"Are you wearing sustainable fabric? It matters.
The provenance of your shirt, pants, and underwear isn’t just aesthetic or ornamental. It’s serious stuff. Consider food, which isn’t that different from clothing. Textile production is an industrial process, with all the economies of scale and chemical adulteration that entails. Just as processed food bears increasingly little resemblance to whole food, clothes are not “whole textiles.” They are processed junk fabric enhanced with plastic fibres and many of the same chemicals we try to limit in our foods.
But there’s better clothing out there, just as there’s better food. There’s clothing made of sustainable fabric—fabrics that sustain life, rather than detract from it.
When I say “sustainable,” I’m not thinking about the planet as much as I’m thinking about the health of my own body and my family’s. For if something is going to be sustainable on a global level, it must first be a sustainable fabric for the individual. It has to support the life of the organism that populates the planet and is indeed part of the planet. Again, let’s refer back to food. If a diet isn’t compatible with good health in the population, how can it be good for the planet? Is there any situation where a diet heals the planet and its biological systems while leaving the individual animals who eat it sickly, diseased, weak, and infertile? Of course not.
For clothing to be made with truly sustainable fabric, it must be good for individual health and the environment. No other definition of “sustainable” is acceptable. And so when determining the sustainability of a given fabric, we have to consider the health impacts.
The provenance of your shirt, pants, and underwear isn’t just aesthetic or ornamental. It’s serious stuff. Consider food, which isn’t that different from clothing. Textile production is an industrial process, with all the economies of scale and chemical adulteration that entails. Just as processed food bears increasingly little resemblance to whole food, clothes are not “whole textiles.” They are processed junk fabric enhanced with plastic fibres and many of the same chemicals we try to limit in our foods.
But there’s better clothing out there, just as there’s better food. There’s clothing made of sustainable fabric—fabrics that sustain life, rather than detract from it.
When I say “sustainable,” I’m not thinking about the planet as much as I’m thinking about the health of my own body and my family’s. For if something is going to be sustainable on a global level, it must first be a sustainable fabric for the individual. It has to support the life of the organism that populates the planet and is indeed part of the planet. Again, let’s refer back to food. If a diet isn’t compatible with good health in the population, how can it be good for the planet? Is there any situation where a diet heals the planet and its biological systems while leaving the individual animals who eat it sickly, diseased, weak, and infertile? Of course not.
For clothing to be made with truly sustainable fabric, it must be good for individual health and the environment. No other definition of “sustainable” is acceptable. And so when determining the sustainability of a given fabric, we have to consider the health impacts.
The Best Sustainable Fabrics
Organic Cotton
Linen
Wool
Tencel
How to Make Good Choices about Sustainable Fabrics
Make good choices when and where you can.
How to Make Good Choices about Sustainable Fabrics
Make good choices when and where you can.
- Don’t wear snug fitting plastic (polyester) underwear. Maybe don’t wear underwear at all.
- Limit or eliminate print tees.
- Limit water-resistant or stain-resistant clothing.
- Limit wrinkle-free clothing.
- Buy your leggings and yoga pants carefully.
- Focus on quality over quantity. Be willing to spend a little more for better feeling, “healthier” more sustainable fabrics that last longer.
- If you’re dressing your baby or child, spend the money on quality stuff. At the very least, minimize child clothing with prints and graphics and aim for natural fabrics.
- Buy natural sustainable fabric like organic cotton, linen, and wool whenever possible and realistic.
- Visit thrift stores for well-worn natural sustainable fabric clothing that’s had plenty of time to leach out most of its chemical load.
- Blends are better than nothing. Remember that most of the studies discussed above found that cotton-polyester blends were less harmful (and in some cases totally harmless) than pure polyester clothing."
The above words are just a snippet from Marks article, which you can read in full here
I do like to wear cotton during the warmer months and wool when it gets cooler. However, it is not always possible to wear sustainable fabrics, and at times a blend of fabrics works well. I found the last point about cotton-polyester blends very interesting. Do please share any thoughts / comments below.
All the best Jan
36 comments:
...I love cotton.
I wear very little that isn't cotton, though I do have a few tops that are a blend. BUT I wear printed T shirts...they disguise spills and drips better. LOL I have some cotton shirts that are 11 years old, that I still wear in winter...and they still look nice. I wore polyester quite a bit as a teen ager and just always felt it was cold in winter and hot in summer.
