Fabrics

Mindset of Change

"I think in the same way when I'm cooking, when I'm gardening, when I'm choosing fabrics. It's a way of living."

Dries Van Noten

Different fabrics are suitable for different uses and for different people. People with sensitive skin may prefer a smooth natural fabric like silk. People who sweat more may want a fabric that dries fast like wool or viscose. The same goes for athletic activities, where quick dry and lack of abrasion are crucial. Conversely, people who get cold easily may prefer a fabric which retains heat, like wool or cashmere.

There are also sustainability considerations and tradeoffs when it comes to fabric choice - the production of the fiber, processing into fabric, dying and sewing it into clothing, and finally disposal or reuse. Ethical considerations are also a factor, including worker exposure to toxic chemicals and the treatment of animals.

I group fabrics into one of five buckets:

1. Natural fibers. These fibers come from plants or animals and they are biodegradable. Examples are: cotton, wool, cashmere, hemp, jute, linen, and fur (we'll look at leather separately).
2. Synthetic fibers. These are non-natural fibers, made from petroleum, glass, metal or rubber derivatives. They are generally not biodegradable. Examples are: polyester, spandex, nylon, rayon, and acrylic.
3. Semi-synthetic or artificial fibers. These are derived from natural materials, but intensively processed to create an artificial material. They have varying levels of biodegradability. Examples are: viscose, modal, and lyocell.
4. Mixed fibers. These are blended and mix natural, non-natural, and synthetic fibers. Examples might be: cotton and rayon, silk and viscose, or wool and spandex. A single item of clothing may have multiple types of fabric without being mixed fiber. For example, if a pair of cotton pants has an elastic waistband.
5. Recycled fibers. These are fibers which have been reclaimed from pre-existing materials. Examples might be: re-spun cotton from old t-shirts, or recycled polyester from plastic bottles.

Natural, synthetic, semi-synthetic, and recycled fibers are produced all over the world. Linen is a common fiber produced in Europe. Wool is easily found in the UK. Cashmere is originally from Mongolia, and silk from China. Polyester was created in the US, as was Lyocell. Cotton was originally from Africa. However, now all these fibers are produced around the world, far from their places of origin.

Fabric Sustainability & Ethics

There are four key things to keep in mind when considering the sustainability of a fabric:

1. The sustainability of a fiber is incredibly dependent on specifically how and where it was produced.
   1. For example, many groups have tried to produce cotton more sustainably with varying degrees of success. (Cotton is notoriously water and pesticide intensive to grow.)
   2. Wool has recently come under fire for being both unsustainable (land use) and unethical (animal rights). While this may be true in many places in the world, in other parts of the world, shepherding is an ancient and respected tradition.
   3. Silk has been called unethical for its treatment of silk worms and unsustainable due to the land required for mulberry trees. Yet, ahimsa or peace silk carefully preserves the worms and mulberry trees can provide other benefits like shade or the preservation of tradition.
2. The sustainability of a fabric (woven fibers) depends on more than just the fiber. Dying, processing, weaving, and transportation also play roles.
   1. For example, denim is a notoriously unsustainable fabric because the dying process is both water and chemical intensive.
   2. It is unfortunately common for indigenous peoples' art and history to be co-opted to produce textiles which do not benefit them.
3. As demand for a particular fiber grows, the production tends to become less and less sustainable.
   1. For example, the rise of 'cheap' cashmere has caused not only a degradation of material quality but many environmental issues.
   2. Cotton is not inherently more water intensive than many other plants, but when it is grown irresponsibly or in areas of the world which are experiencing water stress, it can become unsustainable.
4. Biodegradability or reuse potential is an important consideration to keep fabrics out of landfills.
   1. When natural materials biodegrade in landfills, they produce methane, a greenhouse gas 28x as warming as carbon dioxide. When synthetic fibers degrade in landfills, they often decompose into micro plastics which take 100s of years to complete disappear.
   2. Mixed fabrics are much harder to reuse or dispose of responsibly (for example, by composting) because they are not a pure fiber.

