Choosing Eco-Friendly Textiles for your Sustainable Products

Finally, sustainable fabrics are making an impact on our global consciousness. We’ve reminded daily in social media and in the news of the importance of sustainably made fabrics. These days, manufacturers prefer using quality fabrics that last, instead of fabrics we discard the moment a new trend hits the runway.

We are aware that everything we do impacts the environment. We also know how important it is to protect our environment for future generations.

We’ve been warned that every time we don't consider the impact we have on our planet, we create future setbacks. We also know that these setbacks will have a dramatic effect on the world in the years to come.

Setbacks to Avoid When Choosing Sustainable Textiles

What setbacks are we talking about?

·      Pollution of microplastics

·      Greenhouse gas emissions 

·      Degradation of our soil

·      Destruction of rainforests

·      Water and energy consumption.

How to Play Your Part

Choosing sustainable fabrics for your business or home ensures you have less impact on the world you live in. 

As a fabric manufacturer and printer, maake knows the importance of choosing sustainably regarding how fabric is manufactured and how we print on it.

Sustainable Textile Examples

We’ve discussed fabric sustainability numerous times, as these products have an important impact on our lives. Sustainable fabrics UK are ones that we manufacture in the UK in an environmentally friendly way.

We’re talking about natural plant-based fabrics, like cotton, linen, bamboo and flax. And we’re talking about growing those plants to create these fabrics without using pesticides and other toxic chemicals.

People are also concerned about how factories manufacture these raw materials, because it's important to use less water and energy.

Environmentally friendly cloths are fabrics that we recycle. For instance, we make Recycled Polyester (rPET) from recycled plastic bottles. We transform these bottles into material that we use to make fashion clothing, accessories and all sorts of products. 

Some manufacturers are now creating sustainable fabrics from textile waste to stop the use of synthetics. You can read all about this here.

Sustainable Fabrics Cover:

1.     How we manufacture the materials.

2.     Where these materials come from.

3.     The methods used to make these fabrics.

The Downside of a Sustainable Fabric

These Fabrics are More Expensive 

It’s obvious. Textiles that we take great care in manufacturing will cost more than those that we make unsustainably. Fabrics that are not sustainable are cheap, poor quality and usually made using chemical processing. 

These Materials Don’t Last

They are of poor quality and don’t withstand the test of time. That's what we mean when we talk about fashion and unsustainable fashion. Recently, manufacturers have started making unsustainable fashion items to wear a few times, just until the next trend hits social media. These fashion garments are then discarded and end up in landfills, which is extremely harmful to the planet. That's what we call Fast Fashion. 

The Good News About Sustainable Textile Suppliers

Yes, there is some good news. Sustainable fabric companies worldwide are using the latest technology to make a wide range of innovative, sustainable fabrics. Some of these fabrics are natural ones, like bamboo and linen, whilst others are synthetic or a blend of natural and synthetic.

The quandary is to find ways to make textiles that are long-wearing and that don’t harm the planet. We need to create fabrics that we can give a second life to, so that they don’t end up in landfills.

For more information on this important subject, read our comprehensive blog, Sustainable Fabric UK Businesses Choose for Their Business Products.

Is This Particular Material Eco-Friendly?

You don’t have to guess which fabrics are environmentally friendly and which ones aren’t. Read the clothes label. It will explain what the fabric is, whether it's natural, safe for children and Fair Trade.

In the UK, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy sets the labelling standards for material. According to these laws, the labels have to include:

·      Fibre eco content.

·      Whether the textile meets BS-5722 (British certification for flammability) – vital for baby garments, kids clothes and sleepwear for kids and adults.

·      Country of origin and fabric care instructions – this is not mandatory.

·      There is a voluntary EU Ecolabel which identifies eco-friendly fabrics and footwear products in the EU. Manufactures create these products without harmful substances and using less water. And the fabrics are colour fast when people wash them, rub them, expose them to light and/or wear them.

