To define wether or not a fabric is sustainable, you have to look at the very root of the product, where does the material come from? Is it from an animal or is it plastic (come from oil)? You also have to consider how that material is sourced. What labor is needed to source it/process it/make it and how much are the workers being paid? These are all very important questions to know the answer to when buying ethically. I have written on bad fabrics recently, though here is a list of good fabrics, so you don’t have to answer the questions yourself!
Organic Cotton
Cotton is a great fabric, which is why it has been used for many years, though buying organic cotton is incredibly important. Normal cotton uses many synthetic fertilizers and pesticides when being grown. This is bad for three reasons: it releases nitrous oxide into the atmosphere, contaminates lakes, rivers, and wetlands, and the chemicals are not good for your health. See my blog post on “How Clothes Can Harm Your Health” for more details. Organic cotton is grown without using pesticides nor fertilizers meaning that it is safe for its workers, the waters around it, and you. To make sure your cotton is organic you can check if it is GOTS-certified (Global Organic Textile Standard) . Cotton is also biodegradable! While Organic cotton has its benefits, both organics and normal cotton use 2,700 liters of water for one t-shirt. This is the same amount of water a human needs for around 2.5 years.
Organic Linen
Organic linen leaves little to no waste because the entirety of the flax plant can be made and woven into a fibre. Like organic cotton, it is grown using no pesticides or fertilizers. Organic linen is better than organic cotton because of the difference in water usage. Compared to 2,700 liters, linen only uses 6.4 liters for one t-shirt! Linen is also biodegradable. Normal linen is equally as harmful as normal cotton with the use of chemicals. As said, these chemicals effect workers, water ways, and you.
Organic Hemp
As in the name, organic hemp does not use chemicals when being grown. This makes the sourcing process very ethical! It does have a downside of using 500 liters of water to make just one single shirt, but unlike the others, it gives make to the Earth. The hemp crop absorbs more carbon from the Earth than it releases. Secondly, when hemp biodegrades back into soil, it returns nutrients.
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