The article makes a lot of mistakes, because I don’t think that the author actually cares about textiles at all.
Cotton is not comparable to wool at all. Full stop. If you wear wool for technical reasons–like, because you want to stay warm–then you need to know that cotton will kill you, as will all cellulose fibers that aren’t treated to be hydrophobic. Petroleum-based fibers like polyesters, nylons, etc., do not wet the same way that cotton does, but also don’t keep you warm in the same way that wool will. Wool is the gold-standard for cold-weather outdoor apparel.
Tencel–which is a type of rayon–is considerably weaker than cotton when it gets wet. The process for making rayon is usually–but not always–a very polluting open-loop system. There are closed-loop systems, but they weren’t in common use as of 2010.
Leather is irreplaceable as a protective material. Synthetic leathers lack the abrasion resistance and/or heat resistance of leather. Compare a pair of high-quality leather boots to the highest quality non-leather boots; leather will last decades longer. So you can’t compare on a per unit basis; you need to compare them based on practical lifetime costs. In regards to certain protective apparel–such as motorcycle gear–textile jackets simply do not provide the same level of repeatable protection as leather. If you ride your bike on a track, you will be required to wear leather.
My understanding was that there are three types of rayon. Or have I been had by Big Cellulose?
- Viscose is the one that gets weaker when wet, and uses aggressive chemicals
- Modal gets stronger when wet, but also aggressive chemicals
- Tencel (brand name for lyocell) specifically refers to that closed loop process with less harsh solvents, and also gets stronger when wet
If something just says “Rayon” you can probably assume it’s viscose. Tencel sellers want you to know it’s Tencel.
Regardless, none of the above are good for warmth, so bad replacement for wool no matter which process they use. I do love my Tencel bedsheets though.
The fake leather thing is real. It’s why you can reuse a leather jacket after a motorcycle crash, but not a textile one. Leather also slides better, and sliding gently to a stop after a motorcycle crash can really save you.
Wet cotton will freeze someone to death, wet wool will still keep you warm.
Can’t you / shouldn’t you be wearing a rain coat or outer shell if you think you might get wet?
I get there are some situations where its impossible to keep underlayers dry, like if your on a boat or Backcountry camping, but for the majority of people and situations some layers of cotton or synthetic under a shell should be fine.
Bullshit, 100%.
If it’s cold and wet enough that you’re going to freeze wearing cotton, you will also freeze wearing wool.
Wool doesn’t repel water. Water passes right through it onto, guess what, you.
Bro, have you see how wool reacts with water?
No way wool is keeping you warm in the rain without something water-resistant over it.
Can someone please tell me exactly what I’m supposed to be wearing?
So generally the entire clothes industry is slavery ridden and completely fucked. Trying to follow the supply chain is basically impossible.
I would suggest essentially as little as possible for as long as possible, plant fibres probs good. synthetic not really that bad given the whole state of everything it’s small fries in terms of plastic waste.
get local tailors to make clothing if you can afford it
get local tailors to make clothing if you can afford it
Anyone who can afford that is not doing it to be sustainable and humanitarian and I think you know that.
Wtf are you talking about? I’m not super rich, but i get some things done with a local tailor and one of the biggest reasons is to support local business and avoid overseas slave labour
That really is a ‘where you live’ thing. When I lived in SEA I could buy a button down shirt you could wear to work for about $5, going to a tailor and having one bespoke was $6 in cotton, or $15 in silk. Wool was actually more expensive since there was no domestic production.
Depends on where you live. In European cities it will be expensive to get new things tailored, but there will be shops only for changes and repairs, which will be cheaper, for example.
That really depends. If you buy a tshirt it was probably made paying someone like 5c a day.
If you find someone who makes clothing, just a normal arse person not someone catering to the rich, they can probably make a basic tshirt to your rough size in about 3 hours or so. If they’re paid a reasonable fee that’s going to be in my country for example 200 aud or so factoring in material. A sweat shop T would be 20 to 50, or even 80 in a high end store so it’s really not much more expensive.
