The bizarre fabrics that fashion is betting on

[hunter]

Like many teenagers, Sarah King used to buy a new outfit every few weeks to try and keep up with the latest trends.

"When I was 16 or 17 I would buy a new outfit for a party and on every payday, stocking up on new outfits based on was trendy and popular, or what celebrities or my friends were wearing," she says.

Now with a sustainable fashion course under her belt, the 26-year-old digital marketing executive and vegan fashion blogger is part of a growing movement turning its back on disposable products.

In its sights is the growing waste and sustainability crisis prompted by the fashion industry.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/business-49550263

I'm not sure what's "bizarre" about this but that it's in the business section.

Fabrics are a big part of the microplastics pollution problem. Where does all that synthetic fiber lint in your washing machine go?

Growing cotton has huge environmental impacts. As the article notes it takes 15,000 litres of water to make one pair of jeans, and large amounts of fertilizer and pesticides.

Alternative cellulose fabrics made from trees, hemp, flax, and other sources might have smaller environmental impacts than cotton or entirely synthetic fabrics.

New ways of processing hemp and flax can produce fabrics as soft as cotton as well.

It calls its product the "friendliest fibre on the planet". But Crailar, a US company which has found a way to soften bast fibres like hemp and flax, has its beady eyes on cotton. Not as a direct competitor – they're not that big yet – but if their recent moves and shakes are anything to go by, they're certainly up for taking on the cotton/polyester hegemony that spreads throughout the global textile industry.

Intent on dispelling the impression that bast fibres have a scratchy, uncomfortable and unreconstructed hippy feel to them, Crailar has looked to paper production and worked those processes into its product.

"We started as a company called Hemp Town making clothing for clients like Universal Studios and Starbucks," explains Jay Nalbach, Crailar's chief marketing official. "You had to wash them hundreds of times to make them comfortable to wear and throwing conditioners at them didn't help either. The reason flax, hemp and linen are stiff is down to the pectins that naturally occur in the plant – like paper."

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https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/hemp-flax-bast-cotton-crailar

[mr_lebowski]

1. Ooooh, copying the PAPER industry sounds really environmentally friendly ...

Such paragons of 'green industry', they are

[hunter]

3. I'm just looking at the environmental footprint.

It could be more than cotton, it could be less.

And that depends on environmental regulations as well.

How that footprint compares to petroleum derived polyester fabrics is yet another question.

As a kid who frequently played with fire I learned to appreciate sturdy cotton clothing.

I usually wear my clothing until it's falling apart, same as I drive my cars. I rarely think about fashion at all, it's mostly when my wife says "You're NOT wearing that!"

And then there is this, one of the great science fiction movies of all time:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044876/

[Backseat Driver]

2. Microplastic - bad; natural fibers - good

As long as it doesn't require ironing, UGH, I'm in with sustainable fabric choices...Have to say, I do miss those inexpensive (think Burlington) shiny silk blouses and the heavier slubbed non-shiny silk. Then, when I think about all those non-pc little slave Asian fingers...ugh. Love the woolies as well in suits, blazers, sweaters, scarves, and blankets, now it's not pc to eat them or use their fur/hairs? Bamboo is soft and quite durable, but still pricey for sox and sheets. Don't particularly like the wrinkles that come with the flax but with enough $$$ you can find it mixed with cotton for lite weight summer sweaters, or 100% for anything including yardage off-the-bolt for DIY. I've seen some hemp fashion accessories like handbags but not a lot of clothing.

LOL, did you happen to notice this probably not so sustainable experimental hi-tech option:

https://www.labroots.com/trending/technology/12375/clothes-capable-communication

[hunter]

4. Okay, that soon-to-be electronic waste cloth did make me laugh in a cynical way.

But I do miss the days when our children (now adults) thought flashy electronic LED shoes were fantastic.

We went on a cave tour then and there's always that part where the guides turn out all the lights... Our kids, and several other kids with flashy electronic shoes saw this as the perfect opportunity to dance.

I've seen these shoes are back in style again. I suppose parents who remember them fondly from when they were children are now buying them for their own children.