What Makes Fabrics Unsustainable?

·    Non sustainable fabrics are a result of unsustainable farming or agriculture used to grow the fibre.

·    Production of the fabric involves deforestation and/or petroleum drilling.

·    Manufacture, dyeing and printing involves using harmful substances and/or chemicals or bleach.

·    These fabrics are of poor quality and are discarded quickly to become textile waste.  Figures show that 1.75 million tonnes of fashion clothing and fabric waste are made in the UK every year. And 1.2 million tonnes of this amount of waste end up in landfills.

Are you Making the Right Sustainable Fashion Choices?

These choices include asking yourself whether the fabrics are certified:

·       Organic or natural

·       Oeko-Tex

·       Fair Trade

·       GOTS

·       Recycled Polyester

·       Cotton

·       Biodegradable

Fabrics that have these labels include wool, TENCEL, sustainable cotton, recycled polyester, bamboo, hemp, soy cashmere or silk. Use caution when you wash these products.

Check These 2 Sustainable Fabrics Before You Buy Them 

We can manufacture these 2 fabrics sustainably, but we don't always do this. So ensure you choose carefully before you buy them:

Cotton Material Type

Cotton is biodegradable as it’s a natural fabric. But production of regular cotton fabric requires a lot of water, chemicals and pesticides to manufacture.

As a result, they aren’t considered sustainable textiles. However, if it’s organic cotton, it's made using less water and fewer harmful substances. This is why sustainability and natural cotton fabrics are so highly sought-after: they are made and grown ethically and sustainably.

Find out Everything you Need to Know About Organic Cotton right here.

Viscose

Viscose is semi synthethic. This is unlike cotton, which is a natural fabric. It’s a type of rayon fabric that we manufacture from wood pulp. The fabric is natural and vegan, and is popular as a substitute for expensive silk fabrics.

Remember, viscose has several guises – Lyocell, Modal, Refibra and Tencel are all viscose fabrics. We manufacture these fabrics using environmentally friendly wood pulp. Manufacturers use an environmentally friendly process to transform the pulp into material. It is different to the processes used to make other viscose fabrics. 

Of these fabrics, Lyocell is the most sustainable, as every waste product used in making this fabric is recycled. Lyocell is soft, breathable, lightweight and absorbent.

Viscose is biodegradable, while other synthetic fabrics like acrylic, nylon and polyester are not.

10 Eco-Friendly Fabrics & Fibres 

1.   Cotton

Organic Cotton

This fabric is one of the most popular sustainable cloths. When we manufacture this type of cotton material, we don't use pesticides, synthetic fertilisers or chemicals. This is why this type of cloth is often used for people with sensitive skin. The cloth is also sustainable because we use  62% less energy and 88% less water to manufacture it.

Drill

Natural cotton has numerous standards. These include GOTS and Fair Trade, which certify that workers receive fair pay. This is particularly important with fashion clothing which often ends up in landfills.

Recycled Cotton

We make this type of cotton from natural and previously used cotton material. 

It’s not as easy to get certification for this cotton fabric type as it is for organic cotton, as it’s difficult to prove whether the fabrics used are 100% organic cotton or not. 

Check for Oeko-Tex® certification, which shows that the fibres in the fabric are not toxic, or full of chemicals. Also check for The Global Recycle Standard (GRS), a voluntary recycled standard. 

2.  Linen

We produce this extremely light, breathable, vegan cloth from the flax plant. Farmers grow linen without using any pesticides, fertiliser and excess water. This is why it’s suitable for every skin type. 

The flax plant doesn’t yield much in each crop, so, to make sufficient fabric, a farmer has to grow a lot of flax, and this works out to be very expensive. Linen is extremely environmentally friendly and GOTS certified.

3.  Recycled Polyester (rPET)

At maake, we use Recycled Polyester fabrics, because they are more environmentally friendly than regular polyester. We make Recycled Polyester from reused plastic bottles.