Wear it till it has holes in it so say 5 to 10 years and it’s really not that expensive.
More complicated clothing gets more expensive but a basic wardrobe is something like 3 Ts, 3 long sleave tops, 2 heavy pants, 2 light pants/skirts etc. you don’t need to buy it all at once. Sometimes you need more clothes than that, e.g. you’re a woman and you work customer facing but most people have waaaaay more clothes than they need.
Simplest answer: cotton. It’s cheap and good enough for most uses. High-grade cotton like Supima is extra comfortable and not much more expensive.
Unfortunately extremely high water usage to grow cotton, and a lot of it is grown in places that need that water for other things (RIP Aral Sea).
Based on the article we should use flax aka linen, which I suppose makes sense. Linen was once a finery due to the excessive effort needed to produce it, but now we have machinery.
Linen actually doesn’t take to large scale mechanization very well. It causes the fibers to break into shorter pieces more often, which makes the final fabric rougher and less sturdy. Machine-woven linen also tends to be more loosely woven, which is again less sturdy.
Machines certainly helped some amount, but cotton got a way bigger boost from industrialization. That’s why cotton is so much cheaper than linen today, especially high quality linen.
Can’t say anything about buying new clothes, but as the budget’s tightened in my household I’ve been leaning how to mend my clothes. The ones I normally would’ve thrown away due to armpit/toe/crotch holes can be fixed somewhat easily.
One catch is that I use a sewing machine my MIL gave me - so there was some cost somewhere. But I see machines on craigslist going for sub 60 fairly often. The second catch is that I was lucky enough to develop an interest (and spend my free time) learning about how to mend clothes. If people lack free time/interest to learn how to do it, then they end up paying the new-clothes tax.
My wife does the sewing machine work here. I’m inept. But I’m okay with a needle and thread, so I’ve done plenty of my own (ugly) repairs. Some stuff it doesn’t matter on anyway, like fixing the toe in a sock. Easy to do and saves money on socks.
Reduce, reuse, recycle is the best bet. Most people in privileged areas own much more clothing than they need and dispose of it long before it’s worn out. Used clothing, hand me downs. Recycled plastic fibres (wash in one of those bags that filter out micro plastic). Plant fibres. Hemp is a great alternative to wool.
I’m looking up hemp clothing now. It’s just as expensive as the other option the other person gave me.
Purchasing used clothing, fine, but if your advice is to buy much more expensive clothing than I can afford, I guess I can’t wear the cruelty-free stuff if I need something new. And I’m sure as hell not buying used underwear.
There are mulesing free certificates, and some companies go the extra mile.
Varusteleka is pretty open about their wool, but they don’t have the biggest selection.
(varusteleka, I’ve called you out twice on this account, sponsor me lmao)
Are you fucking kidding me?
Do you think most people can buy clothes for that kind of money? I sure as fuck can’t afford a shirt that costs $64 or pants that cost $160.
You’re basically telling me that in order to have cruelty-free wool, I have to be wealthy.
You’re basically telling me that in order to have cruelty-free wool, I have to be wealthy.
Congrats. You found out why there’s animal cruelty in the first place. People need cheaper things -> other things need to be sacrificed to make that happen.
Did they really compare wool with leather as equally cruel to animals?
Perty shure sheep weren’t meant to be shaved like that and the constant shaving has caused them to evolve to require it.
so we should exterminate all sheep who have over active wool growth right?
Lotta misinformation in this thread trying to claim that wool doesnt keep you warm when it is wet, and I can say from first hand experience that it most certainly does keep you warm when completely soaked through. Sheep should be shorn humanely and it is possible to do, but corporations and capitalism have no incentive to do it. Here is an indepth article explaining the science behind how wool keeps you warm when wet. And Here is anothet article
Big plastic challenges big wool in the thunderdome. 2 enter but we all lose no matter what choice you make. Just go naked people or are you all part of the big clothes conspiracy?
