Eco-friendly fabrics

The good guys

Textile manufacturing is the second-largest water-polluting industry in the world, after agriculture. So what fabrics should we opt for? Basically, anything that contains natural fibres, and nothing manmade, and printed or dyed without using nasty chemicals.

These are the most commonly used fabrics in the world of interior design:

Linen

A fine and elegant printed or plain cloth

SUSTAINABLE – Linen is the most commonly available sustainable furnishing fabric, organic linen being the most eco-friendly. What makes linen sustainable is the fact that the entire plant (called flax) can be spun and woven into cloth, with virtually no waste. If processed organically, without chemicals or intensive dyes, it also means there is no water pollution.

The most superior linen is grown in Europe. Second only to hemp, flax is the world’s most productive crop per hectare. It outperforms cotton crops and makes better use of the land, requiring less water to grow. Organic linen is grown using a system of crop rotation, and this ensures the soil is protected and prevents soil degeneration, as well as looking after important eco-systems.

PRACTICAL – Linen is a durable yet elegant fabric with a soft, rustic appearance. Linen is prone to shrinking, so buy pre-washed cloth. Linen cloth is normally dry-clean only, but there are eco-friendly dry cleaning companies out there. You can also buy pre-washed linen to avoid the risk of shrinkage.

SUMMARY – When buying linen fabric, try not to be swayed by a cheap price, and opt for organic.

Wool

Wool is soft and warm, and takes a dye deep into the fibre

SUSTAINABLE – Grown from nature, wool is 100% natural, 100% renewable and 100% biodegradable. By its nature, wool is a circular fibre. Most of the wool ranges that I offer are entirely made in the UK, from dying, blending, carding and then spinning the wool into yarn, to weaving the yarns into cloth.

HEALTHY – With its unique antistatic properties, wool naturally repels dust and dirt. Wool is an unfavourable environment for the house dust mite, whose allergens are one of the triggers for asthma attacks. Wool absorbs microscopic pollutants and traps them, keeping the air in your home pure. Wool is resistant to bacteria, mould and mildew that can trigger allergic reactions in people.

PRACTICAL – Wool is wonderfully soft to touch, yet naturally very hardwearing. It drapes beautifully and has a gorgeous matt appearance with incredible depth of colour. Wool upholstery can withstand perpetual use whilst retaining colour and form. Wool is also naturally fire-retardant so fire-proofing chemicals are not required when used for upholstery.

INSULATING – Wool also has superb insulating properties, both thermally and acoustically. Wool therefore makes a financial and ethical choice if you wish to reduce your energy use. Wool is a natural acoustic insulator so it can limit the spread of sound and help you sleep more soundly at night.

ANIMAL WELFARE – As an animal lover myself, I only ever offer wool fabrics from manufacturers that demand the highest standards in animal welfare, and from countries that have banned mulesing. Google that – it’s a cruel and painful surgical procedure performed on Merino lambs bred for wool.

Recycled manmade fibres

From linen-look sheers to hardwearing upholstery fabrics

SUSTAINABLE – This takes waste PET – commonly post-consumer plastic bottles – and turns it into fabric. The plastic bottles are chopped up and melted, then turned into flakes. These flakes are then spun into yarn and then woven into cloth. Although this form of manufacture has a large carbon footprint in itself, as it requires a lot of energy, water and chemicals, this method of making fabric diverts plastic waste from landfill and reduces demand for virgin plastic.

PRACTICAL – The resulting fabric is more resistant to UV fading than natural fibres. It is durable, soft and comes in hundreds of colours.

SUMMARY – Recycled polyester cloth is ONLY eco friendly when 100% of the polyester in a fabric is recycled. If recycled polyester is mixed with new polyester, then fossil fuels (crude oil) were used in the manufacture of that fabric. Don’t get fooled by terms like ‘Made With’. A cloth made from 80% recycled polyester and 20% polyester is not eco-friendly, in my humble opinion. It’s greenwashing.

