How to decode their composition to better choose them?
To consume more responsibly, checking the composition of the clothes you buy is an essential step. You still need to be able to decipher the labels and understand what is hidden behind each material!
We are interested here in the characteristics of the most commonly used textile fibers, to help you make informed choices.
Why is it important to look at the composition of your clothes?
The environmental and social impact of a garment is understood throughout its life cycle. But by taking an average of the reference studies published by Quantis and McKinsey [1] , we can estimate that the raw material is responsible for a large quarter (26.4%) of its total impact.
And the total balance can vary greatly depending on the raw material used to make it.
Natural or chemical fibres?
The composition label, mandatory in France and in the EU, lists the textile fibers that make up your garment in percentage and in descending order.
There are two main types of textile fibers, natural and chemical, with their respective sub-categories.
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Natural fibers :
- Plant fibers come from plants - their seeds, stems, leaves or fruits. Cotton, linen or hemp are part of this family.
- Animal fibers are made mainly from animal hair or secretion. Wool and silk fall into this category.
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Chemical fibers :
- Synthetic fibers are mainly made from hydrocarbons via a succession of chemical transformations.
- Among the most common are polyester, acrylic, polyamide or elastane.
- Artificial fibers are obtained by chemical transformation of a natural element, such as wood cellulose. Examples include viscose, cupro or lyocell.
Today, the materials most used to make our clothes are, by far, synthetic fibers, with more than 2 out of 3 clothes. Polyester in particular alone accounts for 55% of the textile fibers produced [2] .
Vegetable fibers constitute 27% of the market, with an overwhelming predominance of cotton.
At the back of the pack: recycled fibres, up to 6%, and animal fibres, 1%, with a predominance of wool.
We offer you a brief overview of the most common fibers.
The different textile materials
Polyester - chemical fiber, synthetic
Invented in 1941, polyester is the most produced textile fiber in the world today .
It owes its record rise to indisputable advantages : resistant to abrasion and stretchy, it ages well, does not crease, allows for light and breathable fabrics, dries quickly and does not shrink.
However, there are good reasons to avoid it as much as possible in our clothes: it comes, like the vast majority of synthetic fibers, from hydrocarbons. Petroleum being a limited fossil resource, polyester is in fact not a sustainable textile option. And, major problem, it releases plastic microparticles with each wash that end up in the oceans, where they destroy marine ecosystems. 500,000 tons of plastic microparticles are thus released into the oceans every year worldwide, the equivalent of more than 50 billion plastic bottles [3] .
For certain types of technical clothing such as swimsuits, tights or sportswear, it can be difficult to do without synthetic fibers. We then choose them recycled!
The cotton - natural, vegetable fiber
Representing more than a quarter of the fibers produced in the world , cotton is the star of plant materials. However, it is far from being ecologically irreproachable: its culture requires a lot of water (to produce a cotton T-shirt it takes the equivalent of 70 showers) and an explosive cocktail of fertilizers and pesticides (that is the main pesticide-consuming crop in the world 3 !). In addition, the working conditions of workers in the sector, from cultivation to clothing, often raise questions.
So what to do? Preference is given to organic cotton which, although it consumes as much water as conventional cotton, is more respectful of the environment since the certification prohibits the use of chemical inputs and GMOs.
In passing, we pay attention to the percentage of organic fibers in the total composition, which can vary greatly from one product to another. Only suitable labels ( primarily GOTS or Organic Content Standard ) guarantee a minimum of 70% organic fibers in our clothes.
To ensure respect for workers, again, we favor clothes bearing an appropriate label ( Fair Wear Foundation , World Fair Trade Organization , Fair for Life in particular) and we get information from brands on the production chain. .
We repeat, GOTS is a very interesting label because it covers both environmental and social aspects.
The wool - natural, animal fiber
The properties of wool are highly valued by the textile industry: supple and elastic, it keeps you warm, is anti-bacterial and biodegradable. Woolen garments have a long lifespan, although they can felt or be attacked by moths.
It can nevertheless raise questions, because of its animal origin: environmental impact of breeding via CO2 emissions and chemical inputs, social impact, and animal well-being, in connection with difficult breeding conditions and practices maligned, such as mulesing [4] .
