At the recent Interwoven textile show in High Point, N.C., fabric makers gathered to discuss how the use of natural fibers in both apparel and the home can lead to a more sustainable future.
Natural materials such as cotton and linen have become a viable alternative to synthetics in an era of greater attention to the problems of textile waste, microplastics and harmful chemicals such as PFAS. And even when those natural fibers aren’t grown organically, they still provide a level of sustainability that synthetics cannot match.
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“There’s a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding of what sustainability means,” said Marcy Gang, executive account manager, global supply chain marketing for Cotton Incorporated. “It doesn’t always have to mean organic cotton and organic fibers—just the fact that you’re using a natural fiber means that there are inherent sustainability benefits like biodegradability and compostability.”
Organic cotton farming is on the rise globally, thanks to initiatives such as the Organic Cotton Accelerator, and automation and digital tools have revolutionized the process of growing cotton to improve efficiency and sustainability.
“Cotton farming today would be unrecognizable from what most people have in their mind,” Gang said. “It is extremely energy- and water-efficient, efficient with land use. There are hardly any people on the farm anymore—it’s done by robots and drones identifying where the field might be more dry, or where they might need more water or more fertilizer in certain areas, not across the entire field.”
Gang said that more than 64 percent of cotton grown in the United States is watered by rainfall only.
Flax, the plant that produces linen fibers, also mostly relies on rainfall for watering, and it offers other environmentally friendly properties.
“Flax is a very sustainable plant—it requires very little water to grow, and it’s essentially pesticide-free,” said Karim Fugel, national sales director for linen apparel and home textile maker Libeco. “Flax requires no additional water, and the root is about as long as the plant above ground, so it aerates the soil.”
Durability has been a drawback for natural fibers in the past, with synthetics offering greater strength, color-fastness and water- and stain-repellency. But new innovations in finishing and weaving have helped solve this problem and make natural fibers more competitive on durability.
“We have developed several technologies for cotton fabric,” Gang said. “We have water-repellent finishes, and we have finishes that improve the durability that are used widely in the apparel industry.”
Gang said some of the companies Cotton Inc. has worked with in the home sector have seen good double-rub durability numbers for residential use, and she sees that improving in the future.
Upholstery maker Regal Fabrics initially rolled out its Kindred sustainable line in 100 percent recycled poly derived from plastic bottles. But Scott Kahan, director of product for Regal, said the company realized they couldn’t compete from a value perspective with the totally recycled product. So they began incorporating natural fibers.
“We quickly found out that charging more for recycled polyester was not chasing value for our customers. It’s a price-driven market, and that wasn’t what people wanted,” he said. “On the other hand, the cottons were still great, so we shifted the whole Kindred line. It’s still always made with at least 51 percent sustainable fibers, but we haven’t made anything with recycled polyester in five or six seasons now because adding the value of cotton or linen works better.”
Durability also is a consideration for linen use, as is a longstanding drawback—wrinkling. But Fugel said that choosing the correct flax can solve the wrinkle problem without sacrificing sustainability.
“In America, we grew up thinking linen wrinkles, and it’s not wearable, but that’s actually dependent on where the flax is grown,” she said. “Flax grown in the Flanders region—which is in Belgium, France and the Netherlands—is the highest quality because it’s the tallest plant, which results in the longest staple fiber. For upholstery, that means durability, and for apparel, that means fewer wrinkles.”
And whether a fabric is made with organically grown fibers, traditionally cultivated plants or even a blend of natural and synthetic materials, brands must offer transparency that assures consumers the items they’re buying truly are sustainable. That includes information from seed all the way through the supply chain to the finished product.
“It’s really important to lean into what consumers are asking for because they’re seeing so many things out there that claim to be sustainable,” Gang said. “So you are constantly revising your messaging as growing and production changes while being truthful and authentic. You have to be realistic about all the processes that your fabric goes through.”
