Organic Textiles

Organic Textiles

• Organic textiles have the drawback of breaking down quickly because the natural fibers eventually disintegrate. This is a problem when products are bought to be used for 10+ years, but within a capitalist economy consumers are replacing their products well before they break down. Consumers are throwing away bags, clothes, and other fabrics, so having organic textiles that will breakdown in the landfill end up being beneficial. While synthetics fibers are strong and can be used in products that are used for a long period, they run into a problem when they are thrown away. The synthetic fibers will stay together creating more trash in landfills, and when they do start to degrade they will release the chemicals that were used to produce them.

• While most textiles on the market have their benefits, there are five materials currently on the market that are considered the most sustainable. These materials are organic cotton, hemp, bamboo, organic wool, and recycled polyester (Sustainable Fashion & Fabrics). Organic Hemp, and Cotton are comparably the most sustainable, and Recycled Polyester gives us a way reuse products that have already been manufactured. In comparing these fabrics I must look at what the drawbacks of the material are, and how easily they are sourced in the United States. 

Sources:

"Sustainable Fashion & Fabrics." Green Choices. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2016.

(Photo) http://www.parkotex.com/bannerimages/790956_organic_cotton_woven_fabric.jpg

What makes fabric sustainable?

In order to find and understand what makes a sustainable fabric, there must be a fine definition of the word sustainable. A fabric that is sustainable, “Is good for the environment, good for society, and makes good money.” (Reformation) What this means is that there aren’t harmful chemicals used to make the fabrics, the fabrics don’t intrude on society such a child or slave labor, and if the fabric is bringing in money that money is used to make more sustainable material or help in other ways.

While looking for sustainable material you must also consider what goes into making the material. There are four things EcoWatch, a certified B corporation that reports on environmental news, says to consider when looking at the production of material:

 Energy- It takes agricultural energy to produce natural fibers and mining or processing for synthetic fabrics. Energy also is needed for production, processing and shipping of the fabric and finished product.

Toxic Chemicals- Pesticides, dyes, and bleaches/chemical processing are used for fibers like bamboo or rayon.

            Land/Natural Resources- Natural fibers can require large areas for production and synthetic ones typically require petrochemicals.

Water- Nearly all fabrics require some water use during production, with cotton requiring the most.

While most textiles on the market have their benefits, there are five materials currently on the market that are considered the most sustainable. These materials are organic cotton, hemp, bamboo, organic wool, and recycled polyester (Sustainable Fashion & Fabrics). To choose one textile we must compare these 5 materials based on how sustainable they are, what the drawbacks of the material are, and how easily are they sourced in the United States.



Sources:

"Reformation." Reformation. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2016.

EcoWatch. "7 Eco-Friendly Fabrics That Will Green Your Wardrobe." EcoWatch. N.p., 2016. Web. 28 Sept. 2016.

Why Sustainability?

Our oceans are full of trash; we have created more Co2 than any other time in the planets history, and our foods have harmful chemicals in them that create health problems for millions of people. Product designers around the world are looking for innovative materials that are less impactful to the environment because they want change the way things are currently. As a product designer I look up to designers who can design things that are both sustainable and informative. A company that comes to mind that inspires me as a designer is Reformation, which is a sustainable clothes company based in Los Angeles. Not only do they use sustainable materials to make their clothes they also inform the buy of how much waste went into making this single piece of fabric (REFORMATION). This inspires me because I have always been interested in designing accessories, but all the large corporate companies that I look up to don’t have environmental information on their products. Through my experience in the work force I have come to realize that corporations work to make the best products at the best price, sometimes without acknowledging the environmental impact. I aim to prove that sustainability can be implemented in making a successful company, and how using sustainable textiles can have a great impact on the environment.

Take A Step Back

Take a minute and think of a landfill, a huge field full of the things we no long user. When you imagine this what do you think of? You might possibly think of old food, electronics, plastic bags, and other types of packaging? What you might not think of when you think of the landfill is old clothes and other textiles. The United States discards an average of 21 billion pounds of textile waste per year. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) predicts that number will increase by 40% in the next 10 years bringing it to 35.4 billion pounds/year (Council For Textile Recycling).  This is a problem because there are large sums of natural resources being wasted; making something people just throw away. Another problem is that, “61 percent of these textiles are made of synthetics fibers” and that these synthetic fibers leach chemicals into surrounding water sources as well as peoples skin (World Apparel Fiber Consumption). Knowing the amount of textile wasted in the United States alone, leads to an important question, “Why aren’t more fabrics made of sustainable fibers?” The reason being that organic fibers break down more quickly, they cost more to produce than synthetic fibers, and the demand for natural fibers isn’t as high.

Sources:

Photo: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/archive/2/28/20080925162156!Landfill.jpg

"Council for Textile Recycling." Council for Textile Recycling. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2016.

"World Apparel Fiber Consumption." ICAS. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.