The Top 5 Most Sustainable Fabrics In The World (2023)

FAQs

What is the most popular sustainable fabric that we sell? ›

Recycled cotton

Cotton is one of the most common fabrics in the world. This plant-based fibre is light and breathable, which makes it a wardrobe staple.

Organic cotton. Organic cotton is the most popular eco-friendly and sustainable fabric. Lightweight and durable, it's easy to wash and care for.

The most sustainable synthetic fabrics are recycled polyester, nylon, spandex, lyocell, and biobased plastics. They are made-fibers used for clothing production that also protect the environment much better than other conventional fabrics.

Bamboo. Sustainability experts nearly universally agree bamboo is one of the best eco-friendly building materials on the planet. Its rate of self-generation is incredibly high, with some species growing up to three feet in 24 hours.

Hemp, wool, organic cotton, soy silk, bamboo fabrics, jute, corn fiber etc are considered as eco-friendly fabrics due to their availability from nature with out any harmful effects of chemical or toxics. Moreover, as compared to other synthetic fibers they are available in a cheaper rate.

Nylon and polyester

Made from petrochemicals, these synthetics are non-biodegradable as well, so they are inherently unsustainable on two counts. Nylon manufacture creates nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas 310 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

1) Organic or Recycled Cotton

The most sustainable way to wear cotton is in its recycled form. This fabric is made with post-industrial and post-consumer waste and uses far less water and energy to produce in comparison with conventional and organic cotton.

The worst fabrics for the environment: Cotton, synthetics and animal-derived materials.

1. ORGANIC COTTON. Organic cotton is one of the most natural fabrics out there. It's grown without pesticides and synthetic fertilizers and processed with no chemicals.

Is silk eco-friendly? ›

Generally speaking, silk is considered a more sustainable fiber. It is a renewable resource, can biodegrade, and uses less water, chemicals, and energy than many other fibers.

Bamboo is usually a very sustainably grown crop, however you need to make sure you are not buying bamboo rayon, the most common type of bamboo fabric on the market. Bamboo rayon requires intensive chemicals during the manufacturing of the fibres, 50% of which may well end up being released into the local environments.

Conventionally-grown cotton is bad for the environment because of its high water consumption and pollution, soil degradation, greenhouse gas emissions, and use of harmful pesticides and fertilisers.

Organic cotton is sustainable cotton grown without the use of synthetic pesticides, artificial fertilizer and other toxic chemicals. By law, organic cotton plants can't come from genetically engineered seeds, and strict regulations dictate how cotton must be grown to be certified organic.

In terms of raw material, linen has less impact on the environment. Cotton is the heavy on the use of pesticides, even though organic cotton uses less water and pesticides.

Polyester is not biodegradable, and can shed toxic microfibers. While cotton, wool, and silk will completely biodegrade within a few months to a few years, as a plastic, polyester will take hundreds of years to completely biodegrade.

Approximately half of all textiles are made of cotton. The global reach of cotton is wide, but current cotton production methods are environmentally unsustainable—ultimately undermining the industry's ability to maintain future production.

Because fleeces regrow every year after shearing, wool is a natural, renewable fiber source, making it one of the most sustainable sources of clothing.

Choose natural fibres

Choose high quality, natural and biodegradable fibres such as silk and cotton to ensure that your velvet doesn't linger in landfill for hundreds of Christmases to come. Choose pure (unblended) fibres to boost your velvet's chances of being recycled after you've finished wearing it.

Is denim a sustainable fabric? ›

Myth: Denim is basically Indigo (plant) dyed cotton fabric. Hence it is sustainable. Fact: Denim is a twill weave cotton fabric which was once dyed with indigo extracted from the plant Indigofera tinctoria. The pigment extraction used minimal water and no chemical fertilisers.

According to the Higg Index, silk has by far the worst impact on the environment of any textile, including polyester, viscose/rayon, and lyocell. It's worse than the much-demonized cotton, using more fresh water, causing more water pollution, and emitting more greenhouse gases.

