First of all, let’s define the terms. “Eco,” as applied to clothing, means that the harm to the environment in its production has been minimized. That is, a cotton shirt made in a factory is not environmentally friendly, because the production of cotton requires a lot of water and chemicals. And a synthetic sweater made by special technology is environmentally friendly, because the plastic bottles it is made from would most likely end up floating in the ocean if they were not recycled. Although petroleum-based polyester production itself has a high carbon footprint–that is, it pollutes the environment.
Social Factors
According to a June 2012 report by the International Labor Organization (ILO), some 14.2 million workers worldwide are trapped in forced and exploitative working conditions, including in the garment industry. Cheap knockoffs and a variety of “no name” garments, in huge quantities on markets and street folds, are most likely made this way.
How does fabric production affect the environment?
All factory production is not environmentally friendly. Fabrics are no exception here. Making them requires pesticides that are used to treat plants for future fabrics, dyes (which often contain heavy metals), and many manufacturers use chemical coatings to enhance the fabric’s protection against fire, stains, and prevent wrinkles. Fiber treatments can also require complex chemical reactions. Viscose, for example, requires the use of a toxic solution to turn cellulose into fabric.
Why can’t all clothing be made eco-friendly?
Eco-clothing technologies, involve manual processing and the use of natural, but significantly more expensive substances. Such clothes simply can not be made in the necessary quantities due to the huge labor costs. The high production cost also does not facilitate mass production. We can’t help it – the world population is growing and our basic needs can only be satisfied by mass production.
Is linen environmentally friendly?
As stated above, the large-scale production of any fabric requires complex processing which has an impact on the environment. Another thing is that the degree of this impact is different for different fabrics and linen wins here. It requires much less water than cotton and does not need a lot of chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Making the fabric itself is also less harmful. In addition, linen clothing is biodegradable.
Eco Fabrics
The following is a list of fabrics that are actually “eco”, although the production of some of them can only be recognized as clean conditionally
Eco-Friendly Linen
Recently, linen fabric has become a favorite of “sustainable fashion” and is widely used in the production of eco clothing. And there are good reasons for this. For hundreds of years, linen clothing has been known around the world for its durability. It is a breathable, wear-resistant, lightweight, absorbent, antimicrobial, moth-resistant and cool (because it lowers your body temperature in summer, unlike cotton) fabric.
Hemp
This is perhaps the most versatile plant on the planet. Hemp is the only plant that can feed you, clothe you, build you a home, and provide you with natural beauty products.
Hemp is also ideal for creating eco clothing. It is a breathable, warm, absorbent, antibacterial, biodegradable and very durable fabric that becomes softer when worn and after washing.
Growing hemp requires little water, and the plant itself can produce four to five times more fiber per hectare than cotton. In fact, hemp fertilizes and saturates the soil in which it grows, rather than extracting nutrients from it like many other plants grown.
Eco Cotton
Although cotton is a natural fiber that is biodegradable, its production is most harmful to the environment. The cotton industry uses 25% of the world’s insecticides and 10% of the world’s pesticides.
Cotton crops also require a huge amount of water to grow (about 2.6 cubic meters for a T-shirt), which in turn creates a significant load on the environment.
An excellent alternative can offer organic cotton, whose growing technique significantly reduces the detrimental impact on the environment. It excludes toxic pesticides, synthetic fertilizers and gene modification of the seeds.
On the other hand, the growing organic cotton market still does not solve the problem of water, in addition, the eco-wear from it is expensive and not everyone can afford it.
Bamboo
Bamboo fabric is a natural viscose produced from bamboo. Eco clothing made of this fabric has a silky texture, is incredibly durable, biodegradable and has moisture-resistant properties. Growing bamboo requires very little water and needs no fertilizers or pesticides.
But there is a dark side. The very process of turning bamboo fibers into fabric is chemically intensive and produces a significant amount of waste. This makes bamboo viscose much less environmentally friendly than it may seem at first glance.
Eco-leather
Natural leather, while truly eco-friendly, is quite often rejected by “sustainable fashion” due to the fact that it is derived from animals. In addition, the processing and tanning process of natural leather is highly toxic.
Eco leather is a completely environmentally friendly product, in the production of which the use of chemicals is reduced and limited. Externally, it is almost indistinguishable from natural leather. In addition, made of it eco clothing is much cheaper.
By its mechanical properties eco leather is comparable with synthetic. It is resistant to moisture, flexible, elastic and capable of withstanding more than 80,000 bends at temperatures below -20 ° C. Wear resistance and durability of the fabric allows its use even in extreme climatic conditions.
Wool
Wool is an all-natural, renewable fiber. The sheep, by consuming the carbon of the plants, transforms it into wool. 50% of wool’s weight is pure organic carbon.
Wool eco-clothing has a long lifespan, and the need to wash it at lower temperatures, has less impact on the environment.
Unlike synthetic clothing, wool eco-clothing breathes and has the ability to respond to changes in body temperature, keeping you cool in summer and warm in winter. Wool is easy to care for and largely resistant to staining.