Pros & Cons of Common Fabrics | Fibres & Fabrics Part 1

Hope you're ready for a lot of information! In this video I go through everyday and environmental pros and cons of materials you likely own or will see in stores. Read those labels! ;)
Each fibre has different benefits and a different environmental impact. There definitely are more sustainable fabrics than others, but it's also good to choose fabrics that fit the intended purpose of the garment. For example, a summer top should be breathable, athletic wear durable, a rain coat water-resistant etc. and also choose materials that fit your lifestyle.
Sorry this video is so long, hopefully it's not boring. To make it easier these are the fabrics I talk about with timecodes to skip to the ones you're interested in:
0:35 Cotton
1:38 Linen
2:28 Hemp
3:21 Polyester
4:11 Wool
5:16 Acrylic
5:51 Silk
6:36 Nylon
7:20 Spandex/Elastane/Lycra
7:57 Rayon
8:43 Bamboo
9:37 Lyocell/Tencel
I'm sure there are things I missed, so please add any pros or cons in the comments.
More about synthetic fibres ending up in the ocean: grist.org/living/2011-12-07-ho...
More about how synthetic, petrochemical textiles are made: ecosalon.com/synthetic-fabrics...
Sustainable Apparel Coalition Materials Sustainability Index msi.apparelcoalition.org/#/
Part 2 about vegan synthetic and animals materials and part 3 about up-cycled and recycled materials coming soon.
Thanks for watching!
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This is not a sponsored video.
Background music: Daily Beetle by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: incompetech.com/

[@persikosaft]

I want to add that when washing wool you should never use regular laundry detergent since it contains enzymes that break down the protein in the fibers. This also applies to silk.

[@persikosaft]

@@gooser__43 There is special laundry detergent for wool. Castile soap or similar also works fine.

[@tanicwhisper0647]

Holy shit this video was informative. Thank you for putting the time, research and effort into this video. Not sure if anyone's acknowledge that.

[@MyGreenCloset]

Thank you!! I appreciate that :)

[@syddlinden8966]

"No material is perfect", but cotton, linen, and hemp are damn close! :D

[@ComradeCorwin]

Man, the internet is a wonderful thing! This video was EXACTLY what I was looking for. Thank you so much for your research and easily digestible format.

[@janellekean9055]

Agree! Wish there were more videos

[@canadiangreeneyes]

Thanks so much for doing this series! You're addressing so many topics that I've been curious about, but have been a bit overwhelmed by when it comes to researching. Can't wait for the rest!

[@MyGreenCloset]

Really glad it's helpful! :)

[@TheSimplicityDiaries]

This video was great, a complete very informative guide! Thank you so much for sharing, can't wait to watch the upcoming videos of this series!

[@MaximC]

Thank you very *very* much. This video is exactly what I was looking for (and even much more). Literally all aspects are being addressed here - just perfect.

[@IyannaMcDonald]

I'm so happy I found your channel! Sustainability was possibly my favourite unit during my fashion major so it's amazing to refresh on these things. :)

[@MyGreenCloset]

Yay! It's so great that fashion programs are including more about sustainability!

[@IyannaMcDonald]

+My Green Closet me too! When I did the unit I felt like it should be compulsory university wide regardless of what people are studying haha :)

[@mademoisellejaime]

What a wonderful video - so interesting to learn a bit more about the fabrics that we wear. I love how you broke this all down!

[@MyGreenCloset]

Thank you!

[@sarahbee328]

Very informative and relatively unbiased. I really appreciate the fact that you have made it possible for me to intelligently consider what I am buying off the rack. Thank you.

[@Karlaginger]

I love how informative your videos are. I design and sew and I'm looking to shift to more eco friendly habits and your channel helps a lot.

[@TaraEfobi]

Yayyyyy this video is going to help me decide what fabrics to use for my final garments in my patternmaking class!

[@MyGreenCloset]

I really want to see what you make!! :D

[@benlarmouth]

The best video I seen for difference in fabrics and I been looking for 2 days. Thank you I think a bamboo/spandex hybrid will be perfect for me.

[@babyl3]

This was really helpful for me to decide what kinds of fabrics to wear in the humid climate I’m moving to!

[@ThexXxEmoxXxPirate]

This video is packed with valuable information. Thank you for taking the time to put this together and sharing.

