What’s in my clothes?

We wear a variety of different fabrics everyday and chances are, we don’t know what they are made from. Clothing is such an essential part of our lives, yet it’s something we take for granted and barely offer a second thought. I certainly couldn’t tell you what the vintage sweater I’m wearing is made from, not without looking at the tag. 

As consumers we’re slowly beginning to ask questions about the products we purchase. The question, ‘Who Made My Clothes?’ being one of them which was coined by the Fashion Revolution movement. In their most recent campaign, they are now encouraging people to dig that little bit deeper and ask ‘What’s in my clothes?’ 

So, what’s in your clothes? 

Cotton

There’s so much to unpack, or should I say, unpick when it comes to cotton, and to even begin scratching the surface, we would need at least one dedicated blog post. But luckily for you, I wrote one back in 2016. In the meantime, I’ll try my best to keep this short and sweet!

Cotton is said to be 7000 years old, grown in 85 countries and is without a doubt is the most popular fabric in the world - UNCTAD. In fact, the world produces currently 25 million tonnes of cotton every year and six countries – China, Brazil, India, Pakistan, the USA and Uzbekistan – account for more than 80% of total production. 

Cotton crops are usually grown in Spring and begin flowering after 6 weeks. The flower falls away and is replaced by a little green pod which becomes the cotton boll. The bolls then take 70 more days under the sun before they are ready for picking.

The cotton is then picked, cleaned and ginned, separated from the seed pod while the fibres are organised into bales ready for processing, where they are cleaned, bleached and spun into yarn.

But how ethical is cotton? 

Studies have shown that it can take over 2,700 litres of water just to make one T-shirt and considering there are communities around the world that don't have access to safe drinking water, this is alarming.

Cotton is an incredibly pesticide intensive crop, that consumes 16% of all insecticides worldwide. Insecticides not only destroy ecosystems and poison waterways, impacting farming communities and wildlife, but long term exposure to insecticides are damaging and deadly to health, causing liver damage, bone marrow disorders, cancers, and have even been linked to genetic mutations and neurological disorders. 

If those factors aren’t enough to deter consumers from purchasing conventional cotton, perhaps the link between GMOs and cotton will. Monsanto’s genetically modified cotton, is designed to make cotton crops resistant to various pests to reduce revenue loss. However, this particular cotton cannot be reproduced, meaning farmers need to purchase new seeds every year. The high demand for cotton seeds and regulated prices has led to farmers purchasing seeds on the black market for extortionate prices, further adding to the cycle of debt which can be attributed to over 12,500 farmer suicides across India.

So what are the alternatives?

Your best bet when purchasing anything cotton is of course second hand, or to ensure it’s GOTS certified. The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) is recognised as the world's leading processing standard for textiles made from organic fibres. It defines high-level environmental criteria along the entire organic textiles supply chain and requires compliance with social criteria as well.

Polyester

Polyester is the new kid on the block. With the many changes that occurred in the 1940’s, chemical advances were one of them. Thus leading to the increased production of faster and more cost effective synthetic materials. 

But how ethical is Polyester? 

Polyester is a combination of ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid. But simply put, polyester is plastic, and like plastic, it’s non-biodegradable which is incredibly alarming considering polyester is the most widely used fibre in the world according to the Textile Exchange Preferred Fibre Materials Report 2017. In fact, in 2016, an estimated 52 million metric tons of polyester was produced. 

Not only will it take your polyester blouse between 20-200 years to decompose, but a multitude of studies show that polyester sheds microplastics with every single wash. These microplastics then inhabit our air and waterways only then to be ingested by marine life, land animals and of course, humans. We are yet to know the full extent of the impact that microplastics are having, but one thing is for sure, it could be devastating. 

So what are the alternatives?

It might seem extreme, but you’ve stopped buying single use plastic, so perhaps it’s time to stop buying polyester. Instead, opt for natural GOTs approved materials like cotton or linen. Not only are natural fabrics like cotton and linen biodegradable, but they don’t release thousands of micro plastics with every wash.

Buy second hand. Like anything, reducing the demand will reduce the production and with plenty of preloved alternatives to choose from, the options really are endless.

Wash your clothing less, and purchase a washing bag or a laundry ball which captures microfibres.

Linen

Linen is a natural fibre made from the Flax plant and is said to be over 10,000 years old with carbon dating proving that it was used as clothing in Egypt, in 8,000 BC. Fully biodegradable, linen is strong, moth resistant and suitable for high temperature climates. It even becomes softer and more pliable the more it is washed. In fact, it’s said to be 30% stronger than cotton.

But how ethical is linen? 

Linen is a natural fibre derived from the Flax plant. The flax plant is incredibly versatile in that it’s well utilised which minimises waste and is cost effective to produce. Flax, unlike cotton, requires little water, standard soil and apparently requires 13 times less insecticides to that of potato crops. An incredibly durable product that if well looked after, linen can last for decades but unlike synthetic products, is fully biodegradable and won’t sit in landfill for 20 plus years.

Rayon

Rayon, unlike its cotton and linen counterparts is only 150 years or so old and began being widely produced in the 1920’s. Since then, it’s become increasingly popular. In fact, the global output of viscose rayon is projected to reach $16 billion per year by 2021.

Rayon is an umbrella term for textile fibres that are made from regenerated celluose by extrusion through tiny  holes. Textiles that fall under the rayon umbrella include, Viscose, Modal, Lyocell, and Tencel.

Cellulose is derived from different plants and trees including bamboo, cotton waste and sometimes even oranges and although rayon comes from natural fibres, producing rayon is an incredibly chemical heavy process where the plant celluose is mechanically pulped then chemically liquified. The pulp is then extruded to create fibres which are spun into yarns, and then knit or woven into a fabric.

But how ethical is Rayon?

Rayon has been at the heart of much greenwashing. Fashion giants tend to claim rayon is a sustainable material simply because celluose is derived from natural fibres, but unfortunately, to produce rayon, fibres are heavily processed with extremely toxic chemicals which not only have the expected impact on waterways, ecosystems and communities, but they are also incredibly harmful to people’s health. Like cotton production, in an unregulated country this can have a devastating long term impact.

Further to this,  rayon is considered to be the palm oil of fabrics, in that rainforests are being logged and destroyed with more than 70 million trees logged every year across Indonesia, Canada and Brazil and turned into cellulosic fabric.

Interestingly, rayon is in fact, biodegradable and this is exactly what fashion giants leverage in greenwashing consumers. Just because rayon is biodegradable, doesn’t mean we can simply forget about the high impact of its production processes. 

Rayon is more sustainable than petroleum synthetic fibres like polyester and nylon. But, is definitely no where near as sustainable as organic cotton and linen.

So what are the alternatives?

In my opinion, rayon is cool, but only if it’s second hand. Let’s stop contributing to the demand of the fashion industry’s version of palm oil!

I am always going to promote preloved purchasing, I truly believe it’s the best way forward for the earth and the fashion industry. However there are always going to be times where you will buy first hand, and when you do, I hope you’ll opt for natural fabrics that are GOTS certified.