Question from Holly
Hi Debra,
I saw the recent question about viscose and wondering if you could do an analysis of the most common clothing fabrics or fibres, and your recommendation whether they are good or bad? Just to name a few, how about bamboo, cotton, organic cotton, polyester/cotton, wool, silk, satin, nylon, linen, lycra, lyocell/tencel, modal. Probably way too many to comment on all of them.
Debra’s Answer
The SAFEST are any natural fiber. Those would be
- cotton
- linen
- silk
- wool
- hemp
It’s acceptable to wear these natural fibers if they are 100% natural fibers. Do NOT buy blends unless they are blends of two natural fibers. Even better would be if they are organic, but there’s just not enough organic fiber available yet, in enough clothing styles and sizes and prices to make organic clothing a reality for everyone.
So I look for cotton, linen, silk, wool and hemp.
There are way too many others to give you a complete list here.
Bamboo is viscose.
Many of these others have already been commented on in this blog. Use the search box to find them.
A respected researcher told me organic cotton is the best fabric and regular cotton is the worst. And after 7 washings in hot water, the toxins in regular cotton decrease by 50%. I don’t have citations, but I’m sure they can be found.
Kathy is right. US cotton is the most polluted crop of any. More herbicide and pesticides is used on it than corn or soy or GMO crops. I read research where cotton clothing and sheets were washed hundreds of times and still retained the pesticide.
What is that research you read? Because I heard the opposite from a reliable source.
Almost all cotton grown is GMO, and is covered in herbicide. Unless you buy organic, and I highly recommend Fair Trade, I don’t agree that it is ‘natural’.
There are all kinds of online sources for it. Maggies Organics, Fair Indigo, Patagonia, Prana, Earth Creations are a few companies that I have purchased organic Fair Trade clothing, and I am a plus size.
I agree with you that organic is better, but there is a great deal of difference between wearing synthetic fibers and natural fibers even if the natural fibers are not organic.
Would love your list of organic clothing in plus sizes. Would you post it here please?