Eco Friendly Fabrics
What are your so called eco friendly clothes made of? Are they really as environmentally friendly as they claim to be? There are many different clothing stores out there that claim to have the most eco friendly clothing available but there are many different factors to consider when determining if clothing is eco friendly. Here we look at just one factor that you should consider for all eco friendly clothes first. How eco friendly is the material the clothing is made from?
Wool
While wool itself can be a fantastic resource, little to no eco friendly clothes will be made of wool today. Factory farmed sheep live in appalling conditions and cuts are common in efficiency driven farms. Wool has a much larger carbon footprint.
Cotton & Organic Cotton
Contrary to popular belief cotton is not typically an eco friendly product. People usually think that because the cotton is natural it is also naturally eco friendly. Cotton is responsible for around a third of the world’s use of pesticides. It is difficult to obtain real organic cotton. Most organic cotton has no bleaching agents used on it but still has a large proportion of pesticides used. Be on the look out for the Soil Association logo to prevent purchasing a wrongly labelled product.
Hemp
Hemp plants grow quickly, densely and have a natural resistance to pests so the use of pesticides on them is generally not required. They are the fastest growing eco friendly clothes material on the market today because of their benefits. It requires no irrigation and the minimum of processing which means its carbon footprint is significantly less than other materials. It was traditionally used as naval rope due to its fantastic ability to resist water and therefore rot. Clothes made from Hemp are made to last.
