Time sure flies doesn’t it? I’ve been promising to reiterate the effects the textile industry has on climate change, so I’m re-posting a blog post we published in 2013: In considering fabric for your sofa, let’s be altruistic and look at the impact textile production has on global climate change. (I only use the term …
Let’s begin our review of chemicals used in textile processing with the one chemical that is used most often and in far greater quantity than any other: salt. That’s right. Common table salt, the kind you probably use every day. But in the quantities used by this industry it becomes a monster – we’ll get …
Fibers are divided into three main categories: Natural – like flax, wool, silk and cotton Manufactured – made from cellulose or protein Synthetic – made from synthetic chemicals The difference between “manufactured” and “synthetic” fibers is that the manufactured fibers are derived from naturally-occurring cellulose or protein, while synthetic fibers are not. And manufactured fibers …
I got a call awhile ago from Harmony Susalla, founder and chief designer for Harmony Art (if you haven’t seen her glorious fabrics go right now to http://www.harmonyart.com). She was wondering about optical brighteners, and I discovered I couldn’t tell her much except to say that some are derived from benzene, which is a chemical …
When we talk about wool, we almost always mean the fiber from sheep, although the term “wool” can be applied to the hair of other mammals including cashmere and mohair from goats, vicuna, alpaca and camel from animals in the camel family and angora from rabbits. As with many discoveries of early man, anthropologists believe …
Since the 1960s, the use of synthetic fibers has increased dramatically, causing the natural fiber industry to lose much of its market share. In December 2006, the United Nations General Assembly declared 2009 the International Year of Natural Fibres (IYNF); a year-long initiative focused on raising global awareness about natural fibers with specific focus on …
Water. Our lives depend on it. It’s so plentiful that the Earth is sometimes called the blue planet – but freshwater is a remarkably finite resource that is not evenly distributed everywhere or to everyone. The number of people on our planet is growing fast, and our water use is growing even faster. About 1 …
I have been saying for years that fabric is the forgotten product. People just don’t seem to care about what their fabric choices do to them or to the environment. (Quick, what fiber is your shirt/blouse made of? What kinds of fibers do you sleep on?) They are too busy to do research, or they’re …
I thought we’d take a look at the dyeing process because so many people ask if we use “natural” dyes. The answer is no, we don’t (although we’re not entirely objecting to natural dyes), and I hope the next two blogs will explain our position! Let’s first take a look at what makes the dyes …
Last week we talked about the importance of livestock management in the battle against climate change. It came as a real revelation to this city girl that large grazing animals are a vital and necessary part of the solution to climate change. Sheep can actually help to improve soils, which improves the soil’s ability to …
OEcotextiles 