Sustainable Textile Resources and 5 Things I've Learned

I'm going to take a break from market research on sustainable apparel to write about . . . sustainable apparel, from the textile art-design-craft-authenticity point of view. I've been reading about this market for three months now, and there are some very innovative and committed designers, entrepreneurs, artists and crafters; there are also some who just seem to want to jump on a trend. They're making exaggerated claims and counting on consumers not to scratch too deeply. This is pretty standard for an industry that's suddenly a runaway train, and a train people will pay more to be on, but until there are more consistent and clarified standards we all have to educate ourselves; Organic Clothing is a great blog if you want to dig into this.

Right now, there are just a few resources for those who want to buy organic or other sustainable fabrics by the yard in small quantities.  Yarn is a little easier; there are beautiful organic cotton and wool yarns in many colors, and I'll post about those separately. For fabric, here are some online retailers:

• NearSeaNaturals specializes in organic and sustainable fabrics and notions. This is a good place to buy Harmony Art organic cotton fabrics by the yard. It would be fun to do some beading or overdying or color printing on this one, or use as is:

• Rawganique, a clothing manufacturer, has European hemp fabrics by the yard
• Aurora Silk has beautiful wild, muga and peace silks (wherein the silkworm is not killed, and I'm confident Cheryl is very conscious about ethical treatment of human workers too).
• ModGreenPod has decorator-weight organic cotton prints -- bright and lively.
• Silk Road Fabrics in Austin has organic cotton chambray and flannel.
• Hart's Fabric, a fabulous store in Santa Cruz, has a selection of eco-friendly fabrics. Some of these are more eco-friendly than others; see below.
• Dharma Trading has some organic cottons and blends of soy, hemp, and bamboo that can be dyed, and organic cotton t-shirt blanks.
• Hancock's of Paducah has organic cotton sheeting in muslin and gingham checks.
• PurlSoho has O-Wool's truly gorgeous organic wool melton (be ready for sticker shock: $65/yd) and a few other selections.
• Equilter.com has organic sheeting, cotton fleece, and eco-felt. Note that their "organically dyed cottons" are not actually organic cotton; they are conventional cotton dyed with nontoxic dyes. Still a good step. They also offer organic cotton batting, as do many other quilting suppliers.

I'm happy to add to this list if you have other sources. Most of these are not inexpensive, and if you need something quickly or need particular colors, your choices are limited. This is going to change -- I'm sure of that. There is far too much interest and growing awareness of the need for reform in the textile industry. And that brings me to my list of Some Things I 've Learned about sustainable garment and textile production.

1. It Matters. The textile manufacturing industry, a $500 billion global behemoth, is highly polluting -- from enormous quantities of pesticides used on cotton to harmful treatments and dyes. It also has a track record of very poor social responsibility and ethical treatment of workers. We've outsourced it all to developing countries so we don't see the mess, but it's there. Our global culture can do better.
2. It's Not Just the Fiber. Growing or sourcing fiber responsibly, whether man-made or plant- or animals-based, is just the beginning. As mentioned above,the dyes, finishes, and treatments that turn the fiber into the glorious fabrics we love can be highly toxic. There are alternatives; we don't have to sacrifice color or texture. But the textile industry does have to invest resources into developing those alternatives and putting them into widespread  use.
3. Tell It Like It Is. What does "sustainable" mean, anyway? Not much. It's supposed to mean that all resources will be replenished, and there will be no net cost to the environment for future generations, but it's come to mean -- well, just about anything that is vaguely eco-ish, or even the palest shade of green. Thus we have a lot of claims being made and things being called sustainable that aren't, so much. To me the worst offender for exaggerated claims is bamboo. The process used to turn bamboo into fabric is similar to that of rayon, and quite chemical-intensive. Claims are made that no pesticides are ever used on bamboo; not true. And the claims that it is both antibacterial and biodegradable contradict each other. I haven't seen anything that convinces me that fabric made of bamboo is antibacterial. Soy- and corn-based fabrics are also flawed; they're made from genetically modified crops, leading to more pesticide use and decreasing biodiversity. Now, these are still better than some of the other choices available. Bamboo is a highly renewable crop that doesn't use pesticides in the way that cotton does. Soy and corn, even GMO, are probably better than petroleum-based synthetics (though petroleum is the base for the pesticides used on these crops). So nothing is simple; there are many shades of gray. This is why, for me, organic fibers, and especially the new GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) label for processed textiles, have the most meaning and credibility. Yet organic cotton (and much textile processing) uses a lot of water, so that's a consideration; there are always multiple factors at play.
4. We Buy Too Many Cheap Clothes. Planned obsolescence is at the heart of our current system of fashion. Styles, colors and trends change radically from month to month, and you can just go to Old Navy or Wal-Mart and buy something new and incredibly cheap. The Slow Fashion movement says: change it. Buy fewer clothes, and buy better-made clothes so they'll last longer. Choose colors that will go with what you already have. This kind of investment dressing or European-style approach to clothing has long been recommended by style experts, but it's up to us to put it into practice.
5. Take the Long View. The fashion and textile industry is not going to change overnight. But just as the industry has to start making incremental and meaningful changes, so can we. Replacing your wardrobe isn't the answer -- nothing is sustainable about that. But at the right time, just one purchase of an organic cotton or wool fabric or batting or yarn, or one item of clothing that is well-made from appropriate fibers with non-toxic processing and ethical labor practices, helps support change in the industry.