We prefer its organic version certified by the GOTS label, which guarantees compliance with high standards of eco-responsibility and animal well-being. The Responsible Wool standard label attests to traceability throughout production, good land management, animal respect and transparent communication.
More and more brands are including information on the production conditions of their products on their website, and we don't hesitate to ask the question in store!
There are many other natural animal fibres , such as alpaca (llama hair), mohair (Angora goat hair), cashmere (cashmere goat hair) or silk (bombyx butterfly cocoon). Just like wool, they should be labeled to ensure respect for animals, the land that feeds them and workers in the sector, ideally organic or recycled.
flax and hemp - natural fibers, vegetable
These natural plant fibers have very interesting advantages : their culture requires much less water, fertilizers and pesticides than that of cotton, they lend themselves well to organic farming and can be grown locally (France is also the first world producer of flax and hemp!). Bonus, their cultivation even allows the soil to regenerate.
For flax, the processing steps are mechanical, non-chemical, and require very little water. For hemp, the process which makes it possible to soften the fibers requires the use of chemicals but these are not harmful for the workers who handle them and do not pollute.
Natural, sustainable and local , these two fibers are great alternatives to cotton, they make it possible to obtain resistant and therefore durable, fluid and thermoregulatory clothing. More and more committed brands are turning to these virtuous materials.
We favor local productions (made in Europe or even in France) in order to reduce the carbon footprint linked to transport. And, for linen, we can refer to quality benchmarks, such as the EUROPEAN FLAX® or MASTERS OF LINEN® .
Viscose and lyocell - chemical fibers, artificial
Viscose , fine, soft and robust, is ubiquitous in the textile industry due to its low cost . But it often raises questions: coming from a renewable source, vegetable cellulose, it can be mistakenly perceived as a natural material. However, its transformation process requires the use of very harmful chemical substances, dangerous for the workers of the sector and for our ecosystems, which makes it a material not very advisable .
Lyocell (or tencel, registered trademark), a fiber obtained from the crushing of eucalyptus wood, is resistant, soft and easy to maintain. Unlike viscose, its chemical transformation process has little impact : the solvent used is natural and non-toxic, water and solvent are 99% recycled in a closed loop. Virtuous? Provided that you still ensure that the wood used comes from sustainable plantations, for example thanks to the FSC label.
Recycled materials
By focusing on the reuse of existing materials, recycling has a lower environmental and social impact than the production of new fibres. Favoring recycled materials can therefore be an interesting option.
Being aware that textile recycling is still far from being an ecologically neutral and generalizable solution, we told you about it here .
Downside for recycled synthetic fibers, such as recycled polyester: keep in mind that they continue, even recycled, to emit plastic microparticles during each wash.
Difficult to keep all these elements in mind when buying a garment?
We remember one rule: bet on renewable natural materials, such as cotton, wool or linen, ideally in their organic or recycled version . And favor labeled clothing, which guarantees compliance with environmental and/or social standards.
To have the right information, we cultivate a life-saving reflex before buying a garment: read the labels! The inside label, to know the detailed composition of the piece and the sales label, which generally mentions the labels.
Labeled brands often communicate widely on the subject. But when the information is not obvious, we do not hesitate to inquire directly with the brands: their possible certifications are generally listed on their website and more and more of them are playing transparency by detailing their chain. of production.
Today, more and more young committed brands put these criteria at the very heart of their model, to offer us beautiful pieces designed responsibly, in sustainable materials.
And, to avoid the price barrier (sustainable and responsible beauty has a cost), second-hand clothing can be afforded at an affordable price with a more virtuous composition.
To explore each fiber, we strongly recommend that you consult the super lexicon of materials concocted by The Good Goods .
[1] Read the excellent article by Loom Du Charbon in cotton - why fashion must reduce its production which crossed these 2 studies.
[2] Mistra future fashion study
[3] ADEME infography: https://multimedia.ademe.fr/infographies/infographie-mode-qqf/
[4] More info on the subject in the ire article of The Good Goods The problem of mulesing in wool