If you want to do a deep dive into this topic, I suggest the Textile Exchange's report on preferred fabrics, which looks deep into fabric supply chains.

In terms of the ethics of fabrics, I want to share a few of key points.

1. Avoid fur. Fur farms are notoriously cruel to animals. In addition, even when labeled as rabbit or another common fur animal, fur is often sourced from cats and dogs. If you really want a fur piece, look for vintage or secondhand pieces.
2. Avoid fast fashion. Fast fashion is pretty much all around unsustainable, but not least of all because it treats its workers terribly and almost universally exposes them to dangerous working conditions.
3. Shop Fair Trade. It can be hard to find big brands that source Fair Trade, but there are lots of small collectives that have lovely textiles. A quick Google search with the adjective 'fair trade' should turn up some good alternatives.
4. Do research. In the age of the internet, you might be surprised what you can find online. I have a set of brands that I have researched and know fit me. I always try to shop from them first. Besides, cutting out brands with unknown sourcing practices is a good way to avoid impulse buying.
5. If they're sustainable, they're more likely to be ethical. This is a hard claim to prove, but anecdotally, I've found it to be true. Brands that have higher sourcing standards tend to try to do better across the board.

The ethics of fabric production include sustainability, but also go deeper into worker and animal rights. If this interests you, I highly suggest this master class by The Sustainable Fashion Collective.

Evaluating New Fabrics

There are a lot of new fabrics on the market. Once you start triggering the sustainable fashion algorithms, you'll start to see more and more of them. Shirts made from kelp, sweaters made from Nepalese yak wool, and recycled polyester athletic wear. A lot of them are very cool and have compelling narratives. This is the thought process I go through when I see them:

1. Do I need this? Buying less is always the right answer.
2. Can I find this secondhand? If I really want to buy it, can I avoid adding to the demand to create more stuff and get something that was already made? Maybe its not yak wool but its secondhand cashmere.
3. Is this the right innovation to support? If a thousand or ten thousand people purchased this, would it be a good or bad thing?
   1. In the case of kelp, seaweed is ultimately a renewable and overabundant resource whose growth has side benefits like carbon sequestration. In the case of yak wool, a slow increase in demand might help Nepalese farmers, but too fast of increase might cause a degradation of their way of life and the degradation of ecosystems a la cashmere.

Sometimes I end up buying pieces just because they are cool. I justify it to myself because I know that the first several hundred people will probably get much higher quality. It is unfortunately the case with almost all retail that quality goes down over time. Also, it is an important market signal when people are willing to pay (often a premium) for innovative materials and higher standards.

However, in the end, I always feel vaguely bad about it. Does the world really need more people making clothes? How many 1000's of clothes brands are there? Couldn't people focus on other problems? The thing we need to do above all others is consume less.

My Preferences

I try to shop only natural fibers, buy secondhand and buy less in general. I weight biodegradability very highly and frankly, my skin just prefers natural fabrics. The exceptions to this are my athletic clothes. I try to buy very few new ones, but when I do, I prioritize performance over sustainability. I want them to last a long time, and buying ones that fit awkwardly mean I end up buying more in the long run.

For this reason, I shop in stores so I can try them on. Yes, I am the weird person that is doing squats and lunges around the Lululemon. Speaking of which, the quality in stores is often significantly higher than what you buy online. Not to mention, you can try on and avoid shipping and returns (most returns go in the trash).

I also air dry all my clothes, but especially my athletic gear. In addition to shrinking natural fibers, I've found that heat from dryers breaks down synthetic fibers much faster. My favorite pairs of yoga leggings are over 10 years old!

I also try to avoid blended non-natural fibers and natural-synthetic blends. If I have to buy polyester for some reason, I look for recycled versions.

My all time favorite fabrics are silk blends: wool & silk, linen & silk, cotton & silk. Silk gives shine and lighter weight. Wool, cotton, and linen are quick drying and breathable.

Anyway, something is better than nothing. We all make the best choices that we can and we get better over time. Keep on keeping on!

A little inspiration: