This document summarizes the complex issue of determining which fabrics are most environmentally friendly. It discusses the sustainability of various natural and synthetic fibers, noting that there are no simple answers and each fiber has tradeoffs. While natural materials may seem greener, heavy impacts can be associated with cotton, wool, and other natural fibers production as well. The document advocates considering the full lifecycle of garments and choosing durable materials to minimize impacts overall.

1. ‘Natural’ materials may sound greener – but are they?
Daisy Dumas finds out which fabrics are kindest to the planet
E
verything we wear, pound note – and an unhealthy Pachacuti uses
be it from a charity detachment from the systems sustainably harvested
toquilla palm for its
shop or the runways behind our garments.
Ecuadorian panama
of Milan, starts with “Everyone gets the idea that hats (above left, opposite
a humble fibre. That flying apples from New Zealand left and centre). Top
fibre – from plants, is bonkers, but they don’t grasp right: American star
petrochemicals or animals – is the same idea with Indian cot- Anne Hathaway wears
extracted, spun and woven into ton. If something is cheap, either a milk-fibre Mr Larkin
fabric. It’s dyed and finished be- natural resources or someone dress. Inset: Designer
Saara Lepokorpi uses
fore being cut, stitched and sold. making it is probably being
Ingeo, a corn-based
Transport often links each phase exploited,” says John-Paul
biodegradable fabric.
and water and chemicals prop Flintoff, author of Sew Your Own. Centre left: Maison
up the whole process. Locked in Like Dr Kate Fletcher, he is Gattinoni’s Ingeo kaftan.
every garment are fibres that tell chipping away at the coalface Bottom left: Komodo
a story of ecological impact. of popular conscience. Fletcher, organic cotton top.
In 17th century Europe, being reader in sustainable fashion at Bottom right: Cotton
at the height of fashion sig- the London College of Fashion, farms account for 10%
of all herbicide and
nalled status and either wealth believes that the real key to
20-25% of insecticide
or heavy debt. Now, it can mean sustainability is variety: “The use, despite covering
a short trip to the High Street market is dominated by cotton only a few percent of the
and spare change from a ten- and polyester. We need real ➤ world’s cultivable soils
32 NatioNal GeoGraphic GreeN | AUTUMN 2010

2. KAtHErInE WELLES; StEfAno ALEGnInI; MArIo SorrEntI; PHoto CourtESy of DAnISH fASHIon InStItutE
[ intelligenceliving ]

3. [ intelligenceliving ]
Left: reading the
labels: one of the most
common eco-labels
found in Europe is the
oeko-tex Standard
100 mark, which looks
particularly at health
standards. MADE-By
is an independent
consumer label for
fashion companies which
are transparent about
the social, economic and
ecological conditions
throughout their whole
supply chain. If a garment
carries the fairtrade
mark, processors and
substitutes that broaden choice it takes 760 litres of water to pro- manufacturers have
for consumers and promote duce an average cotton t-shirt, produced evidence that
diversity so that we’re not put- plus litres of pesticides (includ- labour rights have been
ting all our eggs in one basket.” ing Aldicarb, a powerful nerve respected
And to do this, we must begin agent), fertilisers, defoliants
by dismissing pitching ‘natu- and dye. Its monoculture has
ral’ against ‘man-made’ when wiped biodiversity off the map in
asking which is better for the swathes of the USA, China and
planet. “There’s no cut and dried India and – among other dubious
answer. It is so complex that to responsibilities – is accountable
draw a simple conclusion would
be to miss most of the impor-
for the devastating loss of the
Aral Sea in Central Asia. Organic
Wear it well
tant issues,” says Fletcher. “You cotton, on the other hand, shows
have to ask yourself what it is real signs of promise. ♦ Buy stuff that is easy to
that you’re trying to achieve. Prince Charles supports wool wash and dry
Less energy? Less water? It’s a as a more sustainable natural ♦ Buy stuff that is built to
false choice to compare natural fibre, but even here there are last
to man-made.” complications and sometimes
♦ Wear it and use it until it
Some impacts are obvious – downsides. Researchers have
falls apart, or pass it on
fur, for example – but most fibres calculated that it takes 685,000
are so inherently tied to the litres of water to feed the sheep ♦ Buy second-hand
system in which they comprise and scour the fleece to make just ♦ Repair things rather than
only a part that the environmen- one suit. On top of this, there throw out
tal impacts are hidden. are methane emissions, soil ero- ♦ Donate or recycle cloth-
Answers are surprisingly sion and pesticides to consider. ing rather than putting it
counter-intuitive; as Fletcher Organic wool, currently expen-
in the bin
puts it: “We have to stop per- sive and rare, has impressive
♦ Favour synthetic fibres
petuating the myth that natural benefits, as does recycled wool,
equals eco.” particularly as a substitute to over natural ones
polyester, technical and heavy-
weight fabrics. Tips for keeping the total
NATUrAl Bamboo is far from innocent. It impact of your clothing to a
/////////////////////////////// scores well as a crop, sequester- minimum from How Bad Are
Cotton comprises about one ing carbon, preventing soil ero-
Bananas? The Carbon
third of the world’s fibre produc- sion and growing at breakneck
tion. It’s renewable, biodegrad- speed (even without pesticides
Footprint of Everything, by
able and easy to harvest and and fertilisers its yield is ten Mike Berners-Lee (£8.99,
spin. But the UN estimates that times that of cotton), but – and ➤ Profile Books)
34 NatioNal GeoGraphic GreeN | AUTUMN 2010

5. [ intelligenceliving ]
there’s always a but – it requires
vast amounts of caustic soda,
disadvantage of massive water
consumption and nylon emits Eco vogue
carbon disulfide (which can cause
chronic nervous system damage)
potent GHG, nitrous oxide. It
takes 157mj (megajoules) to pro-
at Tesco
and bleach to create soft, usable duce 1kg of acrylic – compared Established ethical fashion
viscose yarn. Organic bamboo is to 150mj for nylon, 109mj for label ‘From Somewhere’
broken down with enzymes and polyester and 50mj for cotton. launched its first collab-
is prohibitively expensive and For those in doubt, polyviscose is orative ‘upcycling’ range
time-consuming to produce, but just plain bad news says Fletcher. with Tesco earlier this year.
as a fabric is very durable. (Styles shown here are from
Linen from flax scores plus the first collection.)
points, but hemp, fast-growing NATUrAl MAN-MAde The diffusion line, called
and fibre-rich, is blighted by legal /////////////////////////////// ‘From Somewhere to F&F,’
issues and pollution from ‘ret- As technology develops, bound- uses recycled, obsolete or
ting’ (a fibre-separation process) aries between man-made and waste textile stock, which
cellulose from the plant. natural fibres are rapidly blur- would otherwise be burned
Silk, while not a major ring. Science is leaps ahead of or buried in landfill sites.
concern, is expensive to pro- what we constitute as ‘wearable’. Its designer Orsola de
duce and farmed silk is hardly Coconut, rice straw, chicken Castro (right) told us, “We’ve
environmentally neutral – 2,600 feathers, seaweed (SeaCell, always been
silkworms die to make just 400g from Germany, even claims about infiltrat-
of raw silk. to nourish and moisturise the ing – if you’re
skin), soya, peat, peanuts, milk isolated, you
and nettle – even paper – are all don’t take it
SyNTheTic MAN-MAde being investigated as renewable further. The
/////////////////////////////// fibres but most require consider- bad guys are
Polyester, comprising 40% of able research and development looking to me for solutions –
all fibres produced, is the world’s before becoming mainstream. it’s a victory for the sustain-
largest fibre group. It depends “Recycled synthetics are much ability movement.
upon oil and is energy-hungry. It more promising than virgin “It is a way of manag-
takes heavy metal cobalt, man- materials,” says Fletcher, who is ing waste in a creative way,
ganese salts, sodium bromide also excited by Lyocell, a fabric rather than pretending the
and more nasties to extract, yet better known by its brand name problem doesn’t exist.”
its water consumption during Tencel, made from eucalyptus. Buy online from tesco.com/
production is negligible and it It is carbon neutral and is made clothing, in sizes 8-18. Prices
has huge recycling potential. in a closed-circuit system, with from £16.
Recycling polyester consumes 99.5% of the solvent used in the
around 75% less energy and cellulose extraction recycled. The
emits 71% less carbon than consumer, however, must absorb
making virgin material – not its high costs.
much use, however, if recycling A corn-based biodegrad-
facilities are scarce. “It’s not able fabric called Ingeo (as
that recycling polyester is too experimented with by Versace)
expensive, it’s that virgin poly- and natural fibre-based Cupro
ester is too cheap,” says Fletcher. (derived from the waste products
“It’s cheaper to buy oil than to in the cotton industry) are not
recycle bottles. The true costs of panaceas. Utterly compromised
oil aren’t factored in.” Her words by the lack of infrastructure
are well-timed – as Green goes available to provide ideal condi-
to press, Deep Horizon belches tions for its decomposition, In-
crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. geo’s addition to landfill causes
Nylon and acrylic both take the potential emission of more
nICo DAttAnI
vast amounts of energy to pro- methane than a polyester shirt
duce while acrylic has the added lying inert next to it. ➤
36 NatioNal GeoGraphic GreeN | AUTUMN 2010

6. © Real Jewels 2010

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How long before they disappear
forever?
Please adopt an Amur leopard today,
while there’s still time.
These are the world’s rarest big cats – all 35 of them. They are on the brink of extinction.
Right now, you are their best hope of survival. Please help stop their forest
home being cut down. Please help protect them from poachers’ guns.
Please give £3 a month, and adopt an Amur leopard today. You’ll
get an adoption pack, three updates a year and this soft toy.
Go to wwfleopard.com Call 0845 126 8061
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WWF-UK, charity registered in England number 1081247 and in Scotland number SC039593. AGY020010

8. [ intelligenceliving ]
So, I ask Fletcher, are there Simply put, nylon will last longer ranges and de Castro believes
any fibres the eco-aware should and wash and dry quicker. that now “there is more support
outright avoid? “Virgin materials, Fletcher envisages a time and knowledge” than ever.
viscose, acrylic and there’s no when all impacts across all gar- Where compassionate design-
way PVC should be used.” ments’ life cycles are considered ers tread, a new breed of ethical
Beyond these concerns, the from the design table – when standards steps in parallel
greenness of fibres gets more ecologically intelligent design tracks. Look out for Oeko-Tex,
complex still. Ethical fashion dwarfs fast, passive fashion. Made-By and Fairtrade labels –
company Pachacuti, which Orsola de Castro, founder of proof of a fibre’s provenance.
works with alpaca for its knit- London Fashion Week’s ethi- And a foolproof tactic for
wear and the toquilla palm cal branch, Estethica, and the next time you shop? According
for its panama hats, was the ‘From Somewhere’ label told me to Somers, “consumers should
world’s first company to label “The fashion industry has been think about how long the gar-
all of its products ‘Certified Fair complacent: change is manda- ment they’re buying will last and
Trade and Sustainable’. The tory.” While she has seen eco how much wear they’ll get out of
founder, Carry Somers, says fashion and diverse use of fibres it. Ultimately, it may be better to
that 90% of the CO2 impact of gain momentum – “it’s amazing spend £100 rather than £10.”
clothing is post sale, in the ‘use to watch the ugly duckling turn We could do worse than tak-
phase’. Designing with alpaca into the beautiful swan” – they ing a leaf out of Fletcher’s book.
wool, which naturally repels remain the costlier option. “Choose something that you feel
odours and stains, minimises US designer Casey Larkin, a real connection to and have an
use phases. whose milk-fibre Mr Larkin dress emotional link with. Fashion isn’t
In his newly-published, How label has received red-carpet just about purchasing, looking
Bad Are Bananas? The Carbon Foot- plaudits, told me, “I have to dedi- and styling – it may help consum-
print of Everything, Mike Berners- cate added time into knowing ers’ understanding and connects
Lee found the carbon footprint of sources, mills, processes, finish- with who we are as people.”
his jeans to be 6kg CO2e (carbon ings – and make sure they meet Your outfit is more than the
dioxide equivalent) compared my code of standards.” But mills sum of its fibres.
5
to 3kg for his nylon trousers. are expanding their product Contact and source details: page 92
great
autumn
eco buys 3
4
1. Good jacket: yorkshire wool by Izzy
Lane, from £75, izzylane.com.
2. Good dress: such as one from
1 People tree, from £65,
peopletree.co.uk. 3. Good jeans: Monkee
Genes, made from fully organic bamboo fabric,
approved by the Soil Association, £50, asos.com
or see monkeegenes.co.uk. 4. Good separates:
Zadig oversize organic cotton knit jumper, £55,
Locus hemp weave trousers, £60, Komodo, a
2 member of MADE-By, komodo.co.uk. 5. Good
shirt: in cotton poplin, ¤67, from fairtrade-
certified Article 23, article-23.com. 5
Stockists and mail order: see websites
www.GreeNNatGeo.co.uk | 39