Cotton (organic & recycled)

Only ever buy organic or recycled cotton

SUSTAINABLE – Organic cotton is far better than non-organic because organic farming works in harmony with nature. Organic cotton consumes hugely less water to grow, and farmers use environmentally friendly alternatives to fertilisers and pesticides, rather than chemicals. On the farm, the seeds grown are not genetically modified, and insects are encouraged – not just pollinators, but also those that naturally predate on insects that like to munch the plant. Crops are normally grown in rain-fed regions, reducing the need for manual watering of crops.

Recycled cotton is where waste cotton fabric is converted into cotton fibre and then is rewoven into textile products. The largest volume of recycled cotton sources is produced through pre-consumer waste, such as left over scraps from clothing manufacturing. Recycled cotton is often mixed with other fibres because the recycling process can weaken the cotton. This gives the fabric strength. Always ensure that those other fibres are eco friendly too, otherwise it’s not a sustainable option.

HEALTHY – Because less chemicals are used in organic cotton production, this makes the cotton hypoallergenic – something that’s important for fabrics we come into contact with, like bed linen and clothing.

CERTIFICATION – Even organic cotton can be processed and dyed with toxic chemicals. So, look for the Oeko-Tex Standard 100 label or GOTS. OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 is one of the world’s best-known labels for textiles tested for harmful substances. It stands for customer confidence and high product safety. GOTS (the Global Organic Textile Standard) was developed by leading standard setters to define world-wide recognised requirements for organic textiles. From the harvesting of the raw materials, environmentally and socially responsible manufacturing to labelling, textiles certified to GOTS provide a credible assurance to the consumer.

WELFARE – The lack of chemicals makes it better for the health of those tending and harvesting organic cotton crops. Cotton that is certified organic is more ethical, as farmers get a fair wage and a stable income.

SUMMARY – Organic cotton production is not a perfect process though, as it still requires a lot of water to grow. Because organic seeds are not genetically modified, it results in a lesser yield. So less can be grown per hectare than conventional cotton. Although organic cotton is a readily available solution ­and is more equitable for farmers, sadly, less than 1% of the global cotton trade is certified organic. This will never change whilst the world’s population continues to demand cheap cotton. Governments, manufactures and retailers need to act together to ensure it gets the market share it deserves.

Recycled cotton, by nature, is weaker than virgin cotton, so it is often combined with other fibres to give it strength. That’s fine, so long as those other fibres are sustainable too.

Hemp

SUSTAINABLE – Hemp is THE most environmentally friendly fabric around, and is also the oldest form of fabric. It is an extremely sustainable crop and is carbon-negative because it actually absorbs more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it gives off in production.

PRACTICAL – The hemp plant is very fibrous and these fibres are stripped from the plant and woven together, resulting in a very durable fabric. Undyed hemp has excellent UV resistance and it is very strong. Over time, fabric made from hemp starts to feel more luxurious to touch. It softens, but it doesn’t weaken.

SUMMARY – Hemp’s popularity as a curtain fabric is still in its infancy, and most of the big interior fabric brands have not adopted it yet. But collections are gradually appearing on the market. Once such collection I offer is a plain, in a choice of 24 colourways from neutrals to bold tones.

What to avoid

COTTON, NON-ORGANIC – The Soil Association has dubbed non-organic cotton the ‘world’s dirtiest crop’. The production of cotton requires vast areas of land for cultivation, leading to deforestation in some regions. Bad for the environment but also devastating for local communities who rely on the forest for their livelihoods. Cotton is a very thirsty crop, requiring a colossal amount of water, often grown in countries like India and China which suffer from droughts.

Seeds sown are commonly genetically modified for increased yield. Pesticides, herbicides, insecticides and synthetic fertilisers are used which contaminate soil and kills insects. Without those insects, birds and mammals that feed off them suffer.

These chemicals are also harmful to the workers who tend the crops. Chemicals leach into groundwaters, resulting in a damaging effect on aquatic life and human health, including birth defects.

The chemicals also remain in the cotton, and therefore in the final product that we wear and sleep on.

COTTON, BCI – This stands for the Better Cotton Initiative, a global not-for-profit organisation that aims to make the cotton industry more sustainable. Good? No, not really.

