green forest

Research Reveals the Most Eco-Friendly Fashion Materials

Lifestyle 2 August 2021 By

Sustainable fashion and packaging are big topics for consumers and businesses alike. Many businesses decide to be as eco-friendly as possible to look after the environment and the world we live in. According to a survey conducted by Deloitte, 32% of consumers are highly engaged with adopting a more sustainable lifestyle, and 28% of consumers have stopped buying certain products due to ethical or environmental concerns.

A new study by Doop Toothbrush has revealed the most popular sustainable materials being used in fashion and packaging at the moment and have spoken to experts in these fields to reveal why sustainability is such an important topic.

Bamboo is the most popular sustainable material used in fashion

A report conducted by McKinsey and Company suggests that the industry will see more research into sustainable materials and technologies and the circular economy. That’s great news for consumers and for companies that can make sustainability real. However, given the scale of investment required, it means nervous times for small and midsize players.

To assess the most popular trends when it comes to recyclable materials in fashion, Doop analysed a selection of authoritative articles that talked about alternative materials for fashion and counted the number of times each one of these materials was repeated in the different articles, as well as their search volume on Google.

Tencel was featured in eight out of the ten press articles analysed, with Pinatex coming in a close second place being featured six times. These are both newly emerging materials, with Pinatex being a fibre created from the waste leaves of pineapple plants.

However, Sarah Jordan, CEO and founder of You Underwear, warns: ‘Fabrics made from trees are fascinating, like modal and viscose. However – they can be polluting and bad for the environment if not manufactured sustainably and ethically (thanks to all the chemicals and water needed). We need more certifications and information than just ‘100% viscose suggesting there is still lots of improvements and research to be made before fashion becomes fully sustainable.’

Position

Material

Number of times featured in press articles

UK Search Volume

Global Search Volume

1

Bamboo

4

74,000

123,000

2

Silk

3

22,200

450,000

3

Linen

5

14,800

301,000

4

Tencel

8

5,400

90,500

5

Cork

1

40,500

368,000

6

Modal

3

14,800

368,000

7

Wool

3

27,100

246,000

8

Down

1

14,800

450,000

9

Lyocell

5

5,400

13,5000

10

Pinatex

6

1,000

9,900

At the lower end of the scale, responsible materials including wool, leather and cashmere were all featured in the articles once but had low search volumes, both in the UK and Globally. This could be due to manufacturers not advertising their materials as responsible or designers not being aware of the impact these materials have if not sources responsibly.

You can find the full ranking for sustainable materials used in fashion below:

Position

Material

Number of times featured in press articles

UK Search Volume

Global Search Volume

1

Bamboo

4

74,000

123,000

2

Silk

3

22,200

450,000

3

Linen

5

14,800

301,000

4

Tencel

8

5,400

90,500

5

Cork

1

40,500

368,000

6

Modal

3

14,800

368,000

7

Wool

3

27,100

246,000

8

Down

1

14,800

450,000

9

Lyocell

5

5,400

135,000

10

Pinatex

6

1,000

9,900

11

Cashmere

2

18,100

201,000

12

Denim

1

14,800

301,000

13

Organic Cotton

5

2,900

22,200

14

ECONYL

5

1,000

9,900

15

Recycled Polyester

5

720

5,400

16

Recycled Cotton

5

480

2,900

17

Viscose

1

14,800

20,1000

18

Organic-Linen

4

210

1,300

19

Hemp

4

0

0

20

Organic Hemp

4

0

0

21

Cupro

3

2,600

27,100

22

Rayon

1

5,400

165,000

23

Qmonos

3

50

720

24

Merino Wool

1

12,100

74,000

25

Alpaca Wool

2

2,900

12,100

26

Chitosan

1

2,400

90,500

27

EcoVero

2

590

6,600

28

Recycled Nylon

2

260

1,600

29

QMilk

2

40

1,300

30

Squids ink

1

2,900

27,100

31

Ramie

1

1,000

27,100

32

Fruit Leathers

1

1,300

22,200

33

Sheep Wool

1

1,600

18,100

34

Spider Silk

1

1,600

18,100

35

Recycled Textile

1

2,400

9,900

36

Natural Rubber

1

880

14,800

37

Orange Fiber

1

480

14,800

38

Vegetable Tanned Leather

1

590

6,600

39

S.Cafe

1

110

5,400

40

Peace Silk

1

390

1,900

41

Yak Wool

1

320

2,400

42

Apple Leather

1

320

1,900

43

Seacell

1

210

2,900

44

Recycled Wool

1

320

1,300

45

Better Cotton

1

90

1,600

46

Bamboo Lyocell

1

70

1,000

47

Scoby Leather

1

70

880

48

Organic Bamboo

1

50

480

49

Sustainable Viscose

1

50

260

50

Wood Pulp Fiber

1

10

210

51

Brewed Protein

1

10

170

52

Responsible Down

1

10

170

53

Responsible Wool

1

10

110

54

Responsible Leather

1

10

50

55

Corkshell

1

10

40

56

Woocoa

1

10

30

57

Responsible Cashmere

1

10

20

These are the ways our experts say consumers can make their wardrobe more sustainable:

  • Buy second hand.

  • Choose natural fabrics such as wool, silk and cashmere, which decompose at the end of life and don’t shed micro-plastic fibres when washed.

  • When necessary for performance, such as buying sportswear, shop for synthetic textiles made from recycled fibres.

  • Select purchases based on long-term personal style rather than to fit a fashion trend.

  • Wear what is already in your wardrobe or try and upcycle what you currently own.

  • Swap clothes with friends or family with similar tastes and give clothes a new lease of life.

  • If you are buying new clothes, look to small, sustainable businesses that are transparent and doing good in the world.