Choosing sustainable fabrics is essential if you’re in the market for new clothing. Determining these materials will positively impact the environment, including reduced carbon emissions.
Organic cotton, for example, is an environmentally friendly fabric choice that requires much less water and pesticides than conventionally grown cotton. Hemp is also another green choice that’s a great alternative to polyester.
Reduces Carbon Footprint
Choosing a sustainable fabric reduces your carbon footprint because they use fewer resources to produce, transport and dispose of. This also helps to avoid global warming.
Aside from reducing your carbon footprint, buying sustainably-sourced products will also help you save money and avoid pollution. Moreover, these products are more durable and often last longer than their synthetic counterparts.
Your regular greenhouse gas emissions are what make up your carbon footprint. These gases are a leading cause of global warming, causing the Earth’s temperature to increase dramatically over time.
It’s easy to reduce your carbon footprint and has many benefits. It will help you save money, improve your health, avoid traffic, and make your home more comfortable.
Biodegradable
Choosing biodegradable fabrics reduces the amount of waste and pollution in landfills. This is especially important in areas with high pollution and water pollution rates.
Another reason to choose sustainable fabrics is that they can help save the planet’s precious resources. One of these resources is soil, which has many benefits, including being a habitat for organisms and providing a source of energy for plants.
The soil can also be a valuable resource in the fashion industry, as it can support factories and production sites. However, if factories do not maintain the ground, they may lose their beneficial qualities over time and become more susceptible to erosion.
One way to keep soil from being damaged is to choose materials from crops that do not erode the ground, such as hemp and flax. Hemp and flax are plant-based, requiring minimal water to grow and little-to-no pesticides.
Modal, bamboo, and lyocell are all natural fibers that can be made into sustainable fabric by following strict sourcing and manufacturing practices. For example, lyocell fabric is manufactured in closed-loop systems that reuse chemicals and water during the processing phase of the product.
Synthetic fabrics like acrylic and polyester require a lot of chemicals during the process and last up to 200 years to decompose in a landfill. Moreover, they can cause microplastics to form in the marine environment.
Recyclable
Choosing Sustainable Fabrics is a great way to reduce your impact on the planet. It is also a lot more eco-friendly than conventional fabrics, which often have to undergo chemical processes to be produced.
Most fabrics undergo washing, dyeing and bleaching using unsafe chemicals for humans or the environment. Those that are produced sustainably do not use these harmful chemicals.
Recycled cotton, for example, is an excellent choice because it uses less water and energy than conventionally grown cotton. It also prevents textile waste from entering landfills.
Another tremendous sustainable fabric is lyocell, which comes from cellulose fibers from eucalyptus tree pulp. While lyocell does require some chemical processing, it can be recycled and reused, decreasing the number of new chemicals and water needed for production.
Modal, a semi-synthetic fabric, is another option popular for drapey garments like fair trade dresses. However, modal production requires more caustic chemicals than lyocell.
Hemp is a natural plant used to make various products, including fabrics. Hemp proliferates and requires no pesticides or fertilizers, which makes it an excellent option for sustainable clothing and textile production.
Recycled polyester is another good fabric choice because it can be recycled infinitely. It diverts waste from landfills and can be manufactured using a fraction of the resources required to manufacture virgin nylon. This fabric is also an excellent choice for form-fitting and high-performance sportswear.
Fair Trade
Fabrics are one of the most essential parts of your clothing, and choosing sustainable materials can make a big difference in the lifecycle of your clothes. Unsustainable fabrics can damage the environment because they are made from nonrenewable, fossil fuel-based materials.
Sustainable fabrics also reduce the amount of waste produced and sent to landfills. The fashion industry has 92 million tons of textile waste annually, a significant pollution source.
Fairtrade is a social movement that helps empower farmers and workers in developing countries. It helps them to achieve stability by offering them better prices, longer lead times and fair terms of trade.
This ensures that they are self-sufficient, better able to meet their families needs and have the means to support themselves and their communities. It also promotes more environmentally friendly farming practices and aims to reduce emissions and energy usage.
In addition to the wages paid, the extra money earned from the Fair Trade Premium is deposited into a community-owned bank account where the local group of farmers and workers votes on how to spend it. This money can go towards community improvements, such as clean water systems and schools.