Have you ever wondered about the sustainability of the materials used in your T-shirts and pants? Is cotton better than recycled polyester? What exactly is viscose again? And is Tencel really as sustainable as everyone claims? It can be really difficult to keep track of everything in the textile jungle. In this post, we've taken a closer look at the most commonly used materials and will give you an overview of the individual fibers, explaining their advantages and disadvantages.
In principle, a distinction can be made between natural, synthetic, and regenerated fibers. Natural fibers include all materials that are obtained naturally from plants or animals; these include cotton, linen, hemp, wool, and leather. Synthetic fibers, as the name suggests, are artificially produced through a chemical process. The basis of these materials can be natural or synthetic. Materials of natural origin are called regenerated fibers. Examples include viscose, modal, and lyocell. Synthetic fibers are based on synthetic polymers and are derived from the finite resource petroleum. Examples include polyester, polyacrylic, polyamide, and elastane.
Cotton is probably the best-known natural material. It is cultivated on plantations in countries including China, India, the USA, and Pakistan. During the flowering season, the plant's bud opens, revealing the white fluff, which is then harvested and processed. Cotton is incredibly versatile and can be found in virtually every type of clothing, accessory, and home textile.
One point that is frequently mentioned is the high water consumption of the cotton plant. The production of a single pair of cotton jeans can consume up to 8,000 liters of water . However, this is heavily dependent on the country where the plant is grown, the irrigation system, and the farmers' knowledge. This is because the cotton plant only needs water during the first 60 days of its growing season. By choosing the right growing region and having a thorough understanding of the plant and its needs, irrigation of the fields can be made relatively water-efficient .
Conventional cotton farming uses harmful pesticides to control weeds, which can dry out the soil and leave toxins in clothing. Certified organic cotton offers a more sustainable alternative; fewer pesticides are used in its cultivation.
Linen is one of the oldest materials and has been used for textile production for millennia. It is lightweight, breathable, and durable. Thanks to its moisture-regulating properties, linen is particularly comfortable to wear in summer and is also excellent for bedding, making it especially suitable for allergy sufferers . Unfortunately, due to its lack of elasticity, this natural fabric wrinkles extremely easily.
Flax (the linseed plant) thrives primarily in maritime climates, such as those found in northern France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, characterized by a constant alternation of sun and rain combined with strong winds. Harvesting flax is relatively labor-intensive, although many steps are now automated. Unlike other fibers, flax is not cut during harvesting but pulled from the ground along with its roots . During the so-called dew retting process, the alternating exposure to sun, dew, and rain separates the woody parts from the fibers. This retting process allows the individual components to be separated. Finally, the extracted fibers are spun into thread, which is then used to manufacture textiles.
Just like linen, hemp belongs to the bast fibers and has a very complex manufacturing process . Unlike cotton, where the cotton grows ready for processing within the plant and simply needs to be harvested, the fibers of bast fibers lie within the plant, which must first be accessed . Once the fiber bundles are separated from the rest of the plant, they can be used for technical applications such as car doors, insulation material, animal bedding, or in horticulture. Before yarn can be produced, the fiber bundles must be refined. This is done using machinery, sometimes requiring manual labor, and often involves chemical treatment of the fibers. Similar to linen, hemp is durable and absorbs moisture well, making it a good fiber for summer clothing.
Wool is a natural protein fiber made from sheep's hair. Fibers in the form of fine animal hair describe everything else: cashmere, alpaca, yak hair, camel hair, chiengora, or angora. Wool boasts impressive properties: it is water-repellent, self-cleaning, and heat-insulating .
There are different types of wool: Merino wool from Merino sheep is particularly fine and is often used for underwear and sportswear. The wool from European and German sheep, due to its coarser texture, is usually used for jackets, blankets, and bedding. A major problem with wool is mulesing , which is often practiced on Merino sheep in Australia and New Zealand. The skin folds of Merino sheep are the perfect breeding ground for fly eggs, especially around the genitals and anus, where the tiny creatures thrive. The hatched maggots burrow into the animals' skin, often causing inflammation, which can even be fatal . As a preventative measure, lambs often have their skin folds in these areas cut off without anesthesia , which understandably causes the animals great pain. Those who want to be on the safe side should ideally buy wool secondhand or only from brands that demonstrate transparency regarding ethical and sustainable wool production.
Leather is a very old, robust, and tear-resistant material that, with good quality and proper care, is very durable . There are many different types of leather, such as smooth leather, nubuck leather, suede, and nappa leather. From an ethical perspective, leather is unfortunately problematic because it is often not (as is often assumed) made from waste products of the meat industry. Breeding, raising, and slaughtering the animals consumes enormous resources and pollutes the environment. Leather production is relatively complex and consists of many different steps. This results in high water and energy consumption , which, however, always depends on the producer and their optimization processes.