Comments

[truestitches]

Oh, I could spend days in your archives! just wanted to add Stonemountain and Daughter in Berkeley to your list of organic fabric suppliers.
http://www.stonemountainfabric.com/

I was lucky enough to visit there a few weeks ago and it had 20 or so bolts of different kinds of organic cloth, including several colours of a lovely soft corduroy!

[Lainie]

Thank you Paula, Arlee, Deb and Harmony -- and a special thanks, Harmony for the additional resources. I do agree that we have to buy less. I also think that textile art and craft people are by nature more inclined to sustainability. We've already been doing the handmade thing, for a long time, and we know what goes into it and respect the process. But the truth is, there are still deep changes that must be made. Pesticides are used on cotton in staggering amounts. Water, resources and chemicals used to produce, say, stylishly faded jeans add up to a lot of impact. This is a very complex topic, and I'm not wagging my finger at anyone or lecturing; far from it, and I hope it doesn't come off that way. I'm just saying that with a little awareness we can begin to make informed choices, ask industry to do better, and sort through some of the confusing claims.
By the way, the Washington Post had a great article a week or so ago -- I think it was called "Greed is the New Green" or something like that -- speaking exactly to Deb Fair's point about consumerism. I'll try to find it and link to it in a new post.

[Deb Fair]

Thanks for your thoughtful article. I fear that the whole "organic" and "sustainable" movement is just another way to boost consumerism. I think your fourth point is the absolute best. Throwaway clothing, and other textiles, contribute more to un-sustainability, I think, than non-organic production and manufacturing. Our unrelenting lust for more and more things fuels the on-going damage. Certainly there must be some kind of balance between "sustainability" and sound economics. We are smart enough to figure this out and not continue to be duped by the advertising industry.
Please excuse my ranting, if you perceive it as such.

[harmony]

Thank you! I completely agree with you on items 1-5.

Some other sites you may be interested in:
http://www.tenfoldorganic.com/files/our-fabric.html - naturally (plant & minerals) dyed organic cotton from India
http://www.oliveiratextiles.com/ - fun prints on hemp and organic cotton
http://www.organiccottonplus.com/Fabrics.html - harmony art fabrics and more
http://www.pmorganics.com/ - harmony art fabrics and more

[arlee]

A very thoughtful and thought provoking piece--i had never thought to buy specifically "organic" as a LOT of my fabrics are actually thrifted or scrounged and re-used. This is my small way of not buying into the industry, though of course, i still have to in some cases. I'll think more next time i go to the fabric shops, and that IS a step, i hope.

[Paula Hewitt]

I was writing about sustainable fibres a little while ago http://paulahewitt.wordpress.com/2008/01/28/blogs-i-wish-i-had-time-to-write/ - its hard to know what is best sometimes. Have you heard about the refashionistas? refashioning clothes instead of buyig new one - i just buy a little and wear it to death!