What are some of the most eco-friendly fabrics available on the market?
AD: Cellulose, a material that is a natural accruing fiber in wood. From a quality fabric perspective, I really like Lyocell and Ingeo. Traditional cotton is not a very eco-friendly crop. Regular cotton uses large amounts of pesticides (10% of all), insecticides (25% of all) and chemicals-plus it consumes a ton of water. The U.S. alone consumes 45% of the world’s cotton (despite only having 13% of the world’s population.) The crop also regularly depletes the soil on which it is grown, encouraging traditional farmers to seek out chemicals to salvage their fields. Hemp is an underrated fabric. I personally love hemp; it grows quickly in all conditions and needs little fertilizer. Plus it actually enriches the soil it grows in. It can be used alone or mixed with other fabrics (Hemp Silk etc). Stella McCartney uses a lot of Hemp in her lines. There is also EcoSpun (Eco-Fi) that is made from post consumer plastic bottles (Patagonia does this). It can also be blended with other fibers such a
