As a consumer, how do you compare joggers made of microplastic-shedding polyester vs. cotton grown with hazardous synthetic pesticides? How about a shirt made of silk vs. viscose? Where do wool and linen and hemp fit in?
Fabric production has huge social and environmental impacts, but sorting out which are “better” or “worse” for people and the planet is not always straightforward. Each material has tradeoffs, in terms of water, energy, and chemical use, but also comfort, function, and durability. Are you concerned about fair wages and safe conditions for textile workers? Do you have skin allergies or ethical concerns about animal products? Are you willing to hand-wash or dry clean it, if needed? The answers to these questions will influence your choice of materials. That said, some materials have lower impacts than others, and there are some basic guidelines to consider.
- Whenever possible, choose organic over conventional natural fibers (like cotton, linen, or hemp). Organic production reduces energy use by avoiding synthetic fertilizers and pesticides (Seufert and Ramankutty, 2017); and organic farming practices like crop rotation, composting, and reduced tillage help regenerate the soil and protect biodiversity (Textile Exchange, 2021). Look for Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) or Organic Content Standard (OCS) certifications to verify that the materials are organic.
- Pick recycled natural fibers, like wool, cashmere, and cotton, over virgin ones.
- Recycled polyester is better than virgin polyester, but be skeptical of sustainability claims about recycled polyester, especially if a brand says they are keeping plastic bottles out of the landfill by recycling them into clothes or shoes. In reality, apparel brands are competing with beverage bottle manufacturers for PET bottles to reuse (Resource Recycling Systems, 2020). Bottles can be recycled into new bottles many times, but once they are turned into polyester fabric, they can no longer be recycled again (at least with currently available recycling systems). While recycled polyester may be preferable to virgin polyester in terms of energy use, both release microplastics—an estimated 1,900 per garment per wash (Browne, 2011). These microfibers are less than five millimeters long, too small to be filtered out at wastewater processing facilities, and so they make their way into our oceans and waterways. In fact, these tiny bits of plastic are in our drinking water, air, seafood, and salt—basically everywhere from human placenta to the Himalayas. For this reason, it’s best to select recycled polyester only in garments that don’t require frequent washing, like outerwear.
- For virgin wool products, look for Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) certification to ensure ethical treatment of the sheep.
- If you’re purchasing a tree-based fiber—viscose, rayon, lyocell, modal, etc.—look for Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification or Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) to ensure that the wood pulp is not coming from ancient or endangered forests.
More Resources
It’s important to understand the terminology around fabrics that you are likely to encounter and the associated risks of different materials. Several guides are available:
- The Council of Fashion Designers of America has put together a very thorough Materials Index where you can learn more about the many different apparel materials and the sustainability impacts of each.
- Good on You has a user-friendly guide with recommendations on which fibers to avoid and which to seek out. Elizabeth Cline also wrote a great summary of sustainable fabrics in her book The Conscious Closet.
- Ecocult offers a rundown of the different certifications you might see and what they mean.
To go in-depth on some of the more problematic (but very common) materials in the fashion industry, see Changing Markets’ reports on fossil-fuel-based synthetic fibers and viscose, which uses toxic chemicals to transform wood pulp (usually) into textile fibers. And read more about ecologist Marc Browne’s struggles to get the fashion industry to act on microplastics.
Much of the industry’s sustainability efforts have focused on the switch to lower-impact materials. This has led to investments in recycling technologies and new innovative materials like mycelium leather, synthetic spider silk, or biodegradable plastics. It remains unclear whether these new materials will make a difference in the industry’s environmental impact, and there is still debate within the industry about what materials should be used in a “sustainable” fashion system, especially around recycled polyester (Cernansky, 2021).
But in the end, picking the “right” fabric doesn’t magically turn something “sustainable.” Fabric choice is only a part of the complex fashion system. Ultimately, as fashion reporter Marc Bain wrote, “a landfill full of organic cotton t-shirts is still an overflowing landfill” (de Castro, 2021).
Selecting more sustainable materials can help somewhat, but large gains in sustainability will require massive reductions in production volumes. As mindful consumers we can help push this change by choosing to consume with intention and awareness of both the costs and benefits of our choices.
Sources
Browne, M. A., Crump, P., Niven, S. J., Teuten, E., Tonkin, A., Galloway, T., & Thompson, R. (2011). Accumulation of Microplastic on Shorelines Worldwide: Sources and Sinks. Environmental Science & Technology, 45(21), 9175–9179. https://doi.org/10.1021/es201811s
Cernansky, R. (2021, July 8). Is There Space in Sustainable Fashion for Synthetic Fabrics? Vogue Business. https://www.voguebusiness.com/sustainability/is-there-space-in-sustainable-fashion-for-synthetic-fabrics
Cline, E. L. (2019). The Conscious Closet: The Revolutionary Guide to Looking Good While Doing Good. Plume.
de Castro, O. (2021). Loved Clothes Last: How the Joy of Rewearing and Repairing Your Clothes Can Be a Revolutionary Act. Penguin Life.
Resource Recycling Systems. (2020, October 26). Data Corner: Supply Possibilities to Meet U.S. RPET Demand. https://resource-recycling.com/recycling/2020/10/26/data-corner-supply-possibilities-to-meet-u-s-rpet-demand/
Seufert, V., & Ramankutty, N. (2017). Many Shades of Gray—The Context-dependent Performance of Organic Agriculture. Science Advances, 3(3), e1602638. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1602638
Textile Exchange. (2021). Organic Cotton Market Report 2021. https://textileexchange.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Textile-Exchange_Organic-Cotton-Market-Report_2021.pdf