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T Shirt Atelier Fiber Guide
Sustainability is a founding principle of our T Shirt Atelier brand, and this includes the fibers that are used in the fabrics of the garments we select. Sustainable fibers and fabrics are essential to the selection criteria that we use to determine what brands to offer.
Fabric and fiber characteristics such as low impact on the environment, identifiable source or origin, renewable, and ability to last - are what make the products from our brand collections sustainable. Clothing makes a statement when made from mindfully-sourced fibers and fabrics without compromising the planet.
Fiber Glossary
Cotton is a soft natural fiber made from the boll(s) of the cotton plant. The boll is the fluffy part of the plant that surrounds the seeds. Cotton is durable, 100% biodegradable and compostable; and is carbon neutral because the plants remove CO2 from the air (CottonInc.com).
There is a range of natural cotton - grown sustainably in certified organic fields, unbleached, and processed without chemicals... to cotton grown using chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, and uses chemical bleaching to make it white.
Organic Cotton is grown sustainably and naturally from organic seeds which are not genetically modified (GMO), using insects instead of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. The soil, air and water are free from harmful contaminants.
Certified Organic Cotton is organic cotton which has a recognized independent certification (GOTS or OCS) that it is organic.
GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) is recognized as the world's leading certification standard for textiles made from organic fibers. This ensures that the plants are grown organically, 95% of the fibers must be organic, and it also requires environmentally and socially responsible manufacturing.
USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) established a rule for clothing or fabric advertised as "organic", which is that it must be made with fibers from USDA-certified organic crops. And, any textile labeled or advertised as "organic" must be third-party certified under National Organic Program standards throughout the entire production process, and must specify the percentage of organic fiber in the textile.
OCS (Organic Content Standard) is an independent certification by the Textile Exchange which certifies any non-food product containing 5-100 % organic material. It considers and verifies the amount all the way through the entire process - from raw material to final product.
Recycled Cotton is made by recycling or converting existing cotton fabric(s) into cotton fiber that can then be used to make new textile products.
It is also called regenerated or reclaimed cotton. The two sources of recycled cotton are from either pre-consumer scraps or post-consumer garments, upholstery, towels, and household items.
Supima Cotton is unique from other cottons because of the extra-long staple fiber that gives the cotton its premium properties: strength, softness and color retention; and grown exclusively on farms in the U.S.
There are approximately 500 family owned farms that grow Supima cotton; and many are passed down from generation to generation. Their land is their legacy and great care is taken to preserve the health of the soil and conserve the water that nourishes it (Supima.org).
Elastane is a generic term for highly elastic synthetic fiber; and also called Spandex and Lycra. The fabric is often used in specialized garment applications and is a small percentage of fabric content because of the relatively high cost of producing it.
The process of manufacturing the fabric is energy-intensive, and it involves the use of a variety of toxic chemicals. The main environmental issue with elastane fabrics is that they are not biodegradable. Fabrics made with elastane do not break down over time in nature, and accumulate in the environment. With sustainable production processes and more effective trash management by manufacturers and consumers, elastance can have less of an environmental impact.
Hemp has been used to make fabric for thousands of years. It’s one of the most sustainable fibers in the world. It has linen-like qualities, and a natural nubby texture.
The fibers are made from the stalks of the Cannabis sativa plant. This plant has been recognized as a source of extraordinarily flexible and durable textile fibers. The plants’ natural root system is specialized and helps prevent soil erosion, removes toxins, and aerates the soil to the benefit of future crops, and the plant absorbs a huge amount of CO2.
Modal is a semi-synthetic wood pulp based fiber, made out of pure wooden chips only from the beech tree. Micro Modal is an even finer knit than standard modal and makes the end product softer. Both fibers can be made sustainably if sourced from certified renewable forests, and processed with low levels of chemicals and water that is recaptured.
Rayon, sometimes called Viscose, is a semi-synthetic fiber made from cellulose which is extracted from a variety of wood pulp and bamboo.
Many rayons include bamboo instead of wood pulp because bamboo is a sustainable and fast-growing plant. However, it is up to the bamboo growers to make sure it is grown and harvested sustainably; and up to the rayon manufacturers to ensure an environmentally safe process of producing fiber and fabric.
Recycled Polyester is polyester made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is mainly found in plastic bottles, material waste, which would otherwise go to a landfill.
There are two different categories of recycled polyester: post-industrial and post-consumer. Post-industrial waste is generated during the manufacturing process of polyester and plastic products. This can be from virgin fiber producers, tire cord manufacturers, polymerization plants, and many other plastic products. Post-consumer waste is recovered from the consumer supply chain, primarily from discarded beverage bottles; and results in fewer greenhouse gases and conserving water and energy in the process.
While recycled polyester clothing cannot be recycled indefinitely, the unwearable clothing and other items can be donated and repurposed as shredded material for insulation, stuffing for cushions or stuffed animals, carpet padding, soundproofing, and other similar applications.
Spandex is a highly elastic synthetic fabric, also called elastane and lycra. Spandex is typically used in small quantities and woven into other synthetic, semi-synthetic, or organic fibers to give them stretch qualities.
Spandex garments and fibers contribute to fashion waste, and tiny fibers make their way into waterways. Currently, there are no methods for converting spandex fabrics and similar materials into biodegradable substances. Safe disposal and limited washings are the only ways to mitigate the environmental impact of this fabric.
Viscose is named for the substance that comes from the process that's used to make it. Early in the process, rayon is a viscous, honey-like liquid that is converted to a fiber.
Viscose is also commonly known as rayon when it is made into a fiber and fabric. Its source material is from nature, trees or bamboo (Bamboo Viscose), and the process changes it so dramatically that the result is essentially a synthetic substance.
