What are "natural fibers"?

Lots of natural fibers can be spun to make all sorts of things, of which clothing is one example. If we start from the plant or animal and do all the work ourselves, we know what it is and can decide for ourselves if it's "natural." If you're buying clothing, fabric, or home furnishings, things are much trickier! A primary guideline, is that a fiber is natural if it's something one can grow, harvest and prepare on a homestead, in a backyard, or in an apartment, without using any toxic gick and something that will break down naturally in a compost heap or burn without toxins in a woodstove.

So this thread will be all about how to dig through the terms and fine points in an effort to try to analyze what we have.

Step one is look for a label. Cotton, wool, and silk are common natural fibers. But not all materials came with a label, and some labels are missing or no longer legible. What then?

One way to decide if a material is natural is through a "burn test".

This chart is a very helpful reference:


webpage

Is Rayon natural?

Rayon, bamboo cloth, and lyocell are made from plant cellulose, but this is deceiving. The plants (wood and bamboo) are treated with chemicals and go through huge amounts of processing before being squeezed through a screen to produce fibers. This is not something you can replicate at home. These fabrics will not compost in your soil, but require industrial scale composting facilities to turn them into soil.

What about the stretch?

Lycra, elastane and spandex are common examples of stretch fibers that may be incorporated into fabric. These are not biodegradable. Natural fibers may be spun together with these artificial fibers making it difficult to recycle the items. The push to make the fashion industry "green" has companies working on stretch fibers made at least partially from plant material, but at this point, I'm not aware of any that can be composted at home, which is my ultimate guide.

What about the 2%?

I'm finding it's harder and harder to find 100% cotton clothing. Sometimes an item will use the words, "Exclusive of trim." That can mean several things.

First, it is common to sew cotton jersey with polyester thread. If you compost that T-shirt, you will find long chains of coiled "string" left behind! This isn't so bad if you're prepared to either cut the seams out before composting, or are willing to pull the strings out after the microbes have eaten the good stuff. So long as you don't leave it in the soil very long, it shouldn't leave much behind that we don't want there.

Second, bits of lace and fasteners also fit into that 2%, and often they are artificial. The burn test will help you decide, but since they're usually small quantities, if you're in doubt, cut those bits out.

However, the big issue is with fabric labelled something akin to "stretch cotton" with "2% lycra" or similar. My understanding is that the lycra is used as a core and the cotton is spun around it. If you let the worms eat this shirt, you will find in your compost a fine mesh exactly the size and shape of your shirt. Complaints about this is why the industry is trying to find a "natural" alternative. It seems that in the last 5 years, much of the industry is gone this way. "Comfort fit pants" with lycra. Stretch jeans - with lycra. Cotton turtleneck t-shirts with lycra. My experience is that a cotton t-shirt with 2% lycra that my son was given, lasted 1/2 the time before it had to be down graded from a "work shirt" to a "farm only" shirt.

Hopefully this will encourage all permies who are buying fabric or clothing to "check the label" and "vote with their money".

This is a great description.

The mechanics of what you are describing with blended materials is that one is stronger than the other and thus actually end up cutting the (usually cotton) fibers. This is particularly important when making durable items like rag rugs. Having blended fabrics actually makes the rug wear out quicker than if it is 100% cotton.

Wonderful thread. It is a little strange to consider the difference between something being 'technically' a natural fiber and the intent of some people who are look for natural fibers for a variety of reasons.

In my professional life, I work with a lot of different fiber materials. While some of these materials are natural, they undergo industrial processes in order to get a consistent, marketable product. The material goes through numerous steps before it is sent off to then go under additional industrial processes before it is turned into a garment or sold as string/yarn/thread.

I found a visual aid for those who are curious. This is generally the process you might see for rayon, bamboo, and other similar materials.



This is not something that is easily replicated on homesteads. I personally view these as pseudo-natural whereas something such as wool or flax can be processed at home, at scale, and to me are a truly natural product.

Just my two cents.

Timothy Norton wrote:... I personally view these as pseudo-natural whereas something such as wool or flax can be processed at home, at scale, and to me are a truly natural product.

This is one reason the thread above talks about the ability to compost or burn the material without concern that they will harm the environment.

Eg: Fats are hard on plumbing, sewage and septic systems. When our cotton shirts are too thread-bare to even be rags any longer, I cut them into squares and they go in the drawer by the sink. If something's greasy, I wipe it with one of these rags and I have an instant fire starter for our wood stove. Win-win! However, if it's "cotton-polyester" or "rayon" it goes to the land-fill.

Thanks for the diagram. One of my worries about "pseudo-natural" is the chemicals used and their effects on the environment. I have even heard concerns in the "natural fiber" community, of the effects of some mordants used in dying. For this reason, there's someone in California who has been developing coloured cotton fibers. These are relatively light colours, but she's documented how much less dye it takes to bring the fiber up to full colour for something like blue-jeans.

I was told that "industry" wanted all white sheep because they didn't have to worry about treating different batches different ways. I feel this is short-sighted. If we reduce our scale to community based, we could reap the benefits of different coloured sheep. Hmmm... we've got blue flowers, could we breed for blue sheep?

