What are Organic and Sustainable Textiles?

The terms organic and sustainable cover a wide range of fabrics or textiles. Whilst the word ‘organic’ in textile manufacture is quite specific and backed up with certifications and standards, sustainable can cover textiles with varying degrees of sustainability. Sustainable is defined as ‘the capacity to endure’ this can be applied to both the looking after the environment and managing natural resources. Being organic is the most common way that a fabric can be sustainable but there are many other ways. Here are just a few ways that textiles can be sustainable:

Organic - this describes textiles that are made without chemicals from organically grown plants. The most common organic textile is organic cotton. Conventional cotton is grown using a large amount of pesticides and water and causing damage to the environment. The insects become resistant to the pesticides and more and more is required in order to achieve the same crop yields. Eventually, it becomes impossible to control the insects with the pesticides. Organic cotton is grown without the use of pesticides.

Natural -Natural fibres used to manufacture textiles can usually be considered a more sustainable option than synthetic fibres. They do not use non renewable petro chemicals for manufacture and are also biodegradable.

Sustainable plants - some plants that textiles are manufactured from can be described as sustainable. Bamboo is an excellent example of a sustainable plant. It grows quickly in many areas without the need for irrigation or pesticides.

Recycled - using recycled materials to create textiles is another sustainable option with the most sustainable option being to reuse and recycle textiles in their current form as any process of manufacture has some environmental impact.