When making your conscious fashion move, you are agreeing to go for fashion items that cause less negative impact to the environment and its habitat. Animal deprived materials like Wool, Leather and Fur are often unethically sourced thus leading in worst fabrics for the environment.
Let’s explore why these fabrics aren’t the best for the environment.
Leather and Nylon
According to Extinction Rebellion, one billion animals are killed for leather every year while 85 percent of the worlds leather is tanned with chromium. Chromium is an extremely toxic substance that often leaves workers with cancer and other skin conditions.
Nylon is made from petroleum and is often given a permanent chemical finish that can be harmful.
WOOL
Most people prefer wool because it’s warm, it’s wrinkle-resistant, absorbs moisture, it’s resilient and it biodegrades naturally. However, the issue with wool comes from the methane gas emissions caused by gassy sweeps. Did you know that 50 percent of wools carbon footprint comes from the ships themselves?
FUR
This is one of the dirtiest business I have seen. Fur production is unethical and often painful to the animals. Most people argue that fur is sourced from animals that are already slaughtered for meat but this is isn’t the case. Due to high demand in fur, millions of animals are bred mainly for fur production. Instead of fur, you can go for faux fur.
Please watch the video below for details on how fur is produced.
If you must buy clothes made from wool, leather and fur, go for second hand which promotes the use of what’s already produced.
Polyester
This is considered one of the worst fabrics for the environment by many yet it’s the one that dominates the fashion industry. Polyester is a plastic product manufactured from crude oil. So far, the best option is recycled polyester because it reduces the amount of oil being used. The downside is that eventually, recycled polyester will have the same environmental repercussions as new polyester when it’s time to dispose as it takes decades to decompose.
Acrylic
According to EPA, acrylic fabrics may polyacrylonitrile also know as polyvinyl cyanide and creslan that may cause cancer.
Rayon
This is recycled wood pulp that must be treated with chemicals like caustic soda, ammonia, acetone and sulphuric acid to survive regular wash and wear. Most people with allergies say that rayon fabric can produce toxic substances that may cause nausea, headaches, vomiting and muscle pain.
Do you agree with this list? Did I leave some fabrics out? Please leave any comments in the box below and as usual, I really appreciate you. You might also like my post about ENVIRONMENTAL FRIENDLY FABRICS
If we’re not yet connected on social media, let’s connect.
