Environmental protection is the general trend. How much do you know about these sustainable fabrics?

  As environmental issues become increasingly serious and people begin to pay more attention, the importance of eco-fashion is gradually becoming more prominent. Many brands and practitioners are looking to material innovation, developing various sustainable fabrics based on green concepts, hoping to reverse the impact of the fashion industry on the environment. Let's take a look at these eco-friendly fabrics today!

  Organic cotton is a naturally safe, high-quality fabric, produced without chemical intervention: organic fertilizers are used to cultivate the soil, pests and diseases are controlled through biological means, and certified processing also eliminates the use of chemical additives. The finished product is residue-free, making it safe for use next to the skin or on maternity and baby products.

  Recycled cotton is a fabric made from industrial waste or post-consumer waste. Many slow fashion brands are using it, meaning your cotton underwear and sustainable jeans might actually be made from recycled materials.

  Organic linen is similar in sustainability to hemp, offering a lightweight and breathable fabric. The difference lies in its extraction from the flax plant. While it requires minimal fertilizer, pesticides, and irrigation to grow, its yield is lower than that of hemp.

  Organic bamboo (bamboo hemp) is highly sustainable: the plants can be harvested without killing them, and as one of the fastest-growing plants on Earth, it regenerates quickly. Similar to hemp, it absorbs carbon dioxide more efficiently than some trees, requires little input, and can survive solely on rainfall.

  Cork has long transcended its traditional image of "wooden boards and bottles" and has entered the apparel world, becoming a popular material for vegan bags and shoes.

Sustainable synthetic fabrics

ECONYL is a recycled nylon fabric sourced from ocean plastic, discarded fishing nets, and fabric waste. It feels just like regular nylon, but is manufactured using a closed-loop system that consumes significantly less water, making it more environmentally friendly.

Recycled polyester, also known as RPET, is being used by many brands to give landfill-bound plastic bags, bottles, and textiles a new lease of life in response to the environmental harms of single-use plastics.

Sustainable semi-synthetic fabrics

  Lyocell, abbreviated as TENCEL™, is the fabric trademark of Lenzing, an Austrian company. It's a semi-synthetic cellulose fabric that has become popular in the sustainable fashion world. Lenzing is also a world-renowned producer of Lyocell and Modal.

  Modal is also a semi-synthetic fabric known for its exceptional comfort and breathability. Similar to Lyocell, which is made from eucalyptus, Modal is made from beech trees.

  Bamboo's popularity is soaring, and it's now a common ingredient in products like eco-friendly underwear and sunglasses. Like conventional Lyocell and TENCEL™ Lyocell, bamboo Lyocell is manufactured using a closed-loop process that reuses chemicals and water.

  Notably, Lenzing™, the brand responsible for the majority of global Lyocell and Modal production, has also launched a new viscose fiber, Ecovero.

  PINATEX, a plant-based leather made from pineapple leaves, has entered the sustainable fashion world as a sustainable, pollution-free alternative to leather.

  Kombucha lovers, take note: that seemingly ordinary floating substance at the bottom of your bottle could be the future of leather. Kombucha is fermented by a living culture called SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast), a paste-like bacteria that transforms into leather.

  With S.CAFE technology, your coffee can go even further in a new form—it transforms ground coffee beans into yarn, which is then made into fabric.

  Wearing Qmonos fabric feels like stepping into a sci-fi movie—this Japanese fabric is made from synthetic spider silk, produced using microorganisms and spider silk genes.

  Spiber, the Japanese company behind Qmonos, has launched a new eco-friendly fabric: Brewed Protein. Similar to a SCOBY meets QMILK, it's a filamentous protein fiber made from fermented plant-derived biomass.

 APPLE ECO LEATHER (also known as Pellemela in Italian) is another plant-based leather made from waste from the apple juice industry. It is manufactured by Frutmat, an Italian company specializing in biowaste recycling.

Alternative plant-based wools have taken the world by storm, including this one made from hemp, coconut fiber, and mushroom enzymes. Not only is this 100% plant-based wool animal-friendly, it's also sustainable!

Cupro (also known as cupra) is a silk alternative made from recycled cotton garments or cotton linters, a byproduct of cotton cultivation that are the short hairs that cling to the seeds after harvest.

QMILK, which calls itself the "material of the future," uses casein, a by-product from the dairy industry, to create a natural, compostable, flame-retardant, and silky-smooth fabric.

Natural fabrics of animal origin

As a natural fiber, wool can be considered an alternative to plastic/petroleum-based synthetics like nylon and polyester. It's durable and generally doesn't require a lot of chemicals during processing. Furthermore, wool fabrics are naturally biodegradable.

Wool fibers are fine, and the fabrics woven are delicate, soft, considerate and comfortable. Merino sheep produce new wool every year, making Merino wool a sustainable and renewable fiber source that is also biodegradable.

Alpacas are related to camels, and most of the world's alpacas are still raised in their native habitat (usually in Peru). Alpaca wool is considered one of the most ethical and environmentally friendly wools. Alpaca wool comes in at least 22 natural colors and is processed without harmful chemicals, making it gentler on the skin and better for the environment.

Cashmere is one of the world's most popular fabrics. Its fibers can be as fine as 15 microns and are used to make soft and comfortable eco-friendly sweaters. It is also a fully biodegradable fabric.

  Camel hair is considered one of the most sustainable animal fibers, sourced from naturally shed hair from Bactrian camels.

Yak wool is a surprisingly soft and warm alternative to cashmere. It's harvested from the outer skin (producing a coarser fiber) or inner skin (producing a softer fiber) of free-ranging yaks on the Tibetan Plateau. Yaks shed extensively year-round, so harvesting the fur doesn't involve direct animal contact, but rather utilizes something that biodegrades in nature.

Down comes from ducks or geese. From a sustainable development perspective, down jackets utilize by-products that are originally wasted in the global food industry, reducing feather waste.

Silk is great for your skin (due to its antibacterial properties) and great for the planet (due to its fully compostable nature). It's produced from "wild silkworms," ​​or, in most cases, domesticated silkworms. Peace Silk uses humane sericulture practices and verifies its production under the Fairtrade guarantee system. Also known as "Ahisma silk," the non-violent production process allows the silkworms to live a natural and humane life, eventually evolving into butterflies.