Thanks for these great tips.
You know I haven't really given a lot of thought to this, I have a few blends of cotton polyester, but I will have to keep that in mind when buying clothes in the future.
Gracias por los consejos. Te mando un beso.
I like cotton, wool and linen, but no idea what tencel is..
Jan - you are the second blogger in the last few weeks who has written about this topic. Although I am passionate about climate issues and the environment, this is not a subject I have thought about much until now. Thanks for some additional "food" for thought!
I do like natural fabrics and am prepared to spend more on them. They last, so it is sometimes an economy.
I do prefer natural fabrics but it's not always possible to find what you need in the fabric you want.
I try to buy only wool, cotton or linen clothing but it is surprisingly difficult sometimes and many of my clothes are actually made of fabric blends, but as you say the blends are much better than pure polyester
An interesting post and something to think about.
I like clothes which I can wear for years. When I am fed up with things, I often do a swap with a friend, we wear the same size. This way the clothes get worn well! Valerie
Ottimi consigli.Uso quasi sempre solo prodotti naturali.
HI Jan most of clothing is older than 25 yrs...and mostly cotton. Great advice!
Hello,
Interesting post and information. I try to buy mostly cotton clothing.
Take care, have a happy day!
Underwear has a lot to commend it . Think about it.
If you avoid wrinkle-free clothes, consider the environmental costs of ironing.
I like cotton and our local cotton quality is really good. Thanks for the tips. Greetings.
Wow a lot to think about it's something I haven't even considered before although it does make a lot of sense, I'm going to have to give this some thought.
I like cotton and wool in the winter. I'm not sure how sustainable wool is, but it does keep you warm. But I must admit I fail because I do like fleece. Like wool, it keeps you warm and isn't so scratchy. It is interesting how so few people think about sustainable fabrics. Thanks for sharing this!
I try my best to get sustainable fabrics but it's not always easy.
Interesting topic dear Jan
I liked learning how to choose clothing wisely.
I am huge fan of cotton since I came to the senses. Tencel is not favorite but an inevitable ble choice for events
Blessings
Muy interesante esta entrada. Intento usas fibras naturales, pero a veces es difÃcil encontrarlas. Me gusta el lino, y el algodón. Besos.
I love cotton, can't beat it for durability and comfort. On the flip side of wearing Sustainable Fabrics, passing them down. I used to donate all my clothes to Goodwill but the prices they have started asking for stuff is crazy. Now I post them on my subdivision FB page and I give them away. That way I am recycling, reusing them.
Love this post🥰! Good point about thrift store clothes having dumped their chemical load. They've also shed their often ridiculous original price.
I love linen especially. In summer, I go with the tourist out of suitcase wrinkle look. :)
Those are excellent ideas -- some hard to live by but well worth paying attention to. I love my cotton! Like Erika, I'm just a sucker for fleece!
I always preferred cotton and linen, so I'm glad to see they're sustainable fabrics, too.
I don't like wool other than a coat. Too many years in parochial school wearing a hot, itchy wool jumper (pinafore?) and skirt. Year round. Like Erika, I prefer fleece.
Many thanks to you all, for sharing your thoughts and comments so far ... please feel free to add to them :)
For those readers who are not too sure what Tencel is you can read more about it using this link
https://www.tencel.com/about
All the best Jan
I agree in this, as Clothes' quality is important! I always try to buy cotton. Unfortunately, the main problem is that many clothes are shipped from Est Asia, as they're so cheap. On the other hand, their quality isn't good enough in terms of sustainability.
Great post!
I prefer cotton all the way.
I do like cotton!!
Interesting post. I must admit I'd never given this much thought!!
I've spent the summer in cotton dresses. Now I have to bring out the warmer stuff!
Cotton is generally my go to for clothes.
Muito interessante.
Um abraço e bom fim-de-semana.
Andarilhar
Dedais de Francisco e Idalisa
Livros-Autografados
Love this post, we all have to think more carefully about how sustainable are clothes and carbon footprint are.xxx
I can't remember the last time I bought clothes, and even then I'm sure it was thrifted/Goodwill. Well, except for underwear :) I buy loose cotton undies. I don't like tight clothing.
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