To meet BCI criteria, farmers should follow 7 principles, from minimising the harmful impact of chemicals they use, to caring for the soil. But the word ‘should’ sadly means it is non-binding. It’s just advisory. Also, there are no direct principles on pesticide use, some of which are banned in the EU. BCI is also agnostic towards the use of cheap Genetically Modified seed.

We have to question why BCI cotton is so popular with fast fashion high-street brands, who in themselves are not sustainable. It’s because BCI cotton is cheap to produce, compared to organic cotton. Genuinely ethical brands do not buy BCI cotton.

Yet the high-street brands tell us it’s sustainable. No it’s not, it’s misleading consumers. It’s nothing more than greenwashing. Additionally, BCI cotton is sourced via a system called ‘mass balance’ whereby it gets mixed with ordinary cotton in the supply chain. This means BCI cannot guarantee that any of the fibre in an end product actually comes from ‘better’ production practices.

The resulting increase in uptake in buying BCI cotton, means organic cotton is now much harder to source. This rapid growth of BCI is actually driving down sustainable standards in the cotton industry. Farmers are shying away from growing organic cotton, turning instead to more lucrative BCI crops because the regs are more relaxed, and because big retailers demand cheap ‘eco’ cotton. In India alone, the total organic fibre production has fallen by almost 50%. The dominance of BCI is also driving down the availability of non-GM cotton seeds.

I am also concerned about the BCI’s stance on Uyghur Forced Labour in China. In October 2020, the BCI made the public decision to cease all field-level activities in the Uyghur Region. Their now deleted statement can be found on the respected archive-website Wayback Machine. A backlash by the Chinese government in 2021 resulted in all global brands associated with the BCI being blacklisted. Online brands were blocked by the Chinese internets, and their physical stores disappeared from some digital maps. Then, suspiciously, BCI deleted all public statements and references to its 2020 decision. It has not provided any clarification on Xinjiang cotton since, other than the China branch of the BCI saying it found no sign of forced labour in the Xinjiang region. Hmmm!

SILK – Although silk has many health benefits due its natural antibacterial and hypoallergenic properties, and it is entirely biodegradable, it is born out of a cruel industry. Silk fibres are produced by silkworms when they spin themselves into a cocoon before emerging as a silkmoth. Each silkworm produces one single strand of silk, approximately 100 metres long. The strands are harvested from the cocoon in their raw state by being boiled in hot water (still containing the silkworms) and stirred until the cocoons unravel. A shocking 2,500 silkworms are boiled alive to make just 1/2 kilo of silk. For this reason, I do not offer silk to my clients.

VISCOSE (Rayon) – It is the ultimate greenwashing bad boy. Although is a biodegradable fibre, made from wood pulp from trees such as eucalyptus, beech, and pine, as well as plants like bamboo, soy, and sugar cane, the manufacture of yarns uses chemicals such as carbon disulphide and sodium hydroxide, making it a semi-synthetic material. So many of my suppliers tell me viscose is good, because it’s natural, but they don’t mention the fact that lots of chemicals are used in its manufacture. These dangerous chemicals cause health issues for factory workers, and harm the environment when released into the surrounding air and water courses, thus affecting local communities too. Parts of the world are suffering from deforestation as more and more plants are being grown to supply the growing demand for fabric. As a result, animals face habitat loss and can end up on the endangered species list.

POLYESTER – It is fast becoming the most common manmade fibre used in interior fabrics. Polyester is made by the petrochemical industry and uses fossil fuels in its manufacture. Crude oil is refined to make various petrochemicals like ethylene and terephthalic acid, that are essential components for polyester production. For this reason, only recycled polyester is acceptable in my opinion, but only if 100% of the polyester content is recycled. Some fabrics claim to be ‘eco’ but when recycled polyester is mixed with new polyester, then fossil fuels has been used to manufacture that cloth.

NYLON – Very durable due to its strength, Nylon is frequently combined with other fibres to make hardwearing upholstery fabrics. It is very lightweight so is also used as a manmade substitute for silk. But it is a synthetic product made from crude oil, aka plastic. The petrochemical industry is one of the dirtiest industries and nylon textiles therefore contribute to global warming, water pollution and other other environmental pollution that stems from the oil industry.