Fibres vs Fibres

Flax | Linen

Linen takes 2-3 weeks to biodegrade.
Linen is one of the oldest fibres of clothing material in the world. Linen comes from the Flax Plant, which is a certain plant that can grow in poor soil conditions, without the use of much water. The natural elements of Linen make the clothing hypoallergenic. The properties of linen are anti allergic, it does not irritate nor cause inflammation when worn.

Bamboo

Bamboo fibres take 1-2 years to biodegrade.
Bamboo is a natural textile made from the pulp of bamboo grass until it separates into thin threads of fibre, which is then spun and died for weaving into cloth. It is one of the fastest growing plants in the world. Once harvested, bamboo can replenish itself with a year.

 

Organic Cotton

 Organic Cotton takes 5 months to biodegrade.
Organic Cotton is very soft, hypoallergenic and is durable. Most importantly the benefits of organic cotton is protecting the ecosystem, reducing wastage of water and ensuring a safer environment for the farmers and manufactures. When growing organic cotton, farmers tend to use natural pesticides, insecticides and fertilisers. Organic Cotton is grown from non-GMO seeds.

Hemp

Hemp takes 2 weeks to biodegrade.
What exactly is hemp? Hemp has natural thermo-regulating properties due to the hollow structure of the fibre. Hemp is a variety of cannabis sativa plants. Due to the similar leaf shape, hemp is frequently confused with marajiuana, another cannabis plant. A full crop of hemp takes 90 days to grow & advocates of hemp claim that it can be used in 25,000 different products; from clothing, food, toiletries, yarn, rope, string, re-usable bags, textiles, shoes, paper, insulation and much more.
Hemp plastic biodegrades within 6 months.

Polyester

Polyester takes 200 years to biodegrade.
Polyester is one of the most popular synthetic fibres on planet earth. This textile is Petroleum based, which uses millions of barrels of oil and plastic every year. Polyester can also cause health issues such as; rashes, skin irritation, redness, nausea, headaches & so on. Different studies currently exist & believe linking plastic as a possible contributor to breast cancer.

Elastane

Elastane is not biodegradable & can take 450+ years if that.
Elastane, also known as Spandex - is made from fossil fuels, which are
non-renewable resources. It also undertakes a very heavy process with chemicals that have caused devastating health problems for humans. It is produced of polyethylene glycol and polyurethane. Because of the nature of this fabric, synthetic dyes are generally used, which overall is notoriously one of the most polluting factors in the textile manufacturing industry.

Nylon

Nylon can take 450+ years to biodegrade.
Nylon is a fabric people should stay away from. This is another material that is Petroleum based and is heavily chemically treated. Nylon does not absorb sweat from the skin and can cause a variety of skin allergies, headaches, dizziness and system dysfunctions. Nylon can be used for clothing garments, lingerie, swimwear, sportswear, tracksuits, umbrellas, luggage & so on.

Acrylic

Acrylic can take between 200 - 450 years to biodegrade.
Acrylic is made from Acrylonitrile, a colourless flammable liquid that is derived from polypropylene plastic. During this process, mass amounts of water and chemicals are used and placed into a spinning solution. This is a man made fibre that is produced by reacting petroleum or coal based chemicals into the process, which at the end of the day means - Acrylic fabric is a fossil fuel based fibre.