For this to be "economic" (which I think is often too short-sighted because it doesn't take into consideration long term environment effects or living wages in the rubrics), we need people to ignore fancy advertising and buy quality clothing that lasts a decade, rather than the current fad and toss it after 6 uses.

Rags that go into my stainless steel biochar pans come out as sheets or mats of carbon fiber. Very useful, as they retain their shape and have lots of tensile strength.

I'm finding it's harder and harder to find 100% cotton clothing.

I was on a new sock hunt to find 100% cotton or natural. I settled on 92% because it was the closest I could find locally. My feet were itchy and had a rash until I went back to my thread bare socks I previously had. I am not sure exactly what is in the old one but they do not cause a rash.

I am also pretty sensitive to normal laundry detergents. We just use castile soap for everything. I know not everyone has these allergy issues but it is hard to find 100% things.

Josh Hoffman wrote:

I'm finding it's harder and harder to find 100% cotton clothing.

I was on a new sock hunt to find 100% cotton or natural. I settled on 92% because it was the closest I could find locally. My feet were itchy and had a rash until I went back to my thread bare socks I previously had. I am not sure exactly what is in the old one but they do not cause a rash.  

My experience too. My favorite wool socks have gone the same way. Thankfully, I'm not quite as sensitive as I used to be. One factor is, yes, I'm very picky about my detergent, and a second is that I'm more aware of foods that seem to interact with my ability to tolerate environmental allergies.

So as much as it might seem bizarre at first glance, consider looking at your diet to see if there are links. In my case, I narrowed a key food down to strawberries and artificial fibers. A non-food example, is certain tree pollens will interact. In both cases, limiting my exposure to "one or the other" helps a lot. I'm *very* cautious to only eat 2-4 strawberries every other day during their season. Since my symptom is hives, I'm willing to risk a few, because, "strawberries, fresh from the garden!"

Amazing information, none of which I've ever seen before. Not terribly relevant to me, because I've never been very good at sewing and now have visual challenges...and I don't see much point in buying new clothes when--in the US at least--there are Goodwills and Salvation Armies and local thrift shops and yard sales offering all the clothes we could need for a couple of generations. I occasionally buy footwear new but that's it.
But it does concern me that I have several fleece shirts, extremely handy on winter mornings--I'm wearing one right now--and likely the comfortable stretch pants also are made of dubious materials. I figure the nanoplastic bits that wash out when I wash them end up migrating down the hillside, not too serious since we're on the ridge--but in the winter I currently have to use the laundromat in town. And they say that plastic more or less never breaks down.
I now can wear wool socks and like them, in winter (in summer, cotton or barefoot is better). The problem is, wool isn't durable in a sock (I have some handmade wool mittens that look just like when they were given to me ten years ago or so). I found a suggestion on a permies thread for Darn Tough socks, made in Vermont--with a lifetime guarantee which justifies the $25 cost. But these are 50% merino wool, 47% nylon (for the durability) and 3% acrylic, presumably for the elastic that holds the ankle part up. I have three pairs of pure wool socks that all have big holes in the balls and heels. I'm thinking about buying a big darning needle and some wool thread and attempting to darn them--the result would surely be too lumpy to wear in a shoe or boot but might work around the house.
Here's another, partly related question. I used to use what I call green scrubbies to watch dishes. Then I tried growing loofas, gave some away for bathing--and used some myself for washing dishes, because I'm looking for ways to eliminate plastic. It seemed to work at first but I've found that the loofas just don't have the abrasiveness of the green scrubbies. Does anyone know of something that does?

Mary Cook wrote: Then I tried growing loofas, gave some away for bathing--and used some myself for washing dishes, because I'm looking for ways to eliminate plastic. It seemed to work at first but I've found that the loofas just don't have the abrasiveness of the green scrubbies. Does anyone know of something that does?

It isn't something that you can buy in a supermarket, but something that can be made with basic crochet skills. I have fallen in love with cotton crochet dish clothes. They scrub well, they wear well, and they are made of natural cotton. My wife has made a few with different tensions and really has perfected her technique. The following link is to a badge bit as part of Paul's Skills to Inherit Property program but you can see how many people have made different varieties over the years. Check it out here.

Four crochet dish clothes

The clothes on the left are at least three years old. They go through the washer where they end up getting snagged and worn. Still work great though!

A friend gave me cotton crocheted dish cloths.  They are great.

A way to make them scrubbier might be to crochet out of a much coarser fiber, like jute.

When I have something too tough for my cotton, I use wet dry sandpaper 400 grit or finer.  I don’t know if that’s “natural material” but it’s reusable and long lasting and I use it in the shop.  The same 4 inch square lasts years.  It polishes my stainless steel pans.  A good substitute for the sand paper would be sand or dirt, just not clay.

I’ve heard of embedding diatomaceous earth in a soft cotton cloth for scrubbing.

On my counter and stove top I use baking soda for a non scratching abrasive.  When I burn something on, if I can put baking soda on while it’s still hot and wet, and leave it awhile, the burned material often lifts off hours later.

