Fabrics with nature friendly quality are at an increase more then ever. A place where we find all different type of opinions on whether vegan products are more environmentally friendly or animal based products. Some have gone completely opposed to petroleum byproducts such as plastic. So is there a stand we can take together to stop plastic waste or argue on Vegetables or Animal based products!
Vegetables or Animal based clothing dilemma
Vegetation has life and more valuable, Animal life is more valuable, us humans are more valuable or can we all live harmoniously in sync. We believe its an entire cycle where each factor is fitted in a food chain and the uses from it. Imbalance on any side can harm other. Cotton is world famous for its quality of being able to keep you cool in the summer and warm in winter. Although not as much warm as other fabrics.
Sheep Wool is something you must know are not harmful. It is in fact very widely used in the European countries for the winter season. The amount of heat it can provide is really incomparable with any other fabrics.
Categorization is between Nature friendly options
We classify them into plant based and animal products based materials. Plant based materials that we have taken in our list are those that has seeds which are useful, barks or entire plants. There are those whose fruits are quite fibrous and there are entire plant stems such as Bamboo or jute plant.
Animal products however include leather fabrics, fur and even milk. Yes, that’s true!
Milk protein is used in order to make clothing. Best part is that it is made from waste milk. This means we can save a lot of food waste. Its texture appears to be quite smooth in fact quite similar to the silky feel.
Plant based items used in manufacturing fabrics
These include all plants that have the fibers which can be used to turn it into yarn and then to make a fabric out of it. They could be fruits and even vegetables.
Pure Organic Cotton
Cotton plants are a the source from obtaining high quality organic cotton. There has been tremendous increase in the use of cotton lately. Few reasons are due to public awareness of material and increasing temperatures. It is necessary now for us and can’t avoid wearing cotton.
The Jeans, T-shirts, Trousers, Handkerchief, Baby clothing items such as nappies, Cot bed covers, duvets and a lot of items are the product of cotton. It has many other advantages such as selling seeds to feed livestock, the extraction of edible cotton seed oil and much more. The way cotton is used in manufacturing has undergone a massive change in the last couple of decades. The following video gives a good example of different ways a cotton was spun.
In Many developing countries there are still traditional methods used to manufacture cotton fabrics.
Muslin fabric
Muslin is also considered a part of cotton as it is evenly woven cotton. There’s many wide range of the uses of cotton which are not limited to fabrics alone. Many of our day to day products also come out of cotton industry. Products such as paints, soap, rubbers and even cosmetics are all also made from cotton byproducts either cotton seeds, oil or fibers itself.
Corduroy could be Eco friendly if used in a natural blend of cotton
There are certain way of blending corduroy fabric where polyester is used or rayon. Now this may NOT be environmentally friendly if plastic is involved in the process. If cotton along is used then its a different question. So next time you go for a shopping try to find out if it is entirely cotton or a blend that is harmful for the environment.
Velvet fabric is made from cotton too
Velvet clothing is often also made from either cotton or silk too. The texture of it would vary based on the material used to manufacture the velvet clothing. This type is very smooth and obviously wearing it in cotton is again much better in the summer too. If this is in winter then it could be a bit trickier unless made from silk.
Sea Cell fabric
It is Sea cell clothing gaining a momentum at a slow & steady pace. To know where to buy sea cell fabric. Based on where you live you can source Sea weed textile. For instance Japan, Taiwan is one of the destinations we know of where you can import if you live in the UK or simply use Alibaba . However there are companies that sell online too for retail such as on Etsy or mill shop where you can buy in meters price. Kelp or sea weed clothing is more in and to stay for good due to its eco friendly nature.
- Pine Apple leaves
- Sugar cane bark
- Flax (Linen fabric)
- Hemp
- Banana skin fibers
The Banana Stem skin fibers are also popular and natural fibers that are absolutely eco friendly. The fully finished products look even cool.
Coir Fiber fabrics (coco husk)
Coir fabrics are used to make ropes just like jute plants. These you may even find them in the car as car mats. Especially due to its rough texture so it takes all the sticky dirt out of the shoes. Coir is when a coconut’s husk becomes dry it is used to make a variety of things such as Doormats, ropes, bags etc,. Normally the ropes in Indian subcontinent are spun to make a traditional bedding call Charpai ( Four legged).
