Eco-Friendly Fabrics

Here at dasFlow, all brands have our ethical stamp of approval, which surrounds fair working conditions, treatment of workers, and decent-wages. Through providing a platform for purchasing ethical goods and ensuring all brands uphold ethical standards, we hope to take us towards a more equitable and just world.

Eco-friendly fabrics or textiles are generally defined as fabrics that have been made with a minimum use of chemicals and pesticides, best land management practices, sustainable farming and animal friendly practices; they follow fair trade practices, and have been eco-friendly certified. The work ‘eco’ is short for ecology. Ecology is the study of interactions between organisms and their environment. Therefore ‘eco’ friendly is a term to refer to goods and services considered to inflict minimal or no harm to the environment. There is really no such thing as a 100% eco-friendly piece of clothing. This is because all clothing takes water (to grow the fiber which makes the fabric) and energy (to make the fabric and the garment). When we talk about eco-friendly clothing, we are talking about those companies which make it a point to minimize this damage by using fibers not grown or produced with damaging chemicals, and fabrics not colored with harsh dyes and paints. In summary, ‘Eco’ friendly clothing might mean:

• Clothing made of fibers such as organic cotton and hemp

• Clothing that has been organically dyed with vegetables

• Fabrics that use small amounts of precious water to grow, such as hemp and bamboo.

• Generally, natural fabrics like organic cotton and linen (made from plants) and Tencel (made from sustainable wood pulp) are more sustainable than man-made fabrics like Polyester and Nylon (which are petroleum-based and take hundreds of years to biodegrade).