10 Sustainability Terms to Know

The textile industry is among the dirtiest industries on the planet.  According to the World Bank, 20% of water pollution globally results from textile processing.  I’d love to share some of the sustainability trends I found interesting.

 

1. Biosynthetics – polymer fibers made from renewable resources, such as crops (corn, sugar beets), biomass-based waste products, or non-food sources, such as algae, mushrooms and bacteria.
   1. PLA – Polylactic Acid – bio-based alternative to polyester; NatureWorks’ Ingeo®
   2. Bio-based PTT – Poly Trimethylene Terphthalate – bio-based alternative to polyester using corn or biomass; Dupont’s Sorona® brand of Triexta
   3. Bio-based PET – Polyethylene Terphthalate; Toray’s Ecodear® PET
   4. Bio-based Polyamides – Nylon; Fulgar Labs
   5. Synthetic Spider Silk – yeast, sugar & water derived; Bolt Threads’ Engineered Silk™ Microsilk
   6. Bio-based Synthetic Leather – mycelium cells from mushrooms derived; Bolt Threads’ Mylo™
2. Higg Materials Sustainability Index (MSI) – helps companies compare various materials, blends, and production processes to understand and reduce the environmental and social impacts.
3. Organic cotton – uses less water and energy, no pesticides, which in turn, has less impact on the environment and has better worker conditions.
4. Bluesign – focuses on people and environment protections and responsible use of resources, starting with chemical companies to mills to brand.
5. Recycled – the use of materials made from pre-consumer (i.e. fabric scraps) or post-consumer (i.e. plastic bottles); Recycled materials reduce consumption of oil and take less energy to produce.
6. Renewed – previously used clothing and shoes that are inspected, cleaned, repaired and resold. One example is The North Face’s Renewed
7. Responsible Down Standard (RDS) – ensures that down and feathers come from ducks and geese that have been treated well
8. Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) – ensures that wool comes from farms with a progressive approach to managing their land, and from sheep that have been treated responsibly.
9. Sustainability Working Group – helps ensure better products, best practices and innovation for all, and has resulted in the development of tools and guidance documents that are used far beyond our own supply chains, establishing the outdoor industry as a leader in responsible business.
10. Textile Exchange – identifies and shares best practices regarding farming, materials, processing, traceability and product end-of-life in order to reduce the textile industry’s impact on the world’s water, soil and air, and the human population.

 

Notes:  “Getting Started Guide – Sustainable Materials”, Outdoorindustry.org