist, but are not always easy to find.
So what can you do as a consumer? The first step of the process is to become more aware: start reading the fiber content labels while shopping. Maybe you even set your own boundaries already, on which materials you prefer or you'd like to avoid. And you may find yourself surprised at times, when that well-priced wool sweater turns out to be made of 100% polyester after all!
Sources: Kate Fletcher (2014). "Sustainable fashion and textiles. Design journeys / Second edition", Global Fashion Agenda (2020). "Fashion on Climate", Textile Exchange (2020). "Preferred Fiber & Materials Market Report 2020"
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