Natural's Not Always Best

People, especially designers, are becoming more and more aware of the issues we face with environmental sustainability in clothing production. The questions we face today are how to solve the problem? And is one solution better than the other? When it comes to using natural v. synthetic fibers there seems to be many different opinions as to which is better. I overheard a coworker explaining that she prefers to use natural fibers over synthetic because they are "natural" and inherently sustainable. I can see where she is coming from that because it is "natural" it has to be better for the environment, right? However, that is not always the case. Synthetic fibers have their perks as well.

I was unaware, as stated in Fashion Sustainability and Textiles, that cotton and polyester account for 80% of the textiles used worldwide today, which leaves us with very little diversity. Producing 1 kg of cotton uses as much as 8000 liters of water. In the past decade they have converted to using more organic cotton, to reduce pesticide and water use, rather than conventional cotton. Manufacturing 1kg of polyester consumes twice the energy needed to make the same amount of cotton. A shift from polyester to renewable and biodegradable fibers could bring benefits. Fibers such as wool and those made from materials like corn starch would reduce our oil dependency. The result would help reduce consumption but it would also create a more diverse and locally sensitive agriculture, more regional fibers, more healthy and socially robust environments and open up more job opportunities. While the production of cotton uses a great amount of water and pesticides, manufactured fibers also how their negatives. Manufactured fibers such as polyester nylon and acrylic use a lot of energy and chemicals that pollute the environment. Both natural and synthetic fibers have pros and cons, but the most impact lies in consumer care. It takes both changes in the production and the consumer to make a different in the environmental problems today.

In the video Textile Exchange, Charline Ducas makes some interesting opening points when discussing the environment and improving the production of fibers. She addresses six ways to be more sustainable including:
1. Reducing, recycling and upcycling
2. Renewable
3. Re-exploring naturals
4. Doing more for less
5. Water-less
6. New-ways
Ducas emphasized the most on "re-exploring naturals" and "doing more for less." In "re-exploring naturals" she explains how we like naturals, like cotton, because they are comfortable and no man-made fiber has been known to provide that kind of comfort. However, natural fibers might not always be the most efficient method. In "doing more for less" she explains how we can be more clever with the way we produce textiles. For instance, she talks about Clariant advanced denim and how it is a more efficient way to dye clothing. I do agree that there are definitely ways we can get creative with production methods to be more efficient.

I don't particularly think that one is better than the other when it comes to using natural or synthetic fibers. Both have proven to have their benefits and downsides. I think it all comes down to getting creative with better production methods from the use of technology and putting our minds together. I, as a designer, will continue to use both natural and synthetic fibers but I will try to think of more clever ways to produce the clothing to benefit our environment.