[@MyGreenCloset]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it :)

[@navyachandrika977]

You are just too good! Subtle and detailed explanation. Juz love it.

[@Mote.]

Well made, simple, easy-to-understand video.

[@DaveStringFingers]

Came across this when on an "ironing hacks" train of thought, thanks for the informative compendium of info, way to go :)

[@flooolia]

This is such a fantastic video, thank you!

[@thibs8839]

Awesome video! I stumbled across it because I was trying to research a comparison between nylon and cotton. Now I have a basic understanding of every common fabric. Thanks!

[@jessicah3782]

I love your video and how organized you were, thank you soooo much!!

[@thejasonmoss]

I think that organic blends of hemp and cotton are a great way to go! Hemp is a wonderful fiber source. I've read it takes somewhere about half the water as cotton, yet yields upwards of 250% more usable fibers for fabric production.

[@khione8044]

@paisleyyama I've never worn Hemp before, but some fabrics have special care requirements needed for care and maintenance of the fabric. Was it washed in Hot/Warm/Cold water? Was it dried in High/Low heat? Additives used in wash (such as Bleach, or Fabric Softener)? A lot of things can be a factor of this. Again, I've never worn Hemp before, but it's supposed to be a very durable fabric. Unless it was a Hemp Blend, and the blended fabric degraded the quality of the hemp fabric.

[@khione8044]

@paisleyyama Hmmm, that's very weird. I'm sorry to hear of your experience with it. I've never used it before so I don't have my own experience to compare it to. But I do plan to Test the Fabric out soon though. I want try a Bamboo/Cotton Blend, Bamboo/Hemp Blend, and Hemp/Cotton Blend, to see which is better (in my opinion).

[@khione8044]

@paisleyyama. That's awesome! Cotton is a great fabric, but it does have a few downsides in some areas, that's why it's blended with a lot of different types of fabrics. With what I'm testing for is absorbancy in each fabric. How fast it absorbs and how much it holds. Completely different of course, than what 1 would look for in clothing! :)

[@khione8044]

@paisleyyama. Yes, I've heard of Zorb. I'm wanting to Test absobency of those Fabrics for use in making Cloth Pads (my apologies to Jason, I know this isn't what you expect to be reading on your Comment). While Zorb is extremely fast at absorbing, it is prone to compression leaks (such as when you sit down, etc...), which isn't good if the "only" absorbent material is Zorb. But it is good for a 1st Core layer for people with a very heavy flow, then having something that holds liquid better (doesn't have much compression leaks), to absorb underneath it. Cotton absorbs well, but it doesn't hold as much moisture as what Hemp can (without leaks). Bamboo is also said to absorb fast as well. So I want to do a comparison of the 3.

[@khione8044]

@paisleyyama I will be, but what I'd like to try to see the comparison in how fast the material absorbs, vs how much it can hold without leaking. That way the cloth pad don't leak because it's not absorbing fast enough (or whatever the reason may be). Disposable pads/tampons have too many chemicals in them that gets absorbed through our skin when wearing it (and tampons have been known to make girls sick because of the chemicals in it, if not changed frequently enough). Cloth is washable, can be reused, and is better for the environment. Zorb, I'd like to use as a top (inner core) layer for a "Heavy" or "Super Heavy", just to make sure it absorbs it fast (so that someone with a heavy flow, doesn't run off the sides because it's not absorbing fast enough, etc..), but have a more absorbent layer underneath it that doesn't leak (since Zorb can leak), that might absorb a little slower, but holds moisture better. But for "Light" or "Regular" flow, it doesn't need the "fast" absorbency of Zorb, and can do with a regular absorbing fabric, so Testing the 3 fabrics that I'm interested in trying out, will help with that. At least, that's what I'm hoping anyways, I'm still learning a lot about it. Lol.

[@MG-uz5mr]

Thank you for being so thorough and clear. This is exactly the info I was looking for

[@tathagatabasu4759]

Very nice and summarised. Thanks for doing this. Helpful for people who are researching in the area especially as a kick-starter.

[@ranaabimosleh]

Thanks so much for explaining this in a clear and simple way!

[@keshavpradhan8446]

Superbly explained, just the details I was looking for.hats off

[@doney1996]

Your aura is outstanding! I love your personality to your videos!

