Guest guest Posted March 19, 2008 Report Share Posted March 19, 2008 More? What a joke! Care to do a brain dump on fabrics for the rest of us? I'd love to know what you know! That is one of the areas that I have not even thought about trying to change. Thanks for the education so far Lana, Kathy ---- Lana Gibbons <lana.m.gibbons@...> wrote: > I've been going through my wardrobe since a lot of stuff doesn't fit. I > figured it was time to send the clothes I don't like off to be hand-me-downs > and pack away the rest in hopes that they'll still fit after baby comes. > I've been trying to get down to a more natural fabric collection so that all > my clothing is breatheable which means the synthetics are some of the first > to go. > > I was always under the impression that Rayon and Modal were synthetic > fabrics... It turns out they are both made from cellulose! Modal is made > from Beech and Rayon is made from a variety of things including Bamboo. > These fabrics have always confused me as they're the only ones I can't pick > out by touch (I've been sewing for 15+ years) - I often confuse rayon or > modal for cotton. > > I was wondering if anyone out there knew any more about these fabrics? > > -Lana > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 19, 2008 Report Share Posted March 19, 2008 Yes they are made from natural materials, and the process for making rayon goes back surprisingly far - it was thought that it could replace silk. But the process uses chemicals that are really polluting and so it is not sustainable in the respect that it causes terrible harm to the environment. Rayon is also the reason the laws were passed about using flame retardents on bedding because it really burns very well. Similar processes are now being used to make fiber (material) from soy, wood, and other things. Cotton tho is often genetically modified these days, so that's not a good option either unless you can find it organic, which you see more of these days. Wool in the higher qualities is a result of either oppression of the poor (cashmere where the farmers get much less than 1% of the money tho they do the majority of the work) or the animals - good quality merino sheep are kept confined to keep their wool clean! The old- fashioned scratchy wool is pretty sustainable, tho, and durable and worthwhile (I think!). It is flame-resistant, warm in cooler climates but less likely to overheat you when it warms up (like you go from the car to outside to the store). It stays warm when it gets wet (but is slightly waterproof), resists dirt and odors, and lasts a long time (unlike the sofer wools that pill and mat). Just wear a softer shirt under the wool so it's not against your skin! Alpaca is a very good option and if you can find it color-grown even better since many of the colors of alpaca are being neglected as the white dyes to cleaner, brighter colors that are more in demand. Also it's flame resistant (as is wool). It's one of the softest and warmest fibers available, and has almost all of the benefits of wool. Bamboo is pretty sustainable but in my experience it tends to pick up colors and get greyish over time. Hemp and linen are both very good quality fibers for clothing, especially summer-wear. They are durable, strong, cool, and sustainable. Hemp can be hard to find but it is worth it to support the people growing it when we can. It is not very closely related to the marijuana that pot-heads smoke - it has very little of the THC that will get you high. Hemp can grow like crazy with no fertilizer or insecticide. It can make durable fibers for clothing and the stuff that's left makes a particle board that's stronger than steel. I read where there was a thriving hemp industry in the early US but a certain wealthy powerful figure owned a lot of timber land and pushed through legislation outlawing hemp to insure a profit for his wood (both can be used for paper). I used to think the hemp thing was mostly pushed by pot-heads, but really it is one of the most sustainable fibers out there and very useful and it's a shame people are so uneducated about it. Linen is made from the flax plant and is also pretty easy to grow. > > I've been going through my wardrobe since a lot of stuff doesn't fit. I > > figured it was time to send the clothes I don't like off to be hand-me-downs > > and pack away the rest in hopes that they'll still fit after baby comes. > > I've been trying to get down to a more natural fabric collection so that all > > my clothing is breatheable which means the synthetics are some of the first > > to go. > > > > I was always under the impression that Rayon and Modal were synthetic > > fabrics... It turns out they are both made from cellulose! Modal is made > > from Beech and Rayon is made from a variety of things including Bamboo. > > These fabrics have always confused me as they're the only ones I can't pick > > out by touch (I've been sewing for 15+ years) - I often confuse rayon or > > modal for cotton. > > > > I was wondering if anyone out there knew any more about these fabrics? > > > > -Lana > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 19, 2008 Report Share Posted March 19, 2008 " I was wondering if anyone out there knew any more about these fabrics? " -Lana Hi Lana, I'm new to the group and don't have time to write my intro right now but want to respond to your post. Body Ecology recently had an article on fabrics. Here is a clip from that article: Top 6 Toxic Fabrics 1. Polyester is the worst fabric you can buy. It is made from synthetic polymers that are made from esters of dihydric alcohol and terpthalic acid. 2. Acrylic fabrics are polycrylonitriles and may cause cancer, according to the EPA. 3. Rayon is recycled wood pulp that must be treated with chemicals like caustic soda, ammonia, acetone and sulphuric acid to survive regular washing and wearing. 4. Acetate and Triacetate are made from wood fibers called cellulose and undergo extensive chemical processing to produce the finished product. 5. Nylon is made from petroleum and is often given a permanent chemical finish that can be harmful. 