Crocheted scrubbies made with sisal are even scrubbier! Sisal is a plant fiber. Only problem is: it's hard on your hands while crocheting

Like others here I do my best to have my clothes 'as natural as possible'. First I bought at thrift stores fairly often, but the last few years they hardly have any natural fibers there anymore!
Also in shops in town most clothes are at least some percents of synthetics, and more often it's all polyester, polyamide, nylon, acrylic, etc. Or viscose, rayon, tencel, lyocel, bamboo ...

My choices are: buy clothes from an online store specialised in natural, organic, etc. or buy the material there (fabrics, wool yarns) and make my own clothes. Luckily I am educated and experienced in all textile crafts, and I live in a region with plenty of sheep for local wool (and my skin is not very sensitive).

What a wonderful topic.  It's one I have thought about a lot over the years.   I often come across greenwashing clothes with "natural" and this frustrates and confuses me.  

There are two qualities I look for when figuring out if a fibre is natural or not:

1. can be made at home, using minimal effort and energy using simple traditional techniques.

This includes mechanical, fermenting, or chemical processes and about the same amount of effort and strength as we use to cook a simple dinner.  

For example, processing wool is all about mechanically organizing the fibres (and maybe some soap - traditionally made from mutton tallow and ash).  Linen uses fermentation and mechanical means (see the video below for more details on how to do this at home).  And silk would be boiled slightly to loosen the natural glues that hold the fibres together.  



One of the things hobbyists forget these days is: If it was hard to make these clothes by hand, people throughout history would be naked.  If we find it hard, then we are probably not doing it the easy way.  It's worthwhile doubting the modern teachings on how to make textiles because so many are too difficult to be practical.  

2. Can I compost it?

Will it degrade into soil in a couple of months if I just bury it in the ground?

It's something along the lines of the Plant Your Pants (underwear) movement in the UK.  As a way of checking soil health, bury cotton underwear in the ground and if it's gone in under 2 months, the soil is healthy.

To turn it on it's head, if the clothing decomposes in healthy soil in a few months, then it's a good test to show it's made from natural fibre.

From my own experiments, I have yet to find a rayon that composts if buried in the soil, although some does break down into plastic powder.


Why care?

When I'm doing a hard-core project like the homegrown cloak or SKIP where everything happens within about 25 yards of the house including the sheep, I do seek out hard core natural fibre and fibre processing.  Everything not only has to be eco-friendly, it has to actively help build the soil health.  From how I wash to how I power the tools that do the work.  For this, I seek out Natural Fibres at their most extreme natural.  And it's surprisingly easy.

But alas, I don't make all my clothes (yet).  When I go shopping for clothing, I seek out fibres that are as natural as possible.  Organic, locally made, fibreshed sourced would be lovely.  But even if I could afford it, these clothes are hard to find.  

So I search for the best I can get within my budget.  

I know that natural fibres save money on soap.  I don't stink when I wear natural fibres so I can extend bath time a few days instead of having to have a bath once or twice a day with rayon or other synthetic fibres.  Wool skirts need washing less often as the mud dries and falls off easily so I often use these on the farm.  Natural fibres also last longer with my washing and living style than manufactured fibres.

And then there are other people.  

And I admit, I am a bit more evangelical on this topic than most of my friends enjoy.

However, my goal isn't for them to all have their own sheep (they can have wool from mine ;) ).  I don't even want them all to knit or do fibre arts, as lovely as that would be. It's not a good fit for everyone.  It doesn't matter to me what the fibre content of their clothing is.  

My goal with friends (and strangers on the internet) is to get them thinking about it.  To make informed choices. Little things like how over half of the carbon put into the atmosphere from agriculture in the USA comes not from food, but from clothing. (the carbon farming solution, one of the grafts for agricultural carbon sources in the usa) That doesn't include shipping, synthetics, dyes, etc.  It is very likely that we can do more good for the world by being aware of our wardrobe than all the change from improving lightbulbs, electric cars, and foods put together.  

Just being aware of clothing.  What is a natural fibre and what is greenwashing (bamboo silk anyone).  This arms people with information they can use when buying cloths to fit their lifestyle.  

Jay Angler wrote:[One factor is, yes, I'm very picky about my detergent, and a second is that I'm more aware of foods that seem to interact with my ability to tolerate environmental allergies.

So as much as it might seem bizarre at first glance, consider looking at your diet to see if there are links. In my case, I narrowed a key food down to strawberries and artificial fibers. A non-food example, is certain tree pollens will interact. In both cases, limiting my exposure to "one or the other" helps a lot. I'm *very* cautious to only eat 2-4 strawberries every other day during their season. Since my symptom is hives, I'm willing to risk a few, because, "strawberries, fresh from the garden!"

My sister is allergic to cats and cattle but only when pine trees are blooming.  She can't handle artificial strawberry flavoring at any time.  My brother also has one of those only if allergies.  He is allergic to eggs or seafood but only if they were in the same meal or the meal immediately before... That one drove us all crazy trying to run it down because it was a sometimes allergy until they put the two things together with a food journal.