Top 10 Eco-Friendly Textiles for Sustainable Fashion Brands

We say it’s time to say no to the fast-paced fashion industry's harmful environmental impact. Embrace sustainable fashion by choosing eco-friendly textiles to reduce carbon footprint, conserve resources, and support ethical production practices. 

This guide will delve into the textiles making waves in sustainable fashion that are not only environmentally–friendly, but also stylish as well.

What are Eco-Friendly Textiles?

Eco-friendly textiles, also known as sustainable fabrics, are materials that minimize their negative impact on the environment throughout their entire lifecycle. This includes production, processing, use, and disposal. 

The sustainable process standard is certified by the Global Organic Textile Standard, which uses criteria from the use of organic materials labor standards to supply chain traceability.

These textiles are often sourced from renewable resources, produced using ethical and sustainable practices, and have a lower environmental footprint than conventional fabrics.

Key characteristics of eco-friendly natural fabrics:

• Renewable resources: Derived from plants, animals, or recycled materials, reducing reliance on non-renewable resources.
• Minimal chemical use: Employing natural dyes and finishes, avoiding harmful chemicals that can pollute water and harm ecosystems.
• Carbon footprint: these organic fabrics are often carbon neutral or carbon negative raw material, which contributes to less CO2 emission.
• Ethical production: Supporting fair labor practices, ensuring workers are treated fairly and receive adequate compensation.
• Biodegradable: Breaking down naturally over time, reducing waste and landfill pollution.

Common textiles we often use are made from synthetic fibers like polyester and nylon, which are derived from fossil fuels. These materials have a high environmental impact due to their production process and difficulty in biodegrading.

Synthetic textiles are often attributed to fast fashion because they are cheaper to make and are mass-produced. Fast fashion also often relies on low-quality synthetic materials and unethical production practices, contributing to environmental pollution and worker exploitation.

Why Do We Need to Switch to Eco-Friendly Textiles?

The fashion industry's transition to eco-friendly textiles is crucial for addressing today's pressing environmental challenges. Sustainable textiles helps us:

Reduce Water Pollution

The fashion industry is a significant contributor to water pollution, primarily due to harmful chemicals in conventional textiles' dyeing and finishing processes. These chemicals, such as heavy metals, synthetic dyes, and formaldehyde, come from the water wastes in millions of gallons from dyeing mills. This effluent contaminates water sources, harms aquatic ecosystems, and risks human health.

Moreover, the synthetic textile industry also uses a lot of water for its production. Mills can use 200 tons of water, which only produces more than a thousand clothes.

Conversely, eco-friendly textiles often employ natural dyes and finishes that are less toxic and have a lower environmental impact. By reducing the use of harmful chemicals, the fashion industry can significantly mitigate water pollution and protect our precious water resources.

Conserve Energy

Massive amounts of fossil fuels produce synthetic fibers, such as polyester and nylon. Moreover, the production itself consumes a lot of energy, often supplied by fossil fuels. This contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and worsens the effects of climate change. 

In contrast, eco-friendly fabrics like organic cotton and hemp are often derived from renewable resources and require less energy.

Minimize Landfill Waste

The fast fashion industry has contributed to a significant increase in waste fabric, with 1.92 million tons of clothing ending up in landfills every year. This waste not only contributes to environmental pollution but also exacerbates the problem of resource depletion.

Moreover, $500 billion is lost each year due to clothes not being worn enough and failure to recycle clothing/

Eco-friendly textiles, like recycled cotton, are often biodegradable or recyclable, which help reduce landfill waste and promote a circular economy. Eco-friendly textiles and supporting brands prioritizing ethical production contribute to a more sustainable fashion industry.

Protect Biodiversity

Conventional textile production can significantly negatively impact biodiversity, particularly in developing countries. Cotton cultivation, for example, can contribute to deforestation and habitat destruction. Pesticides and herbicides in cotton farming can harm wildlife and contaminate water sources.