Animal-friendly alternatives are becoming increasingly available on the market. These range from synthetic imitations based on petroleum to more innovative materials like pineapple or apple leather. Vegan leather is often labeled as sustainable, although the two aren't necessarily related. Franziska Uhl and Franziska Schmid have written a worthwhile article about vegan leather alternatives for Fashionchangers . You can find it here .
The proportion of synthetic fibers in textiles has been increasing rapidly for years. According to the German Chemical Fiber Association (Industrievereinigung Chemiefaser e.V.), synthetic fibers account for approximately 70% of global textile production, of which cellulose fibers make up about 10%. Around 1% of the world's crude oil production is used to manufacture synthetic fibers . Oil drilling has devastating ecological consequences. Soils and waterways are contaminated, forests are cleared, and numerous plant species die out or even become extinct. While synthetic fibers are durable, they are not biodegradable and release microplastics with every wash , which end up in rivers and lakes via wastewater, causing lasting pollution. The chemicals used during the manufacturing process pose an additional burden on both people and the environment.
Clothing with a high proportion of synthetic fibers, especially polyamide, can cause skin irritation . This particularly affects people who suffer from eczema, acne, or other skin conditions.
Polyester is by far the most widely used synthetic fiber. Its positive properties include tear resistance, elasticity, and resistance to light and weathering. However, this doesn't change the fact that polyester is derived from petroleum and is therefore not inherently sustainable . An alternative is recycled polyester, which is increasingly used and is usually made from industrial waste or post-consumer plastics such as PET bottles. Approximately 40% of PET bottles in Europe are processed into fibers annually . Polyester is now used for almost all types of clothing, often blended with cotton.
Polyester also hides behind names like Trevira, Diolen, Polartec, Polarguard, Vestan, Thermolite or Dacron.
Polyacrylic has similar properties to wool; it is fluffy, voluminous, and warm. Therefore, the fiber is frequently used in blended fabrics with cotton or sheep's wool and is thus found primarily in sweaters, cardigans, socks, blankets, and all wool-like items. A disadvantage of polyacrylic, as well as other synthetic fibers, is the tendency to develop an unpleasant odor when sweating .
Other names for polyacrylic are Orlon, Dolan, Dralon or polyacrylonitrile.
Polyamide is a plastic used in many different fields, including mechanical engineering. To form the plastic into threads, the molecules are linked together through polymerization or polycondensation to create a chain or thread. Polyamide is elastic and stretchable, highly lustrous, and water-repellent. Thanks to these properties, polyamide is primarily used in functional clothing, swimwear, and weatherproof clothing , but can also be found in tights and synthetic underwear .
Polyamide is also known as Nylon, Perlon, Helanca, Teflon, Tactel, Grilon, Dederon or Antron.
Elastane is known as a highly stretchy and elastic fabric that occurs in only small percentages (1% to 7%) of garments. Often, elastane is not blended into other fabrics but used only in cuffs, such as in socks. The fiber is petroleum-based and must consist of at least 85% polyurethane to be classified as elastane according to German textile standards. The fiber's elasticity is remarkable: it can be stretched by 500% to 700% without losing its original shape .
Like all petroleum-based materials , elastane releases tiny plastic particles when washed , which then enter the environment via wastewater. Unfortunately, there is currently no sustainable alternative on the market that is not petroleum-based and requires less energy to produce.
Elastane is also known as Lycra, Spandex, Dorlastan or polyurethane.
Viscose is derived from wood fibers and is one of the best-known synthetic fibers of natural origin. It is biodegradable and produced from wood fibers using a chemical process. In this process, wood pulp (for example, from beech, eucalyptus, or spruce) is decomposed with sodium hydroxide. Carbon disulfide is then added, creating the base mass of viscose. This is then further processed into viscose fibers. Its production consumes significantly less water and energy than, for example, cotton . Its natural origin makes viscose a skin-friendly material, and it prevents the perspiration odor that often develops quickly with synthetic fabrics. Due to the fineness of its fibers, viscose is also often referred to as artificial silk.
Modal is derived from beechwood and is also biodegradable. Unlike viscose, modal absorbs moisture better, has a firmer consistency, and therefore greater tear resistance. Clothing made from modal has a silky sheen and is very comfortable to wear . It is particularly durable and easy to care for . Another advantage of this regenerated fiber: unlike cotton, beechwood can also be produced in Central Europe. Other names for modal include Avril and Lenzing Modal.
