Guide to Natural Fabrics

The art of natural fabric almost seems lost these days. In a world of over-consumption and fast fashion, we’ve come to expect unnatural fabrics that are quick and easy to produce. They’re also cheap to make and sell.

If you take a look in your closet, you’ll most likely find materials like polyester, nylon, acrylic, rayon, and spandex. These are all synthetic, man-made materials. The problem is, unlike with natural fibres, these won’t break down in a landfill, at least not for hundreds of years. Which is where our used and even unsold clothing ends up.

If you want to be more sustainable in your choice of clothing fabrics, here is your guide to natural fabrics!

Guide to natural fabrics

1. Cotton

We’re all familiar with cotton. It’s one of the most common natural fibres. It’s known for its durability and softness. Cotton has been used for clothing and fabrics since prehistoric times. Its duality to be both breathable and absorbent makes it the perfect fibre for clothing.

Cotton is the largest non-food crop industry in the world, with approximately half of all textiles being made from the plant. The industry also provides income for 250 million people worldwide. (Source)

Clothing made from 100% organic cotton only takes a few weeks to a few months to decompose. (Depending on the conditions.) Isn’t that incredible?

2. Linen

Linen is another common natural fabric used in clothing and has been used in clothing for thousands of years. Linen is often associated with a specific type of clothing. People looking for easy, breezy, light clothing tend to lean towards linen as it’s perfect for those uses and style.

Linen is similar to cotton in the way that it’s grown and harvested, except it’s derived from the stems of the flax plant. 100% natural linen clothing can take as little as two weeks to decompose.

3. Hemp

Hemp requires very few resources to grow, making it an excellent, sustainable fabric. It has a similar feeling and texture to linen and, again, has been used in clothing for thousands of years.

Hemp is also lightweight, durable and even 3 times stronger than cotton. Natural hemp only takes about 6 months to fully decompose.

4. Jute

Jute is a vegetable fibre that can be spun into strong, durable threads. Most jute is grown and produced in India. It’s one of the most affordable fibres to produce and is used not only in clothing but often in rugs, baskets and more.

Jute typically take between 1 and 4 months to completely break down once discarded.

5. Lyocell

Lyocell, also known as Tencel, is produced from wood pulp. Typically from a eucalyptus or spruce tree. The production of Lyocell is a closed-loop system, minimizing the use of chemicals, and making is a truly sustainable material.

It’s a soft material that feels similar to silk and offers moisture-wicking abilities. It typically takes only 55 days to fully decompose, which is incredible!

6. Bamboo

Bamboo fabric is incredibly soft and breathable, making it perfect for clothing. Bamboo is one of the most sustainable materials due to the plant being fast-growing and regenerative, requiring little to no chemicals or pesticides to grow. It can take about 6 months to a year for 100% bamboo clothing to fully decompose.

7. Flax

While linen is made from the flax plant, there is a difference between the materials. So while all linen comes from flax, not all flax is linen.

Flax is the plant fibre from Linum usitatissimum, and linen is the textile derived from flax fibres. (Source)

Flax material typically takes 2 weeks to decompose.

8. Modal

Modal is another natural fibre made from wood pulp! The process is similar to that of Lyocell/Tencel, except that Modal is derived almost exclusively from the beech tree. It’s known for its comfort and breathability and is a drapey material perfect for dresses.

It can also decompose in a matter of just a few weeks.

9. Sisal

Sisal is a natural fibre made from the agave plant. It’s one of the less common fabrics on this list, but a great, sustainable, natural alternative.

It’s also a powerhouse due to its ability to absorb more carbon over its lifetime than it produces. It’s used in a variety of industries, including textiles.

10. Ramie

Ramie is another less familiar natural fibre. It’s a renewable plant fibre derived from a plant in the nettle family. It has a natural resistance to stains, shrinkage, and it holds its shape well, making it ideal for clothing. (Source)

There you have our complete guide to natural fabrics! There are of course, more natural fibres than these 10 but these 10 are the most common or the coolest in terms of sustainability and durability.

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