When you got dressed this morning, did you think about where the fabric came from? If you answered no, you’d have the same answer that most folks do.
Most fabrics on the market today are full of chemicals, like cotton, for instance. But cotton is natural, right? Wrong. From its life as a plant to the time it’s harvested, cotton is saturated with pesticides and chemicals. These chemicals remain in the fiber and more are added when cotton is manufactured.
This is the fabric you dress in every morning. Isn’t it scary to think about wearing these chemically-made fabrics next to our skin day in and day out? You begin to look at the clothes labels with growing suspicion when out shopping. What kinds of fabric can you trust? Which brands? There must be a healthier way to dress. What is the solution to this problem?
Slowly but surely, naturally grown fibers are being reintroduced into our culture. Besides being chemical-free, they have many benefits.
Can you imagine a fabric that naturally hydrates and softens your skin while you are wearing it? Milk fiber is full of vitamins and the Chinese say it rejuvenates your body just by wearing it. What about a fiber from the weeds in our very own ditches? Nettle fabric is comparable to cotton and was once preferred to silk. While there are some variations, the general fiber-making process involves removing the inside of the plant and stripping off any bark or outer stem. The fiber is then softened by simmering it overnight in a fusion of water and sometimes wood ash, giving it a gray appearance. The fiber is beaten and rubbed with oil to make it easier to separate and tease for spinning, after which it is dried in the sun and spun with a hand spindle. When the fiber has been made into yarn, it is either sold or knitted or woven into cloth.
Anyone who has the desire and the proper tools can do this, but for the most part fiber is hand-produced in great quantities in places such as China, India, Nepal, etc.
These days there are many options if you are looking for green choices for your wardrobe. You can indulge in many different exotic fabrics, woven from some of the most unlikely fibers in the world. Nettle, banana, milk, pineapple, coconut and many more.
Nettle or Nessel Fiber, besides being incredibly strong and soft, has the special property of being hollow, allowing it to breathe possess a superior insulation: Fabric produced from this fiber remains cool for summer and warm for winter.
Besides being cultivated as fiber, the nettle plant yields two types of dyes: Green from the leaves and yellow from the roots. It’s a highly successful plant and grows like a weed in many parts of the world, so no chemicals are used. Besides that, the nettle is remarkably good for the soil.
What is the secret to the nettle’s fabric-producing potential? Certainly not the stinging leaves?
No indeed, it is the nettle’s stringy stem which produces the fiber.
Nettles are perennials, and require less energy to grow than either hemp or cotton, needing to be replaced only 10-15 years. Until 1900 nettle fabric was used instead of cotton, due to a cotton shortage. But when cotton became popular, nettle fabric disappeared, and except for a brief reappearance in World War II when the Germans used it in military apparel, the fiber remained relatively unknown.
Here is an interesting fact: Elite women of the medieval period are said to have prized nettle fabric over silk, due to its glossy sheen and fine weft!
Milk Fiber was invented in the 1930s in America and Italy to compete with wool. It yields a beautiful glowing breathable fabric, which holds a dye well and according to the Chinese, also holds in the moisture to keep your skin hydrated and smooth. To create the fiber, liquid milk is dried, and the proteins, [called casein] are extracted, heated and then compressed through a mincing machine to generate the threads. Milk fiber is extremely silky and wrinkles easily, but it contains 17 amino acids, as well as being naturally antibacterial. One of the most fascinating things about milk fiber is that unlike wool, which is subject to aging, insects, and mold, it is able to sustain its freshness for many years.
It is said that to wear a garment made from milk feels as good as taking a milk bath. Talk about luxury!
Banana Fiber is interesting because of its remarkable property of yielding many different types of fibers. There are two methods for removing the banana fiber, the Japanese method and and the Nepalese method. The Japanese technique involves harvesting the banana leaves and shoots periodically while still young, so they are sure to be soft and tender. Then they are boiled in lye to begin extracting the fibers. The banana shoots give off fibers that are of varying levels of softness. These ‘levels’ result in end products that differ in texture and can be used for different functions. The outside fibers are the coarsest. These fibers are used for making tablecloths and ropes. The softest fibers are made into a pliable cloth and used in Japanese apparel such as kimono, and summer-wear. All the steps to make banana fiber are carried out by hand, so the practice is a lengthy one.
In Nepal, instead of using the shoots, the banana trunk itself is harvested, and the small chunks of bark softened, then the fibers are mechanically extracted. The fibers are bleached, then dried. This makes for a very soft, glossy fiber resembling silk, which is known as banana silk fiber yarn.
It is the task of Nepalese women to then refine, process and skein the fiber to make it ready for sale.
Banana fiber is light, strong, and has better spinnability than either bamboo or ramie. It can absorb and release moisture very quickly. Another perk is that it’s bio-degradable, so it can be labeled eco-friendly.
Pineapple Fiber, perhaps better known as piña, is made from the cobweb-like fibers of pineapple leaves. In the Philippines this is done by splitting the fibers away from the leaves and hand-scraping them. Then the fibers are knotted one at a time to be made into a single long strand which is woven into pineapple silk. This fabric is light and sheer but also firm; it is elegant, washable, and retains dyes well. It’s used as formalwear among the Philippine elite, being regarded as the queen of all Philippine fabrics. Slightly similar to linen, the fiber is white, creamy and as lustrous as silk.
Information about eco-friendly fibers is valuable to apparel designers for use in their designs, as there is a large health movement at work right now. Soon the names of these fibers could become common household words. The fashion business is all about predicting the future; attempting to determine what will be popular next. The potential for trendy fashion appeal is very large here, for not only do these fibers create beautiful, wholesome garments, but being green is very ‘in’. Everyone is trying to find a new way to recycle and utilize natural substances and materials. Incorporating these eco-friendly fibers into your designs is a surefire way to gain credibility and recognition. There is a wealth of healthy fibers in the world just waiting for someone to make use of them. Other natural fibers include bamboo fiber, coir [coconut fiber] made from the hairs of the coconut, and animal fibers: Spider silk, which is obtained by injecting spider genes into silkworms, resulting in a super-silk which is strong, just as soft as silk and extremely elastic. Peace silk is silk produced without killing its maker, the little worm.
Depending on your location, you can grow and produce some of these fibers on your own, and what you cannot grow you can certainly buy. Here are some links to sites where you can find and learn more about eco-friendly fibers and yarns:
Nettle Fiber: http://www.feltandcrafts.com/yarns-fibers-nettle-yarn-c-9_13.html
Milk Fiber: http://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?SearchText=milk+fiber&Country=&IndexArea=product_en&fsb=y
Pineapple Fiber http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/347093266/Pineapple_fibre.html
Banana Fiber: http://www.alibaba.com/product-tp/108328487/Banana_Fiber.html
General links of interest: information, etc.
http://www.ecofashionworld.com/EcoFashion-Pulse/FLOURISHING-FIBERS.html Article about natural fibers
www.teonline.com Textiles Exchange website
www.alibaba.com A trading network of fiber sellers and buyers from all over the world
Nettle Fashion www.nettlefashion.webs.comAn organic fashion boutique and nettle product shop.
Want to find out more about organic fiber apparel?
Come check out Paige Rothfus’s organic NETTLE FASHION shop online [ www.nettlefashion.webs.com] check out her blog http://www.nettlefashionblog.blogspot.com or give her a call for a free catalog at 515-943-2131 . She’d be delighted to hear from you!