6. Anything static resistant, stain resistant, permanent press, wrinkle-free, stain proof or moth repellant. Many of the stain resistant and wrinkle-free fabrics are treated with perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs), like Teflon. Modern Materials Keep in mind that many fabrics (including natural fibers) undergo significant processing that often involves: Detergents Petrochemical dyes Formaldehyde to prevent shrinkage Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) Dioxin-producing bleach Chemical fabric softeners Laree Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 19, 2008 Report Share Posted March 19, 2008 Somehow my first post of this didn't go straight to the group, so I'm resending it. Haecklers did a great write up on the natural fabrics, the only thing I have to add about the natural fabrics is that both Wool and Bamboo are said to be naturally antibacterial. I have heard say that Silk is also, but I'm not too sure about that. I don't quite know the implications of this outside of it being desirable in the cloth diapering circuit. My favorite fabric right now is silk and my second favorite is wool. Cotton is nice because it is so mainstream, but as haecklers pointed out a lot of it is GM - another negative to cotton is that it requires a lot of pesticides to grow. I'd love to try out hemp, but it is still fairly expensive (cotton/hemp blends seem to start around $15/yd whereas cotton can be gotten as cheap as $3/yd). Both silk and wool can be ridiculously expensive new but since it takes a bit of effort to care for them, you can often find them second hand as cheap as (or cheaper than) cotton. Here's some info on synthetics: Polyester is basically a plastic. The term polyester encompasses the family that includes pthalate containing PET and Bisphenol-A containing polycarbonate. I'm not too sure specifically what variant is used in clothing fiber or if a variety of these are used in clothing. Both pthalate and bisphenol-A are suspected carcinogens. Nylon is a thermoplastic material - that means it is a plastic that melts to a liquid when heated and it freezes to be brittle. One of the " fun " facts they taught us in EMT class was that a woman who happens to be unlucky enough to be in a fire when wearing nylon stockings will end up with the plastic literally fused to her skin. (We had to be specifically taught not to try to remove it, as would be done with many other materials, since apparently when you peel it off the skin comes too...) Acrylic in the US is a fabric that contains at least 85% acrylonitrile - this is a combination of vinyl and nitrile, so I think it also classifies as a plastic. Acrylonitrile is also a known carcinogen. I see Acetate used in a lot of older clothing but I don't really know much about it. It is similar to Polyester in texture. -Lana On Wed, Mar 19, 2008 at 4:19 PM, <kathy.dickson@...> wrote: > More? What a joke! Care to do a brain dump on fabrics for the rest of us? > I'd love to know what you know! That is one of the areas that I have not > even thought about trying to change. > > Thanks for the education so far Lana, > Kathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 19, 2008 Report Share Posted March 19, 2008 Okay, so here's another question about the semi-natural fabrics... I've been seeing a lot of bamboo blend yarn that is actually bamboo rayon. Is all bamboo rayon or is only some of it? How would one tell the difference? -Lana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 20, 2008 Report Share Posted March 20, 2008 Thanks for that info. Do you know about chemical treatments of wool? I've always read that wool is almost always treated with moth-proofing chemicals (but that doesn't seem to stop the moths from eating it...). I found a really cool retro sweater ('70's) at the thrift shop. It felt strange, and when I washed it, it had a really nasty petroleum smell. Newer wool, I've never smelled that. Joy --- In , " haecklers " <haecklers@...> wrote: > > Yes they are made from natural materials, and the process for making > rayon goes back surprisingly far - it was thought that it could > replace silk. But the process uses chemicals that are really > polluting and so it is not sustainable in the respect that it causes > terrible harm to the environment. Rayon is also the reason the laws > were passed about using flame retardents on bedding because it really > burns very well. Similar processes are now being used to make fiber > (material) from soy, wood, and other things. > > Cotton tho is often genetically modified these days, so that's not a > good option ei Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 20, 2008 Report Share Posted March 20, 2008 I haven't heard much about chemical treatments for wool like that. They do use some chemicals to dissolve straw, etc. from the wool to salvage what is kind of dirty. Maybe your sweater got something spilled on it. I'd soak it in a bucket with some wool type detergent for several hours and see if that helps get it out. > > > > Yes they are made from natural materials, and the process for making > > rayon goes back surprisingly far - it was thought that it could > > replace silk. But the process uses chemicals that are really > > polluting and so it is not sustainable in the respect that it causes > > terrible harm to the environment. Rayon is also the reason the laws > > were passed about using flame retardents on bedding because it really > > burns very well. Similar processes are now being used to make fiber > > (material) from soy, wood, and other things. > > > > Cotton tho is often genetically modified these days, so that's not a > > good option ei > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 20, 2008 Report Share Posted March 20, 2008 Joy, I have heard about moth-proofing wool - also from the diaper circuit. I know as a fact organic wool isn't moth-proofed, but there are also conventional wools which are not moth-proofed. Apparently when you buy wool fabrics or yarns, the manufacturer should be able to tell you if it is treated. I wish I knew more about removing the moth-proofing, but unfortunately I don't. I did a search on the diaper community I'm a part of and I could only find info as to how to remove the moth ball scent from wool - apparently woollite does a good job of that. What did you wash it in? Some detergents contain enzymes designed for whitening that can cause issues with wool. -Lana On Thu, Mar 20, 2008 at 9:13 AM, jmr1290 <jomarex@...> wrote: > Thanks for that info. Do you know about chemical treatments of wool? > I've always read that wool is almost always treated with moth-proofing > chemicals (but that doesn't seem to stop the moths from eating it...). > > I found a really cool retro sweater ('70's) at the thrift shop. It > felt strange, and when I washed it, it had a really nasty petroleum > smell. Newer wool, I've never smelled that. > > Joy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 20, 2008 Report Share Posted March 20, 2008 I asked on the diaper site and got this link as a response: http://knitting.about.com/od/yarn/f/mothproof.htm It doesn't look like mothproofing is removable since it is set into the product along with the dye. Yuck. -Lana > I wish I knew more about removing the moth-proofing, but unfortunately I > don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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