You know about organic cotton and pesticide-free hemp but what about SeaCell, an open-weave blend of wood pulp and seaweed that's soft and breathable? Or paperwool, a blend of organic wool and rice paper that's especially gentle on sensitive skin? Researching green fabrics, we came across a great resource...
West Loop clothing shop, Pivot, offers a comprehensive list of the green fabrics they use in-store. Many of these fabrics can be found by the yard online or in green fabric stores.
• Lyocell is made from biodegradable wood pulp using chemical-free processes. It can be blended with other fibers to create fabrics like SeaCell (Lyocell and Seaweed, shown above) and Hempcel (Lyocell and Hemp).
• Lenpur is made from white wine pulp. It's biodegradable, silky, and light. Manufacturers use it to make socks, underwear, and lingerie.
• Renewable animal materials include Merino Wool (made from shorn Merino sheep), Mongolian Cashmere (made from the undercoat of Mongolian cashmere goats), Baby Alpaca Knit (made of yarn spun from shorn Peruvian alpacas), and Organic Wool (made from hormone-free, insecticide-free sheep).
• Recycled and Vintage fabrics are resewn into new items, while Surplus fabrics are made of remnants from the manufacturing process.
• Renewable plant fiber fabrics include Linen (made from the flax plant), Soy (made from byproducts of the tofu manufacturing process, Bamboo (one of the world's fastest growing plants), Hemp (which requires no pesticides), and Organic Cotton (grown in fields that have been chemical-free for at least 3 years).
For the full list from Pivot, click here.
Photos: Seacell/Wool Blend Yarns from Piece of Beauty, Alpaca Yarn from Purl, Hemp Twine and Organic Cotton Yarn from All Eco
Copyright © 2008 Apartment Therapy
Holy cow...for a second there I was all excited that someone had posted something about knitting! I have knitted with bamboo and linen yarn and it's lovely stuff and becomes very soft after a wash.
view Monica's profile
I knitted socks made out of a yarn made of shrimp & crab shells. Lots of new stuff out there.
view Kit's profile
Beware, though: Bamboo (I know for a fact) and soy (I'm told) are very stretchy, and garments knit with them tend to hold their shape poorly. Just sayin'.
view scaligera's profile
It's a *lot* more complicated than you're making out. Soy, bamboo, wood pulp derived, crustacean derived... they're all forms of plastic. The chemistry is rather complex, and while the fibers can be useful they tend not to be as durable as a plant or animal fiber. Since the processes are protected, I'm also not sure that they're truly comparable to producing a plant or animal fiber.
They're still really interesting fibers , but I wouldn't class them as sustainable without a lot more understanding of the full process.
view Torrilin's profile