Natural vs. Synthetic

There has been a lot of controversy and confusion about the facts of natural fibers verses synthetic fibers. While both have their positive and negative aspects to them, they can also be made in a way to reduce the harm they cause to the environment. Large amounts of water, and harmful pesticides are used to grow cotton. Sheep are injected with insecticides which can be harmful to the flock if not treated properly. An abundant amount of energy and non renewable resources are made to produce synthetic fibers. For polyester, water consumption is extremely low, emissions from the chemicals to produce the fiber is fairly high if discharge is untreated. Producing nylon produces emissions of nitrous oxide, which has caused about 3% of the carbon dioxide emissions into the Earth's atmosphere. The production of viscose leads to emissions of sulphur, nitrous oxide, carbon disulphide, and hydrogen sulfide. These chemicals lead to harmful environmental conditions.  Harmful pollutants that contaminate water and breathing air are cause by both of these fibers when manufactured.

All fibers are capable of being manufactured in a proper way that will not cause harm to the environment. These processes are not always convenient and often require more money to be spent on processing. Cotton can be organically grown, or substituted for hemp or flax fibers. Wool can also be grown organically, and the chemicals used to treat the wool can be recycled instead of being thrown out where otherwise it would potentially seep into the dirt and water. When choosing polyester, make sure it has not been made with catalytic agents that contain cobalt or manganese salts. The only real alternative for Nylon is to substitute the fiber for wool. Viscose can be made from wood, can be treated without chlorine bleach, and can be substituted for lyocell. Hemp has been known to be the most environmentally friendly fiber.

For my designs, I would still choose synthetic fibers if they were my favorite. I would explain to my friend and others, the alternative choices for synthetic fibers that I will use. Using synthetic fibers like polyester that are recycled, viscose that has not been bleached with chlorine, and lyocell. I will teach them about the harmful affects that non organic fibers have on the environment to compare them to synthetic fibers that are not as bad. My designs from synthetic fibers will be made to wear for a long time and will not fall apart.