Jute Plant Fiber
Jute is more simple yet used as a style statement too. The Bags made of jute fabric from jute plant are not only good for the environment, but its the best way to use the resources we already have and not exploit them . The process of making jute is manual and tiring but the finished products we use is beautiful. Not much is known about the conditions in which these jute mills produce the jute but its good to know if it is from fair trade.
It’s often and more widely used in warmer Asian regions such as Indian sub continent. It has been in use for decades but has not been much popular in the western countries in particular.
Grounded coffee beans
Grounded coffee beans are used in the sports wear as coffee nutrilises any kind smell. It’s fibers are also used in a clothing as per the mountain designs. A couple of years back in 2009 we also came across Sing Tex Cafe Technology which was the same effort but in a slightly different way.
Orange peel
An Italian company came up with the orange peel fiber clothing. Orange Fiber is the one that caught our eye. It is nice to know something like this exists. Hope they grow successful in this initiative and make a change.
.@TeenVogue: The recent popularity of plant-based diets has made its way into #fashion. Last month, @hm debuted products made out of pineapple leather, #orange peels, and algae, and we were in awe. #Pineapple? In clothes? How? https://t.co/JMpvOxiPVP #hmConsciousExclusive pic.twitter.com/jtliZRW7YP
” Orange Fiber (@OrangeFiber) June 18, 2019
Rayon in clothing
Rayon is made up of wood pulp or Petroleum based product which could be plastic. This sounds a bit confusing. Let see if have some experts that can explain us why is it so?
Rayon is environmentally friendly or harmful. We have two conflicting search results.
Animal Based materials that are used in clothing
Humans have been rearing farm livestock for food & clothing for centuries. Animals that are used for food consumption such as Sheeps, Beef, lambs, Chicken etc., are one ways where the resources are utilised and creates a life cycle.
Then there are those that are especially hunted for their exotic fur, feather & leather. This could include endangered animals which are mostly poached for profits to sell in different parts of the world. It is these that are a huge problem for the environment.
Woolen clothing comes in varieties
Wool generally can we talk of one thing comes to mind is a sheep wool. It actually has many other types and not just sheep wool. There is Camel, Cashmere made from a type of Cashmere goat, Lama & Yak wool. Plenty of sustainable options.
Silk Fabrics are a classic examples which are in use even to this day
Silk is made from the silkworm as we all know. Its uses are various, it is mixed at times to give its shiny luster and at times simply because of its quality.
Sheep wool is also tremendously popular in clothing due to its quality
The Quality that sheep wool has is extremely superb. It provides good insulation not just in clothing but also people use it in the cars & homes to insulate and keeping it warm.
no sheep were harmed in the making of my new jacket, but we did see a few that looked like they provided the wool! a great day @ScotlandRHShow will definitely be back! pic.twitter.com/EZWLS7j4Td
— woolyBox (@woolybox) June 22, 2019
Do not Confuse this with an animal fur which are unethically obtained
These are obtained through at times buying from those that hunt the animal and obtain fur from it. Unlike feathers used for making pillows fluffy there are special fur. Canada goose is a good example although Peta has shown a different picture. The Fact we think is that furs were used even in the olden days and same thing as feathers.
It is the commercialization where on you want many people to benefit from the quality of the product. However, on the other hand thinking of making millions by selling more, mentality affects the whole cycle.
Birds naturally shed feathers based either at least once a year or based on seasons. Molting is a common term many bird owners may be aware of. This is the reason why people in olden still used feathers and there was no hurting animals commercialization.
Commercialization of animal products seems to go out of hand
Fur is good but not all types of fur are natural and not all are unethically obtained
Furs that are artificial can be used but care needs to be taken if it is environmentally friendly or not. Just to note a fact is that the Real fur or feathers are not simply creating more pollution if processed commercially large scale basis but also affect the health of the people working in this industry. This is because along with the fur even the leather needs to be processed and there comes tannery into picture.
We know how the tanneries in the Southeast Asia has been polluting the rivers, especially in the Northeastern India. This is also due to not enough measures taken to treat the leather in an Eco friendly manner rather than chemicals which contribute to water pollution.
Eco Quiz
There’s plenty of opinions on whether should it be only plant fibers or Animal fibers. Which one would you like and consider most Eco friendly option?
