A Peek Behind the Eco Fabric Curtain: An Overview of Raw Materials

The main reason for this knowledge gap is that, while 100% of us wear clothes every single day, very few of us have any real exposure to how they come to exist. Most of us are busy doing other things and not following raw fluff as it makes its way through the textile supply chain and into our closets. When it comes to the environment, we are only dimly aware of the myriad impacts along the way.

There is more to the environmental impacts of the global textile industry than one brief article can address, but let’s start with an overview of a few raw materials for now and touch on the rest of the life cycle of garments (manufacturing, distribution, consumption and end of product life) in future discussions.

Raw materials
In 2007, the world consumed a little less than 70 million tonnes of fibre for textiles (as compared with about half of that in 1990).* Of that total, the amount of man-made fibres in 2007 was just under 60% (whereas in 1990 it was about 46%). So called “man-made” fibres fit into one of two categories: synthetics or cellulosics. The vast majority of man-made fibres are synthetics, at about 93%.

Synthetics are things like polyester and acrylic, which are made from refined petrochemicals. The 7% of man-made fibres that are cellulosics include rayon, Tencel, Ingeo, and the much bandied about bamboo.

In the natural fibres category, making up 40% of the global total in 2007, we find cotton, wool and silk. There are others (such as mohair and flax) but they play a smaller role on the world stage.

Cellulose vs. Cellulosics
As people who care about the environment, it is important to understand some basic facts about raw materials, and yet this is where the eco-conversation goes a bit haywire. The fact is, pretty much every substance you can think of is “natural”, including the much-maligned petrochemicals we like to haul out of the earth’s crust. Of course just because something is “natural” doesn’t mean it is going to have an environmentally positive impact. This is especially true once we humans get at a substance and start doing a whole bunch of things to it.

There are two broad categories of fibre from plants, cellulose and cellulosic (the former being “natural fibre” the latter “man-made” as per the categories mentioned above). I think of them as celery sticks and carrot soup, respectively. Bear with me.

The category most of us understand intuitively is cellulose. Cotton, flax, ramie and hemp are common sources of cellulose fibre, and if you happened upon any of these in their natural form you could find the fibre within, with some effort depending on the plant. I think of cellulose sources as “celery sticks” because—like celery—I can actually imagine strands of fibre in this source.

The other category is “cellulosic”. The “ic” at the end means it is “of cellulose” (as metallic is “of metal”). Bamboo belongs in this group. Although it is made of plant material (hence the “ic”) this one is more like carrot soup, in that the raw material is liquefied into a polymer state—a sort of chemical purée. After clear-cutting, mulching, and several chemical steps known as the “viscose process”, a solid filament is extruded, and this filament is then spun into thread. There are variations on this theme, but being liquefied and extruded is something all cellulosics have in common.

So is bamboo good or bad? And what about cotton?
If your definition of good is “from above ground” then you’re in luck with both cellulose and cellulosic fibres since they are all derived from plants. But if you ask the saleswoman at your favourite shop, “Which is better for the environment, certified organic cotton (and therefore zero pesticides) or regular bamboo (requiring multiple chemical processes)?” she might just ask if you would like to try on the same shirt in a different size. That’s because the answer is “it depends” and most of us don’t spend enough time mucking around in global supply chains to know on what it depends.

To truly compare, we would need clear information about how much land, water, and chemicals are used to grow a given weight of each fibre. And then we would need even more detail about what happens post-harvest to process it into spinnable fibre and to process it at each stage. There are some examples of life cycle analyses (LCA) on different textile inputs, however it would be an over simplification to suggest a conclusion that one raw material is simply “better” than another.

There are many verifiable claims by suppliers of both cellulose and cellulosics, including organic, fair trade and sustainable forestry certifications, but at the moment there is still generally less transparency in the supply chain of cellulosics (e.g. bamboo) as compared to cellulose (e.g. cotton) fibres. This makes sense when you consider how many centuries we have been working with cellulose fibres like cotton, flax, and hemp. They are part of art, culture, and history in many parts of the world, starting out in very small communities and evolving over time. In other words there isn’t a lot of mystery about what cotton “is.” Even their downsides (such as heavy pesticide use in conventional cotton) are well documented, explored, and being improved upon by those who are committed to the environment.

Meanwhile cellulosics—starting with rayon in the late 1800s and arriving at Tencel in the late 1900s—all originate from behind the closed doors of industry. Large companies like Lenzing have developed them and own most of the points along the supply chain. While most of these companies are well regarded and very public about their commitments to minimize their environmental impacts, we are reliant on their mostly voluntary disclosures in a long and complex supply chain for social and environmental data.

Hence, the sales clerk in the mall is understandably confused in trying to wrap her mind around what goes on between the bamboo plantation and your closet.

So what is a green living fashionista to do?
If you value traditional farming practices and organic pest management, you may feel better choosing certified organic cotton than cellulosic fibres. If you believe that technology and innovation are at the heart of our environmental salvation, then you may wish to pursue the newer cellulosics. Either way, there are a lot of questions to ask (see below for further probing thoughts) before resting on any green laurels. In principle the best way to improve our long-term environmental prospects is to raise the bar for all production methods of all fibres, rather than rejecting one in favour of another.

Cellulose & Cellulosics: the good, the bad, and the confusing!
There is no simple answer to “which material is best for the environment?” Instead, there are questions that can be asked of each one, exploring sustainability from a number of angles. Depending on the situation, it can be difficult to get answers to some of these questions—that doesn’t mean they’re not worth asking. And regardless of the answers, simply identifying the raw material as one thing instead of another is almost certainly insufficient by way of a green standard.

Cellulose
Common fibres: Cotton, flax, hemp, ramie.
Questions to ask:

How transparent are the planting/harvesting practices? i.e. How much of the social and environmental impacts are being measured, managed and communicated to relevant stakeholders?
Is it certified fair trade/organic by a reputable third party?
Are pesticides, herbicides and fungicides being managed/reduced? i.e. If it’s not organic, is the producer working towards more sustainable harvesting practices?
Is child labour involved?
Is it supporting a heritage species such as certain naturally coloured cottons?

Cellulosics
Common fibres: Rayon, viscose, bamboo, soy, corn (Ingeo), Modal, lyocel (Tencel)
Questions to ask:

Where were the fibre sources grown?
What plant is the source of these fibres?
Is the fibre source certified as sustainable by a reputable third party such as the Forest Stewardship Council?
How many chemical processes are involved from raw material to spinnable fibre?

For all plant based fibres (cellulose and cellulosic)

Is the plant from genetically modified (GM) seed stock?
Were communities displaced to grow this crop?
Are effective topsoil, erosion and water management systems in place?
Are low-till or carbon sequestration measures in place?

There may be no right or wrong answer to these questions, and in fact some lead to still more questions. However generally speaking if a supplier can answer some of these questions with meaningful information, it implies that measures are being taken to manage and improve environmental performance. Such measures can have a meaningful impact, regardless of the fibre type they are applied to.