Consumers can support brands by prioritizing sustainable sourcing and ethical production practices and choosing eco-friendly textiles. This can help reduce the fashion industry's negative impacts on biodiversity and protect ecosystems.

Improve Worker Welfare

The fashion industry has a long history of unethical labor practices, including low wages and unsafe working conditions. Workers earn only a fraction of what they make, as clothes are often sent to developed countries where they cost much more. Synthetic chemicals are also used in clothing production, and workers are exposed to them as they often lack sufficient protective equipment.

Fashion brands often get away with this exploitation as mass textile and clothing production is often outsourced in developing countries with weak labor laws and limited enforcement.

Moreover, since clothing production is considered low-skilled, children are also exploited. 

Choosing eco-friendly textiles and supporting brands that prioritize fair labor practices helps improve the working conditions of garment workers and promotes ethical sourcing in the fashion industry.

10 Eco-Friendly Textiles to Look For

Here are some of the commonly known and best sustainable fabrics that you can look for when shopping for new clothes;

1. Organic Cotton

• What it is: Cotton grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers.
• Best for: Casual wear, loungewear, and bedding.
• Production: Organic cotton farmers manage pests using natural pest control methods like crop rotation, companion planting, and beneficial insects. They also avoid synthetic fertilizers and rely on organic compost and manure to improve soil health. This approach reduces the environmental impact of cotton production, promotes biodiversity, and improves soil quality.

2. Organic Linen

• What it is: A natural fiber derived from the flax plant.
• Best for: Summer clothing, dresses, and shirts.
• Production: Linen production involves several steps:
  1. Retting: The flax stalks are soaked in water to decompose the surrounding tissues and release the fibers. This process can be done in ponds, rivers, or by using a mechanical retting machine.
  2. Scutching: The retted stalks are beaten and scraped to remove the woody outer layer and separate the fibers.
  3. Heckling: The fibers are combed to straighten and align them, preparing them for spinning.
  4. Spinning: The fibers are spun into yarn, which can then be woven into fabric.

3. Hemp

• What it is: A strong, durable fiber derived from the hemp plant.
• Best for: Activewear, accessories, and home goods.
• Production: Hemp plants are grown and harvested, and the fibers are extracted through decortication and scutching. Decortication involves separating the fibrous core from the woody outer layer. Scutching is similar to the process used for linen, where the fibers are beaten and scraped to remove any remaining impurities.

4. Bamboo

• What it is: A highly renewable resource that can be processed into soft, breathable fabric.
• Best for: Undergarments, socks, and bedding.
• Production: Bamboo is processed through a chemical process to extract the cellulose fibers, which are then spun into yarn. The most common method is the viscose process, which involves dissolving the cellulose in a chemical solution and then regenerating it into fibers. However, some newer processes, like the Tencel process, use less harmful chemicals and have a lower environmental impact.

5. Lyocell (Genericized trademark)

• What it is: A biodegradable, cellulose-based fiber derived from wood pulp.
• Best for: Dresses, blouses, and lingerie.
• Production: Lyocell is produced through a closed-loop process that minimizes environmental impact and conserves water. The wood pulp is dissolved in a solvent, and the cellulose is regenerated into fibers. The solvent is then recovered and reused, reducing waste and pollution. Lyocell production also uses less energy than other cellulose-based fibers like viscose.

6. Recycled Polyester

• What it is: Polyester made from recycled plastic bottles.
• Best for: Activewear, outerwear, and accessories.
• Production: Recycled polyester is produced through a multi-step process:
  1. Plastic bottle collection: Plastic bottles are collected and sorted.
  2. Cleaning and shredding: The bottles are cleaned and shredded into small flakes.
  3. Polymerization: The flakes are melted and chemically treated to break down the polymer chains and form a new polyester material.
  4. Spinning: The new polyester material is spun into fibers that can be used to create fabrics.
  5. Manufacturing: The recycled polyester fibers are then woven or knitted into fabrics and used to make various products.