[@JHaas117]

very informative and straight to the point video thanks. ive been looking all over for a series that discusses thew various fibers out there

[@AmeyAlshi02]

thank you so much for sharing this video! it was very informative. Keep up the good work!!

[@softgrungesara]

This is so helpful!! Thank you so much for creating such an informative video.

[@findingthesimilarity]

Thank you for this! It was awesome and so insightful!

[@michaelasimon6694]

Thank you so much for collecting this information for your viewers! This is such a helpful video! I'm a vegan and it is sometimes difficult to find out what materials treat animals fairly. I had no idea that making silk killed the worms so I will no longer be purchasing that. All of your videos are so helpful!

[@newtonmoon]

great work, thanks for keeping us informed. it's so important for people including me to rethink our consumer habits.

[@stellaobata]

Really interesting video! I subscribed to your chanell a while ago, interested in your closet project, it inspired me so much! But I know there's more and more to learn in every video you make. :) thank you!

[@gabcarol8]

Wonderful! & great speaking voice, clear & calming.

[@sabinekezbere.private]

Thank you for this informative video! "Straight to the point" presentation is perfect :)

[@TaraWhiteTalks]

SO informative. Thank you so much for making this!

[@therandomstation335]

Thank you for sharing this video. I thought it was very well made and so insightful. This was the exact I was looking for in this topic! It was clean and precise. I also enjoyed how simple it was, yet still visually intriguing.

[@MyGreenCloset]

Thank you so much! Really happy you enjoyed it :)

[@snowpuffxx]

Very interesting and informative, thanks so much!!

[@youssefhamidi8152]

This was very informative for me. Thank you for making this video.

[@aliciaevans2501]

Truly appreciate this. Great insights!

[@damofoluis]

Great straight to the point video! Subscribed!

[@roshanruhaiz9889]

Thanks for the video it has helped me to understand the fabrics, moreover, this gives a brief explanation hat off your work !!

[@jennaarsenault8838]

Thank you so much for this video!! Just what I was looking for! I am excited to do another wardrobe detox and donate everything that is not 100% cotton, linen, or hemp. I'm going extreme for the planet and to align with my best self.

[@juhei89]

Thank you so much for this video. You helped me so much with it, and all your other videos.

[@notavideographer]

Thanks for that balanced and concise summary! Your channel is a great resource! Keep it up!

[@MyGreenCloset]

Thank you! :)

[@mandarinz69]

this was super informative and really well done. I learnt heaps!

[@yassad9440]

Omg you are doing a great job ❤️ really intressting, thank you

[@huntercuyler]

this was so helpful, thank you so much!!

[@Mote.]

I like how this is unbiased towards any fabric. Its all factual

[@ashishshrivastava8864]

Very nicely explained. It's one of its kind. Thank you!

[@ashishshrivastava8864]

The only thing I'm missing here is some pictures of the material you are talking about. It wd have been easy to relate.

[@cam.s178]

Great video! So informative! Thanks

[@xxlila21xx]

This is such a great video! Good job!! I took screenshots of every fabric 😄

[@alexandraamb]

Livia Marie good ideea Marie 😁

[@donnashirley6628]

Thank you. Very informative 👌👍

[@allia807]

Thanks for this video, very informative

[@Anncrohr]

This is such a great list, thank you for gathering all of this information! One detail I’d like to add: by now there is so called Ahimsa silk or peace silk, which is processed only after the silk worms have „hatched“ naturally. It is more expensive, though, since it takes longer and the shorter fibers are harder to process.

[@UrsuchaKida]

Very happy I came across this video. It is very informative. Very pleasant speaking voice easy to listen to.

[@glife1480]

Thank you very much. The information provided was very helpful. "Bless You"

[@thali89]

Great video! Thanks for making this

[@lilliput112]

The timing for this video was perfect, because next week I am about to start working in this fair trade store and have been meaning to read up a little bit more about materials, so thank you a lot! I love the way you presented the information, really clear and helpful and I can see myelf coming back to this video in case I want to refresh my knowledge. I´m looking forward to the other videos about materials :) Hope you have a nice sunday :)

[@MyGreenCloset]

Thanks! Really happy you found it helpful :) Best of luck with your new job!!

[@cheokyincheong7262]

Thank you. Great information!

[@arolilja]

So helpful! This was a topic I wanted to know more about. Thank you!

