Sustainable Textiles for Today & Tomorrow
By Maya Gandhi & Morgan Lee
What Consumers Can Do Now: Hemp-based Materials
Cotton is an extremely popular fibre, accounting for over half of the world’s fibre needs, but unfortunately, it is not the most environmentally friendly raw material. Conversely, hemp fibres, made from the waste output of the stalks of the cannabis sativa plant used in marijuana production, is both a better quality fabric and grows in significantly less intensive conditions than cotton, making it much more environmentally friendly. Investing in hemp to match, or even replace, cotton use will significantly reduce environmental impact and waste in the circular economy model.
Hemp fabrics possess all the material advantages of cotton - full biodegradability, durability, tensile strength, softness, antimicrobial features, and UV resistance. In fact, hemp is three times as tensile as cotton, while also being significantly less resource and time-intensive to produce and harvest. Additionally, hemp can be harvested up to 3 times a year, produces 200-250% more fibre for the same amount of land, and uses significantly less water than cotton. For the same two pounds of fibre, cotton requires 5280 gallons, while hemp requires only 80 - most of which is sourced through rainfall. Further, hemp plants require little to no pesticides or chemical treatment and absorb more CO2 during their lifecycle than most trees. Not only are hemp plants agreeable to a wide range of soils and climate, hemp also has phytoremediation characteristics that actively repair the soil it grows in.
Despite the lifecycle of hemp clothing being significantly more environmentally friendly than cotton, it is not without the common pitfalls of natural fibre. Hemp wrinkles and creases - a problem that is often remedied by blending with synthetic fibres. Hemp based clothing is also more expensive due to its current scale, demand, and popularity among consumers. Additionally, many consumers still associate hemp with a criminalized and stigmatized recreational drug, remaining uneducated and resistant to learn about the benefits of hemp. On balance, however, hemp is a raw material with the potential to play a substantive and disruptive role in enabling sustainable transitions in the clothing industry.
Cotton is an extremely popular fibre, accounting for over half of the world’s fibre needs, but unfortunately, it is not the most environmentally friendly raw material. Conversely, hemp fibres, made from the waste output of the stalks of the cannabis sativa plant used in marijuana production, is both a better quality fabric and grows in significantly less intensive conditions than cotton, making it much more environmentally friendly. Investing in hemp to match, or even replace, cotton use will significantly reduce environmental impact and waste in the circular economy model.
Hemp fabrics possess all the material advantages of cotton - full biodegradability, durability, tensile strength, softness, antimicrobial features, and UV resistance. In fact, hemp is three times as tensile as cotton, while also being significantly less resource and time-intensive to produce and harvest. Additionally, hemp can be harvested up to 3 times a year, produces 200-250% more fibre for the same amount of land, and uses significantly less water than cotton. For the same two pounds of fibre, cotton requires 5280 gallons, while hemp requires only 80 - most of which is sourced through rainfall. Further, hemp plants require little to no pesticides or chemical treatment and absorb more CO2 during their lifecycle than most trees. Not only are hemp plants agreeable to a wide range of soils and climate, hemp also has phytoremediation characteristics that actively repair the soil it grows in.
Despite the lifecycle of hemp clothing being significantly more environmentally friendly than cotton, it is not without the common pitfalls of natural fibre. Hemp wrinkles and creases - a problem that is often remedied by blending with synthetic fibres. Hemp based clothing is also more expensive due to its current scale, demand, and popularity among consumers. Additionally, many consumers still associate hemp with a criminalized and stigmatized recreational drug, remaining uneducated and resistant to learn about the benefits of hemp. On balance, however, hemp is a raw material with the potential to play a substantive and disruptive role in enabling sustainable transitions in the clothing industry.
What the Future Holds: Paper Mill Sludge-based Materials
While envisioning a future where hemp is not the only option for a sustainable fibre, it isn’t odd that paper mill sludge-based materials come to mind. A 2021 study used paper mill sludge - a by-product of paper manufacturing - to produce regenerated cellulose filaments that can be used to create textiles. The study found that increasing the concentration of the paper mill sludge-based material could improve the filament properties, making it competitive with other less sustainable regenerated cellulose fibres.
Despite the study’s success, this filament regeneration method is still in its early stages and found that the high cost of the solvent was limiting to its commercial potential - a common barrier to sustainable innovation as producers often pass on the increased cost to the consumer, decreasing the motivation to purchase sustainably. While paper mill sludge-based materials could be a popular trend of the future, currently, sustainable fabrics are approximately 2.5 to 4 times more expensive than more common fabrics, making them largely inaccessible. Given this, hemp based clothing is where sustainable consumers should focus their energy for now.
While envisioning a future where hemp is not the only option for a sustainable fibre, it isn’t odd that paper mill sludge-based materials come to mind. A 2021 study used paper mill sludge - a by-product of paper manufacturing - to produce regenerated cellulose filaments that can be used to create textiles. The study found that increasing the concentration of the paper mill sludge-based material could improve the filament properties, making it competitive with other less sustainable regenerated cellulose fibres.
Despite the study’s success, this filament regeneration method is still in its early stages and found that the high cost of the solvent was limiting to its commercial potential - a common barrier to sustainable innovation as producers often pass on the increased cost to the consumer, decreasing the motivation to purchase sustainably. While paper mill sludge-based materials could be a popular trend of the future, currently, sustainable fabrics are approximately 2.5 to 4 times more expensive than more common fabrics, making them largely inaccessible. Given this, hemp based clothing is where sustainable consumers should focus their energy for now.
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