7. Recycled Nylon

• What it is: Nylon made from recycled materials, such as fishing nets and carpet scraps.
• Best for: Activewear, swimwear, and outerwear.
• Production: Recycled nylon is produced through a process of chemical recycling. The waste material is broken down into its constituent monomers, which are then repolymerized to form new nylon fibers. This process is more energy-efficient than producing nylon from virgin materials.

8. Organic Wool

• What it is: Wool from sheep raised on organic farms without the use of synthetic chemicals.
• Best for: Sweaters, coats, and scarves.
• Production: Organic wool is produced from sheep raised on farms that adhere to strict organic standards. These standards prohibit the use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. Organic sheep are also fed organic feed and are raised in humane conditions. The wool is sheared from the sheep and processed into yarn using traditional methods.

9. Alpaca

• What it is: A natural fiber derived from alpaca wool.
• Best for: Warm, luxurious clothing and accessories.
• Production: Alpaca wool is sheared from alpacas, mostly raised on farms in South America, such as Peru, which contributes to most of the alpaca wool production. The wool is then processed through steps, including washing, carding, spinning, and dyeing. Alpaca wool is known for its softness, warmth, and hypoallergenic properties.

10. Cork

• What it is: A natural, sustainable material derived from the cork oak tree.
• Best for: Bags, shoes, and accessories.
• Production: Cork is harvested from the bark of cork oak trees without harming the tree. The bark regenerates naturally every nine to ten years, making cork a renewable resource. The harvested cork is then processed through a series of steps, including boiling, drying, and grinding, to create cork granules. These granules can be compressed into sheets or blocks and used to make various products.

Current Challenges in Manufacturing Eco-Friendly Textiles

The transition to eco-friendly textiles is not without its challenges. Here are some of the key obstacles facing the sustainable fashion industry:

1. Cost

Eco-friendly textiles often require more labor-intensive processes and sustainable materials that can be more expensive than conventional ones. For example, organic cotton farming may involve manual weeding and natural pest control methods, which can be more labor-intensive than synthetic pesticides. 

Additionally, sourcing sustainable materials like recycled polyester or organic hemp may involve higher transportation costs due to the need to transport materials from specialized suppliers or regions with limited production.

2. Infrastructure

Many existing textile factories may not have the necessary equipment or expertise to process eco-friendly materials effectively. For example, processing hemp requires specialized machinery for decortication and scutching, which may not be available in all textile factories. This can lead to increased production costs and potential delays in the production process.

Building a robust supply chain for sustainable materials can be challenging, especially in regions with limited infrastructure. This is particularly true for remote or developing regions with limited transportation, communication, and other essential infrastructure access. Additionally, ensuring the ethical and sustainable sourcing of materials can require extensive verification and auditing processes, which can add complexity to the supply chain.

3. Consumer Demand

Many consumers are still unaware of the benefits of eco-friendly textiles or may be reluctant to pay a premium for sustainable products. This lack of awareness can be attributed to limited marketing and education efforts and the perception that eco-friendly products may be lower in quality or style.

4. Technological Limitations

Ongoing research and development are still needed to improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of sustainable fabric production processes. Advancements in textile dyeing technologies can help reduce water consumption and chemical usage. New materials and processes are also being developed to create sustainable alternatives to traditional synthetic fibers.

Scaling up sustainable production methods to meet the demands of the global fashion industry can be challenging. This requires significant investments in infrastructure, technology, and skilled labor. Additionally, ensuring that sustainable practices are maintained at scale can be difficult, as it may involve complex supply chain management and quality control measures.

Final Thoughts

Transitioning to eco-friendly textiles is a critical step towards a more sustainable and ethical fashion industry. Look for eco-friendly textiles and support brands like Rizz Living that prioritize environmental and social responsibility. Let us help reduce our carbon footprint, conserve resources, and promote fair labor practices.

Check out Rizz Living and live with a style that’s good for you and the planet!