As an oil-based plastic, polyester does not biodegrade like natural fibres. Rather it stays in landfills for several decades at least – and potentially for hundreds of years.

Buying organic cotton not only reduces the number of toxins you breathe and expose your skin to, but can lessen the amount of pesticide chemicals released into the water supply when washing your clothes. Other good fabric alternatives to look for are silk, flax, wool, and tencel (made from sustainable wood pulp).

Wool production gobbles up precious resources. Environmentalists are increasingly highlighting the negative impact of sheep farming on the landscape. Land has been cleared and trees have been cut down to make room for grazing sheep, leading to increased soil salinity, erosion, and decreased biodiversity.

satin is unsustainable.

However, they are not at all eco-friendly or sustainable due to the overwhelming strain on natural resources; the water needed, food needed and land usage that must happen for such abundant amounts of animals to live.

Natural fibers such as cotton, wool, silk, linen, and cashmere are generally a better bet when choosing clothes that will last. While synthetic fibres can bring levels of stability and versatility to garments, as a rule of thumb don't buy a garment with more than a 20% portion of synthetic fiber.

Which is more sustainable cotton or polyester? ›

Polyester is not biodegradable, and can shed toxic microfibers. While cotton, wool, and silk will completely biodegrade within a few months to a few years, as a plastic, polyester will take hundreds of years to completely biodegrade.

Organic cotton is sustainable cotton grown without the use of synthetic pesticides, artificial fertilizer and other toxic chemicals. By law, organic cotton plants can't come from genetically engineered seeds, and strict regulations dictate how cotton must be grown to be certified organic.

The appeal of digital fashion

The evolution of design technologies allows creative freedom for all designers, but some clothes they design can never be worn in the real world. The Metaverse removes this hurdle — a digital avatar can wear any garment without any constraints of type, design, fabric and use.”

We have definitely seen an increase in demand for sustainable fashion in the past year. "More and more people are realising that you can invest in amazing quality, one of a kind clothing that lasts a lot longer than clothes from fast fashion retailers."

The Technology Behind Smart Textiles

One way to make a smart textile is by weaving electrically conductive yarn into a fabric to create a textile that can be used as a “Wearable Motherboard”. It can connect multiple sensors on the body, and is especially useful for health monitoring.

Generally speaking, silk is considered a more sustainable fiber. It is a renewable resource, can biodegrade, and uses less water, chemicals, and energy than many other fibers. That said, problems can arise with chemical use, animal rights, high energy input, and labor practices.

As an oil-based plastic, polyester does not biodegrade like natural fibres. Rather it stays in landfills for several decades at least – and potentially for hundreds of years.

Grown using materials and methods that lower its impact on the environment, organic cotton is a fantastic sustainable alternative to commonly-grown crops. These eco-friendly production systems focus on maintaining soil fertility and don't involve any toxic pesticides, synthetic fertilisers and harmful chemicals.

All our cotton is organic, in-conversion, recycled or sourced through the Better Cotton Initiative, and we are committed to making it even more sustainable. Cotton is a natural, renewable and biodegradable fibre widely used in clothing, home textiles and furniture.

Is polyester a sustainable material? ›

The problem is, polyester is not a sustainable textile option, as it is made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the most common type of plastic in the world.

Cotton is a natural fiber, but it's not as eco-friendly as you may think. Inorganic cotton production requires substantial harmful chemicals, a lot of water, and the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Specifically, over 99% of cotton uses fertilizers and genetically modified seeds.

In theory, bamboo textiles should be one of the most sustainable options for an eco-friendly closet. Bamboo grows rapidly, needs very little water, fertilizer, or pesticides, and sequesters a large amount of carbon dioxide, absorbing five times more carbon dioxide and 35% more oxygen than similar plants.

From a sustainability perspective, wool is an entirely natural product that is fully biodegradable. It breaks down quickly, returning its nutrients to the soil without releasing plastic microfibers into the environment, as its synthetic rivals do.