Lyocell, like viscose and modal, is also made from wood fibers. The fabric is prized for its moisture-wicking and temperature-regulating properties , making it versatile for use in garments such as dresses, T-shirts, and trousers. Lyocell is biodegradable: released fibers can be broken down by microorganisms within a few months . Furthermore, the manufacturing process is considered particularly environmentally friendly, as it uses far less water than, for example, cotton production – although this is a very complex issue, making a general comparison almost impossible. Regionality also plays a role: comparing a beech forest in Europe with a conventional cotton field in India, the beech forest performs considerably better in terms of water consumption. However, when comparing it to an organic cotton field in Tanzania, a rain-fed region, the picture changes again.
Lyocell is also known to many as " Tencel ." This is the brand name of the Upper Austrian company Lenzing for these fibers. It's comparable to the brand name "Tempo," which has become common parlance for paper tissues.
We hope this blog post has shed some light on the complex world of textiles and cleared up a few questions. The production of different materials is complex and often very labor-intensive; we should keep this in mind with every purchase. The sustainability of a material always depends on many different factors; there is no single sustainable material . The most sustainable options are still high-quality garments that are cared for and worn for a long time.
In this sense, as Vivienne Westwood says: Buy less, choose well, make it last.
Fairlis.de: Sustainable materials and which ones are not
Loveco: Everything you've always wanted to know about sustainable materials
Hessnatur Textile Lexicon: Synthetic Fibers
Smarticular: Identify and avoid synthetic fibers in clothing – goodbye microplastics
TextileOne: Viscose
Fashion changers: Are hemp fibers the solution?
Industrial Association of Chemical Fibers eV: Synthetic Chemical Fibers
Industrial Association of Chemical Fibers eV: Cellulosic Chemical Fibers
Ana Alcazar: Synthetic Fibers
Fashionchangers: How sustainable is vegan leather really?
Utopia: Polyamide
Fashionchangers: What you should know about the textile fiber Lyocell
Fashion changers: 4 things you should know about organic cotton
erlich textile: Linen
Leitner Linen: From flax to linen: The cultivation
Fashion Changers: Everything you should know about wool
Aboutwork: Stretch material: The advantages and disadvantages of elastane fibers
Walbusch: Leather: Properties, Care & Range
Natural fibers vs. synthetic fibers vs. regenerated fibers
In principle, a distinction can be made between natural, synthetic, and regenerated fibers. Natural fibers include all materials that are obtained naturally from plants or animals; these include cotton, linen, hemp, wool, and leather. Synthetic fibers, as the name suggests, are artificially produced through a chemical process. The basis of these materials can be natural or synthetic. Materials of natural origin are called regenerated fibers. Examples include viscose, modal, and lyocell. Synthetic fibers are based on synthetic polymers and are derived from the finite resource petroleum. Examples include polyester, polyacrylic, polyamide, and elastane.
natural fibers
Cotton
Cotton is probably the best-known natural material. It is cultivated on plantations in countries including China, India, the USA, and Pakistan. During the flowering season, the plant's bud opens, revealing the white fluff, which is then harvested and processed. Cotton is incredibly versatile and can be found in virtually every type of clothing, accessory, and home textile.
One point that is frequently mentioned is the high water consumption of the cotton plant. The production of a single pair of cotton jeans can consume up to 8,000 liters of water . However, this is heavily dependent on the country where the plant is grown, the irrigation system, and the farmers' knowledge. This is because the cotton plant only needs water during the first 60 days of its growing season. By choosing the right growing region and having a thorough understanding of the plant and its needs, irrigation of the fields can be made relatively water-efficient .
Conventional cotton farming uses harmful pesticides to control weeds, which can dry out the soil and leave toxins in clothing. Certified organic cotton offers a more sustainable alternative; fewer pesticides are used in its cultivation.
Linen
Linen is one of the oldest materials and has been used for textile production for millennia. It is lightweight, breathable, and durable. Thanks to its moisture-regulating properties, linen is particularly comfortable to wear in summer and is also excellent for bedding, making it especially suitable for allergy sufferers . Unfortunately, due to its lack of elasticity, this natural fabric wrinkles extremely easily.
Flax (the linseed plant) thrives primarily in maritime climates, such as those found in northern France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, characterized by a constant alternation of sun and rain combined with strong winds. Harvesting flax is relatively labor-intensive, although many steps are now automated. Unlike other fibers, flax is not cut during harvesting but pulled from the ground along with its roots . During the so-called dew retting process, the alternating exposure to sun, dew, and rain separates the woody parts from the fibers. This retting process allows the individual components to be separated. Finally, the extracted fibers are spun into thread, which is then used to manufacture textiles.
hemp
Just like linen, hemp belongs to the bast fibers and has a very complex manufacturing process . Unlike cotton, where the cotton grows ready for processing within the plant and simply needs to be harvested, the fibers of bast fibers lie within the plant, which must first be accessed . Once the fiber bundles are separated from the rest of the plant, they can be used for technical applications such as car doors, insulation material, animal bedding, or in horticulture. Before yarn can be produced, the fiber bundles must be refined. This is done using machinery, sometimes requiring manual labor, and often involves chemical treatment of the fibers. Similar to linen, hemp is durable and absorbs moisture well, making it a good fiber for summer clothing.
Wool
Wool is a natural protein fiber made from sheep's hair. Fibers in the form of fine animal hair describe everything else: cashmere, alpaca, yak hair, camel hair, chiengora, or angora. Wool boasts impressive properties: it is water-repellent, self-cleaning, and heat-insulating .
There are different types of wool: Merino wool from Merino sheep is particularly fine and is often used for underwear and sportswear. The wool from European and German sheep, due to its coarser texture, is usually used for jackets, blankets, and bedding. A major problem with wool is mulesing , which is often practiced on Merino sheep in Australia and New Zealand. The skin folds of Merino sheep are the perfect breeding ground for fly eggs, especially around the genitals and anus, where the tiny creatures thrive. The hatched maggots burrow into the animals' skin, often causing inflammation, which can even be fatal . As a preventative measure, lambs often have their skin folds in these areas cut off without anesthesia , which understandably causes the animals great pain. Those who want to be on the safe side should ideally buy wool secondhand or only from brands that demonstrate transparency regarding ethical and sustainable wool production.
Leather / Synthetic Leather
Leather is a very old, robust, and tear-resistant material that, with good quality and proper care, is very durable . There are many different types of leather, such as smooth leather, nubuck leather, suede, and nappa leather. From an ethical perspective, leather is unfortunately problematic because it is often not (as is often assumed) made from waste products of the meat industry. Breeding, raising, and slaughtering the animals consumes enormous resources and pollutes the environment. Leather production is relatively complex and consists of many different steps. This results in high water and energy consumption , which, however, always depends on the producer and their optimization processes.
Animal-friendly alternatives are becoming increasingly available on the market. These range from synthetic imitations based on petroleum to more innovative materials like pineapple or apple leather. Vegan leather is often labeled as sustainable, although the two aren't necessarily related. Franziska Uhl and Franziska Schmid have written a worthwhile article about vegan leather alternatives for Fashionchangers . You can find it here .
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Synthetic fibers
The proportion of synthetic fibers in textiles has been increasing rapidly for years. According to the German Chemical Fiber Association (Industrievereinigung Chemiefaser e.V.), synthetic fibers account for approximately 70% of global textile production, of which cellulose fibers make up about 10%. Around 1% of the world's crude oil production is used to manufacture synthetic fibers . Oil drilling has devastating ecological consequences. Soils and waterways are contaminated, forests are cleared, and numerous plant species die out or even become extinct. While synthetic fibers are durable, they are not biodegradable and release microplastics with every wash , which end up in rivers and lakes via wastewater, causing lasting pollution. The chemicals used during the manufacturing process pose an additional burden on both people and the environment.
Clothing with a high proportion of synthetic fibers, especially polyamide, can cause skin irritation . This particularly affects people who suffer from eczema, acne, or other skin conditions.
polyester
Polyester is by far the most widely used synthetic fiber. Its positive properties include tear resistance, elasticity, and resistance to light and weathering. However, this doesn't change the fact that polyester is derived from petroleum and is therefore not inherently sustainable . An alternative is recycled polyester, which is increasingly used and is usually made from industrial waste or post-consumer plastics such as PET bottles. Approximately 40% of PET bottles in Europe are processed into fibers annually . Polyester is now used for almost all types of clothing, often blended with cotton.
Polyester also hides behind names like Trevira, Diolen, Polartec, Polarguard, Vestan, Thermolite or Dacron.
Polyacryl
Polyacrylic has similar properties to wool; it is fluffy, voluminous, and warm. Therefore, the fiber is frequently used in blended fabrics with cotton or sheep's wool and is thus found primarily in sweaters, cardigans, socks, blankets, and all wool-like items. A disadvantage of polyacrylic, as well as other synthetic fibers, is the tendency to develop an unpleasant odor when sweating .
