Sustainability through Fabric

Sustainable Fabrics are usually made from recycled or natural materials. These fabrics aim to minimize the harm through production and overall environmental impact. They also have an impact with waste reduction, water conservation, lowered harmful emissions, and soil regeneration as well. However, it is important to note that there is no one fabric that is fully sustainable.

Eco-Stylist

As we see an increase in the prominence of sustainable fashion, we also see an increased interest in sustainable fabric.

There have been recent fabric innovations with materials with low environmental impact. The fashion world has turned to alternatives with unusual provenances.

The first fabric innovation is Piñatex. This fabric is made from stripping the leftover pineapple leaves. It is a leather substitute, making it have a heavy environmental and welfare impact. It also brings new income streams to subsistence farmers, allowing them to fully utilize their crops.

Eco-Stylist

The second fabric or fabrics are Microsilk and Mylo. Microsilk is pun from the same proteins as a spider’s web, and created using biology, fermentation, and traditional textile production. Mylo is another alternative to leather. It is made infinitely from renewable mycelium, the complex latticework of underground fibers so strong they hold the planet together.

Many companies are also using Recycled Ocean Plastics as well. These companies are collecting and recycling illegal deep-sea fishing nets, post-consumer plastic bottles and other man-made debris collected off the coasts. These then produce plastic clothes, which is not great but is one way to get more use out of the material we have already manufactured.

Another fabric alternative is Refibra x Tencel. This technology is used to convert scrap cotton into virgin Tencel lyocell. This process reduces water use by 95% and does not pollute the air or soil, unlike cotton manufacturing.

Algae is another example of a fabric alternative that takes algae and transforms it into the closed-cell foam known as ethylene-vinyl acetate, which is what insoles and midsoles are made of.

Cottonized Hemp is now indistinguishable from cotton. It can be used for denim as well as hemp alternatives. Also, ECONYL takes fishing nets, cast-off carpet, and other bits of discarded nylon and creates a usable fiber.

Lastly, Orange Fiber is a silk-like textile produced using citrus byproducts.

As I continue to design clothes and create new outfits, i keep in mind these findings. I think about how fast fashion is made using fabrics that hurt the environment. Creating clothing from thrifted fashion is sustainable to an extent, however, creating sustainable fabrics creates a longer lasting effect on the fashion world.

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