Seaweed as an organic material of vegetable origin is a possible material in the near future for current materials that are not sustainable such as plastic and leather. Seaweed is actually a vegetable that will decay quicker than plastic or animal leather.
Clothing waste is at an all-time high. Theroundup.org reported that in 2023-2024, seven percent of all landfill waste is related to clothing and textiles.
Online discount retailers help this number by playing into the constantly changing fashion trends. What was in last month isn’t in this month and you better be willing to buy more to stay up to date. On top of this, fast fashion clothing often doesn’t have the same quality that ‘slow fashion’ clothing offers; making it more likely to wear out faster, causing more waste and more clothing to be bought.
One of the biggest issues when it comes to fast fashion is how long the clothing stays around after it has been thrown out. Shirts, sweaters, and pants could probably outlive us all. The fibres and chemicals that are used to make them take years to break down.Fabrics made of nylon are even predicted to last for thousands of years. Certain textiles also have a major environmental impact when they are being made. Fibres like nylon and polyester are mostly plastic-based and often sheds microplastics into the environment. Even natural ibres such as cotton can harm the environment. The World Wildlife Fund found out that most conventional cotton farms use 20,000 litres of water to produce only one kilogram of cotton.
With all of this out there, what options are there for more sustainable clothing?
SLOW FASHION
‘Slow fashion’ is a term used for clothing that isn’t mass-produced or follows the constantly changing trends that fast fashion creates. Slow fashion clothes are usually made to order and often contain eco-friendly materials or have an eco-friendly focus when it comes to the brand itself.
Eco-Friendly Fabrics
As the issue of the environment is becoming more important to people, many companies are turning to eco-friendly fabrics. So what are some of these fabrics made out of and what makes them eco-friendly?
Organic Cotton: Unlike regular cotton, this fibre uses less water and is grown without harmful pesticides. A great alternative for those comfy cotton shirts.
Hemp: This plant has been used for making all sorts of fabrics for thousands of years. Medium.com does a great job of giving a bite-sized history of this important fabric and why it is only in recent years that we have started using it again.
Aside from its durability, hemp only takes minimal water consumption. It helps put nutrients back into the soil for other crops, allowing for new crops to be planted in its place when the season shift happens.
Cellulose Fibres: A Finnish company called Spinnova has specialized in making cellulose fibres from wood and the eucalyptus plant. They claim that their eucalyptus fibres use 98 percent less water than conventional cotton farms. Along with this all of their textiles can biodegrade in months or be repurposed into new clothing.
Seafood Shells: Though it isn’t in wide use yet an inventor named Uyen Tran has been able to create a synthetic and biodegradable pleather material from seafood waste. Her story was reported on by the Washington Post and in it she is quoted saying…
“if we create something, it should biodegrade and decompose as nutrients back to the soil, so animals can feed on it, a tree can grow on it.”
Uyen Tran
Where can you start?
With all these eco-friendly fibres to look for in clothing and what fibres to avoid it can be hard to know where to start. However, sites like Sustainable Chic can help kick-start brands to shop for and allow you to find more budget-friendly options too. In a world full of textile waste, second-hand stores are always a great place to check to see if it is possible to give an old garment a new life in your wardrobe.
Hopefully, an eco-friendly fashion movement will help pave the way for more sustainable options for not just our fashion, but other major parts of our lives and lead us to a greener future.