Other names for polyacrylic are Orlon, Dolan, Dralon or polyacrylonitrile.
polyamide
Polyamide is a plastic used in many different fields, including mechanical engineering. To form the plastic into threads, the molecules are linked together through polymerization or polycondensation to create a chain or thread. Polyamide is elastic and stretchable, highly lustrous, and water-repellent. Thanks to these properties, polyamide is primarily used in functional clothing, swimwear, and weatherproof clothing , but can also be found in tights and synthetic underwear .
Polyamide is also known as Nylon, Perlon, Helanca, Teflon, Tactel, Grilon, Dederon or Antron.
Elastane
Elastane is known as a highly stretchy and elastic fabric that occurs in only small percentages (1% to 7%) of garments. Often, elastane is not blended into other fabrics but used only in cuffs, such as in socks. The fiber is petroleum-based and must consist of at least 85% polyurethane to be classified as elastane according to German textile standards. The fiber's elasticity is remarkable: it can be stretched by 500% to 700% without losing its original shape .
Like all petroleum-based materials , elastane releases tiny plastic particles when washed , which then enter the environment via wastewater. Unfortunately, there is currently no sustainable alternative on the market that is not petroleum-based and requires less energy to produce.
Elastane is also known as Lycra, Spandex, Dorlastan or polyurethane.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Regenerated fibers
viscose
Viscose is derived from wood fibers and is one of the best-known synthetic fibers of natural origin. It is biodegradable and produced from wood fibers using a chemical process. In this process, wood pulp (for example, from beech, eucalyptus, or spruce) is decomposed with sodium hydroxide. Carbon disulfide is then added, creating the base mass of viscose. This is then further processed into viscose fibers. Its production consumes significantly less water and energy than, for example, cotton . Its natural origin makes viscose a skin-friendly material, and it prevents the perspiration odor that often develops quickly with synthetic fabrics. Due to the fineness of its fibers, viscose is also often referred to as artificial silk.
Modal
Modal is derived from beechwood and is also biodegradable. Unlike viscose, modal absorbs moisture better, has a firmer consistency, and therefore greater tear resistance. Clothing made from modal has a silky sheen and is very comfortable to wear . It is particularly durable and easy to care for . Another advantage of this regenerated fiber: unlike cotton, beechwood can also be produced in Central Europe. Other names for modal include Avril and Lenzing Modal.
Lyocell
Lyocell, like viscose and modal, is also made from wood fibers. The fabric is prized for its moisture-wicking and temperature-regulating properties , making it versatile for use in garments such as dresses, T-shirts, and trousers. Lyocell is biodegradable: released fibers can be broken down by microorganisms within a few months . Furthermore, the manufacturing process is considered particularly environmentally friendly, as it uses far less water than, for example, cotton production – although this is a very complex issue, making a general comparison almost impossible. Regionality also plays a role: comparing a beech forest in Europe with a conventional cotton field in India, the beech forest performs considerably better in terms of water consumption. However, when comparing it to an organic cotton field in Tanzania, a rain-fed region, the picture changes again.
Lyocell is also known to many as " Tencel ." This is the brand name of the Upper Austrian company Lenzing for these fibers. It's comparable to the brand name "Tempo," which has become common parlance for paper tissues.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
We hope this blog post has shed some light on the complex world of textiles and cleared up a few questions. The production of different materials is complex and often very labor-intensive; we should keep this in mind with every purchase. The sustainability of a material always depends on many different factors; there is no single sustainable material . The most sustainable options are still high-quality garments that are cared for and worn for a long time.
In this sense, as Vivienne Westwood says: Buy less, choose well, make it last.
Sources:
Fairlis.de: Sustainable materials and which ones are not
Loveco: Everything you've always wanted to know about sustainable materials
Hessnatur Textile Lexicon: Synthetic Fibers
Smarticular: Identify and avoid synthetic fibers in clothing – goodbye microplastics
TextileOne: Viscose
Fashion changers: Are hemp fibers the solution?
Industrial Association of Chemical Fibers eV: Synthetic Chemical Fibers
Industrial Association of Chemical Fibers eV: Cellulosic Chemical Fibers
Ana Alcazar: Synthetic Fibers
Fashionchangers: How sustainable is vegan leather really?
Utopia: Polyamide
Fashionchangers: What you should know about the textile fiber Lyocell
Fashion changers: 4 things you should know about organic cotton
erlich textile: Linen
Leitner Linen: From flax to linen: The cultivation
Fashion Changers: Everything you should know about wool
Aboutwork: Stretch material: The advantages and disadvantages of elastane fibers
Walbusch: Leather: Properties, Care & Range
Leave a comment
This site is protected by hCaptcha and the hCaptcha Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.