{"id":39626,"title":"What is natural clothing?","description":"Any search for eco-friendly products these days will return a dizzying variety of options. But what do these labels actually mean? Today we'll be looking a the natural label and explain what it means for you.","content":"

A (bio)chemist explains.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Any search for eco-friendly products these days will return a dizzying variety of options. There are natural products and organic products and vegan products and sustainable products. It feels like the list gets longer every day. But what do these labels actually mean?<\/span><\/p>

Today, we\u2019re going to focus on the <\/span>natural<\/span><\/strong> label.<\/span><\/h3>

Natural products are made with ingredients harvested from nature. This is in contrast to synthetic products, which are created in a factory or lab. When it comes to household items, the most common synthetic ingredient you\u2019ll encounter is plastic, but synthetic ingredients can come in many different forms.<\/span><\/p>

As you might guess, natural clothing is made using natural fibers instead of synthetic fibers. Natural fibers come from plant or animal-based sources (think wool or cotton), while synthetic fibers come from\u2026<\/span>well,<\/span><\/strong> <\/span>plastic<\/span><\/strong>.*\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Sounds nice, right? It\u2019s true that synthetic fabrics are terrible for the environment. They run the gamut of eco-ugliness: they\u2019re extremely energy-intensive and wasteful to make, they pose health risks while you\u2019re wearing them, and they\u2019re almost impossible to recycle. <\/span>Besides, who wants to be wearing plastic anyways?\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>

The problem is that not everything in nature is good for you. Lava is natural. Arsenic is natural. Flesh-eating worms are natural. <\/span><\/p>

Let\u2019s face it, nature is metal, and just because something was made by Momma Earth doesn\u2019t mean you want to wear it.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>

\"ImageOn the flip side, just because an ingredient is synthetic doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s bad for you. In fact, many synthetic products actually began as natural products modified to improve their safety or health benefits. For example, the popular pain reliever aspirin is a slightly-modified version of salicyclic acid, a compound found in willow bark that\u2019s been used in traditional medicines for millennia.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

So what does this mean for you?<\/span><\/h2>

Unfortunately, buying a natural product doesn\u2019t guarantee that it\u2019s completely safe or non-toxic.<\/span><\/strong> <\/span><\/em>Depending on the type of product, the synthetic version might even be safer or more effective. However, when it comes to clothing, most of the synthetic fabric you\u2019ll encounter is plastic. Since plastic is bad for you and the environment, natural clothing is a good bet.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

That said, while natural clothing is a good starting point, it isn\u2019t the whole picture. The natural label only applies to the product's ingredients, and it doesn\u2019t extend to how that product was made. For example, a cotton shirt could be natural and still be made using child labor in a factory belching out pollution. So, if you want to find clothing that\u2019s truly safe and eco-friendly, we\u2019d suggest looking for products certified for a range of environmental and ethical standards that go above and beyond the natural label.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Some good places to start are products certified by the <\/span>Global Organic Textile Standard<\/u><\/span><\/a> (GOTS) or the <\/span>Social Accountability International Standard<\/u><\/span><\/a> (SA8000). These are just some of the ways we\u2019ve certified our eco-friendly products (you can view the full list <\/span>here<\/u><\/span><\/a>). Also, feel free to check out our blog posts on other green labels and what they mean for you.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

<\/p>

*Pro tip: polyester, the most popular synthetic fabric, is just a type of plastic. Plus, it\u2019s usually made from petroleum (yay!). While it is possible to make recycled polyester out of other plastics (like old plastic bottles), unfortunately this isn\u2019t a <\/span>perfect solution<\/u><\/span><\/a>. If you\u2019re worried about plastic, you\u2019re much better off sticking with natural fibers.<\/span><\/p>

<\/p>

About the author<\/span><\/strong><\/p>

Dr. Sydney Thomas is scientist, designer, and owner of <\/span>Evidence of Significance<\/u><\/span><\/a>, an eco-friendly clothing company.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>


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