Lycra Range

A number of activewear manufacturers use Recycled Polyester in their brands. Ensure you check for GRS and Oeko-Tex® certification when choosing this material.

4.  ECONYL®

This synthetic microplastic fabric is a recycled fabric. We often use it to make swimwear, which require a stretchy fabric that dries fast. Manufacturers make Econyl® sustainable nylon brands from reused nylon fabric. Factories have made this fabric from plastic found in the ocean, discarded old fishing nets and other fabrics.

The fabric feels and looks exactly like nylon, but it is also recycled. People manufacture it sustainably, using very little water. Check for GRS and Oeko-Tex® certification.

5.  Lyocell TENCEL™

This fabric is a type of rayon, a semi-synthetic fabric made from wood pulp. Most of the wood pulp is from eucalyptus trees, which don't require much water or pesticides to grow. Initially made in Austria by the manufacturer Lenzing, Lyocell was given the trademark name of TENCEL™.

People manufacture the fabric from trees grown in sustainable forests. The process they use is a ‘closed loop’ production process, which reuses 99.5% of the water required. Check for an Oeko-Tex® certification.

6.  Modal

This comfortable, breathable fabric is semi-synthetic, as it is made from the wood pulp of beech trees. But it does use chemicals during production. The production process isn’t as toxic as the process used to make rayon or viscose, but it’s more toxic than cloth created during Lyocell TENCEL™ production. 

As the cloth drapes very well, manufacturers use it to make dresses and skirts. They use a similar method to make this fabric to how they make Lyocell TENCEL™. So this is why it's important to check whether the manufacturers are environmentally aware. Check the fabric for an Oeko-Tex® certification.

7.  Wool

Sheep wool is a completely natural fibre, like leather, made from the wool of a sheep. It's 100% sustainable, organic wool. It's ideal for winter garments as it has moisture-wicking properties and regulates the body's temperature. The fabric is biodegradable. maake dyes it with environmentally friendly dyes instead of dyes that contain chemicals.

There have been questions about the sustainability of sheep farming. Animal welfare is a major concern, which is why people always question ethical knitted products. Check for standards like The Responsible Wool Std (RWS) and Woolmark for this material.

Merino Wool is fabric provided from Merino sheep, much of which is reared in Australia and New Zealand. Again, it’s best to check the knit product’s standards, particularly RWS and Woolmark.

8.  Cashmere

This luxurious soft, warm fibre is made from goat hair. People usually rear cashmere goats in Asian countries. One can source sustainable virgin cashmere fabric where workers use sustainable hand-combing techniques.

To be sustainable, farmers rear the goats in spacious areas where they can graze freely. Look for the Good Cashmere Standard® (GCS), The RWS and Woolmark standards.

9.  Down

Down comes from duck and goose feathers. People use this warm, soft fabric for various products. It’s environmentally friendly as it’s a waste product. These feathers would go to waste if they weren’t used to make down material.

Aside from the waste aspect, it's also important to find out whether the farmers treat the ducks and geese humanely. If they do, we consider the down 'environmentally friendly'. Check for certifications, which include the Responsible Down Std (RDS).

10. Silk

Silk is sustainable: it’s also antibacterial, soft to the touch and compostable, making it perfect for various products. Manufacturers produce silk from silkworms. 

'Peace silk' or 'Ahimsa silk' is the most sustainable silk. They make this fabric without harming the silkworms, which survive in natural conditions without chemical sprays or insecticides.

The worms' lifespan includes evolving into butterflies. This type of silk has a certification as  OTEX Organic Silk.

Read our comprehensive guide to Textile Certification here.

maake’s Guide to Sustainable Textiles 

100% GOTS Cotton

·       Optic White Organic Panama: Organic, GOTS cotton, bleached version of our Panama cloths. Very durable mid-weight canvas fabric. It's popular for bags and home accessories like curtains and cushions. Prints vibrant colour.

·       Organic Calico Natural: GOTS-certified, unbleached version of our Calico Cotton textile. Great for crafts, quilting and sewing homeware products like cushions, aprons, etc. This calico cotton prints are in a more muted shade.

·       Organic Drill Natural: Unbleached version of maake’s popular Drill Cotton fabric. Strong, durable cotton drill fabric with a slightly speckled appearance. Popular for making dresses, tailored and casual fashion clothes, aprons, cushions, tea towels and other home accessories.

·       Organic Leve Panama Natural: 100% GOTS cotton Panama fabric.

·       Organic Panama Natural: 100% GOTS cotton Panama fabric.

·      Organic Poplin: Classic lightweight cotton poplin material, ideal for shirts and other similar clothing items. This is the natural version of maake’s popular Cotton Poplin fabric, ideal for year-round use. It’s durable, lightweight and smooth with a plain weave. One can print on the front and back of this cotton material.

·       Organic Satin: Luxurious 100% GOTS cotton fabric with a matte finish – the natural version of maake’s satinmaterial. Ideal for home fabrics (throws, curtains etc), bed linen, clothes and accessories. It boasts a smooth print face, but frays at the edges. The cotton cloth prints stunning bold shades.

100% GOTS – Natural Blends

·       Organic Jersey Interlock: Natural Jersey Interlock fabric with a 2-way stretch (not as stretchy as 4-way stretch textiles). Smooth textured knit textile. When you print on this material, the colour is slightly lighter than when you print on cotton fabric. Used for fashion clothing and accessories for kids and adults.

Recycled Polyester (rPET) Fabrics – Lycra

• Active Eco Lycra: Environmentally friendly material, a lightweight blend of GRS-certified Recycled Polyester and lycra. It's smooth and stretchy, which makes it perfect for activewear, swimwear and accessories. Colours print vibrantly.
• Recycled Eco Lycra: The perfect blend of 78% Recycled Polyester and lycra, this strong, environmentally friendly fabric has a smooth surface and great stretch. Great for activewear and loungewear items. Colours print vibrantly on this recyclable material.

Read our informative blog on Fabric Innovations in Polyester Recycling here.

Recycled Polyester (rPET) Fabrics – Other Types

• Eco Basketweave: This natural 100% polyester fabric is sustainable and made from over 65% Reprieve Recycled Polyester fibres. It’s perfect for homeware accessories such as cushions, table linen and curtains. Prints vibrantly. This chunky weave fabric has a natural feel and a soft, structured drape.

• Eco Fleece: Warm, comfy, versatile and safe for children, this textile is 100% Recycled Polyester with a soft print face, ideal for cushions, blankets, fashion clothing, pet beds and more. Prints vibrantly.

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  Eco Linen Look: Made from 53% Recycled Polyester and 5% linen, this textile is perfect for table linen, home décor accessories including curtains and cushions and fashion clothing. Boasts a structured drape.
•  Eco rPet Canvas:  An eco canvas textile is 100% polyester – 45% of which is recycled. It’s environmentally friendly, tough, very versatile, and a good choice for bags, interior products, art projects, etc. It prints vibrant colours.
•  Eco-Sprint Knit: 100% Recycled Polyester blended with elastane, ideal for dresses, sweatshirts, hoodies, and kids clothes.
•  Eco Taffeta: Lightweight, durable, crisp 100% Recycled Polyester textile with a slight sheen. Suitable for clothing and accessories, it prints vibrant hues.
•  Eco Velvet: A 100% Recycled Polyester textile that is very soft and matte, making it perfect for home décor, light upholstery and fashion clothing. It has a slight stretch. Colours print vibrantly.

Let's get Creative & Eco-Friendly

Review and choose your preferred sustainable material from our collection. Then it’s time to print on it:

Browse our extensive Design Library for easy solutions

      Create your own image

Find more inspiration in our comprehensive blog on Future Trends for Sustainable Fabrics.