[@MyGreenCloset]

Happy you found it helpful! :)

[@BlackBerryTrees]

This is amazing!!! Thank you so much!!

[@gokhalesh1]

Thank You for your valuable information !

[@betterburial]

Thank you. You explain everything quite well.

[@doney1996]

I literally try to stay away from polyester and acrylic when it comes to scarves and hats. Silk, wool, nylon are better alternatives.

[@lilfoward1832]

Absolutely great video

[@alijane1995]

Thank you very much for making this video. Now I know to be careful of the materials of any future purchases xx

[@savingcole]

How helpful! Thank you!

[@MeghanNavoy]

i loved this video! super informative and makes fabrics really easy to understand. One note is that tencel (the brand name) is closed loop, but not all lyocell is! thanks and I look forward to seeing the rest of your series, especially about animal fibers vs synthetics for vegans!

[@MyGreenCloset]

Thank you! :) That's really interesting. I've always used the two words interchangeably but never looked into whether there was a difference between them. Thanks for pointing that out!

[@dougsteets9984]

Hello Erin, thanks for the information and the quality of your video. I'm glad you listed all the pros and cons for each fibre. The fabric manufacturing industry is not the best for being honest about the products they harvest and/or manufacture. They tend to jump on whatever trendy bandwagon is best for their bottom line and their shareholders. Case in point, the massive shift from man made fibres to cotton in the late eighties. As you mentioned, cotton is a very "thirsty" crop and requires massive amounts of pesticides and fertilizer. Most people flocked to the "environmentally friendly, natural" choice based on being against fossil fuel derived fibres. As you pointed out, there are definite drawbacks with cotton. I personally dislike man made fibres so I choose cotton as it can be recycled. Thanks again for your honest information.

[@neerajpandey4758]

nice explanation on the basics indeed helpful thanks

[@lonefather]

It's a very informative introduction to the various kinds of fibers

[@raisingforhim3186]

I love your videos. SO INFORMATIVE.

[@ambercampbell8831]

i love love love love love love love your videos I just discovered you now this morning and wow. I'm in 1st year at college and cant decide between graphic or fashion design for next year. Time is ticking but you are influencing me more and more to study fashion. I'm vegan and care about everything you talk about! you are so relatable! x

[@MyGreenCloset]

Thank you so much!! Best wishes with your big decision, that's a difficult choice.

[@jasmineb6654]

Thanks for this informative video!

[@o001857]

Nicely done!

[@HaDi-pe1xo]

Thanks for a very helpful video!!

[@CaveWomen88]

This was really helpful. Thanks.

[@lily-joysteadman7]

this was really helpful thank you!!

[@JessMcPhersonYoung]

Such a great video thank you!

[@janellekean9055]

This was very helpful!

[@mishellesleepytime]

Such a great video :) I think my favourite material is linen it just feels so nice to wear. I've seen a lot of stores bringing in lyocell recently, I'd really like to try it out and see how it washes and lasts.

[@MyGreenCloset]

Thanks! I love linen too, it's nice to see t-shirts and more garments made from it.

[@kikikiki2917]

Very informative video 🙏🏻 thanks alot

[@catherineanderson4755]

Fabulous video!

[@rohitrajak5827]

Thanks for the information.

[@Seto_KaibaX]

I've had the same Nylon shirt since I was 16 (In high school) and I wear it till this day, looks new and everything is still so vivid. I'm 25 so yeah it's durable.

[@chh1302]

So helpful, thank you! :-) Love from Denmark

[@liezelbarnard2646]

Thank you for a very informative video.

[@giovannibrito7]

Very nice!

[@CreationCove]

Great video!

[@desireedejean9780]

VERY HELPFUL. THANK YOU

[@nimisygns1]

love your video. thanks!!

[@yogiyoda]

great vid!

[@rinigreen1478]

thank you! very informative well explained video :-)

[@YZ450f24]

Great info thank you

[@supa6692]

Very informative vid I learnt alot...Very good work

[@vigova]

Really interesting, I don´t know a lot of thing about the matirials you talk! Thanks! I read Yesterday There are a new matirial, it made with pineapple

[@MyGreenCloset]

Yes! It sounds really interesting, apparently it can be made into both a silky material and a leather-like one which is exciting.

[@michelleisplanning]

Thanks for this information.

[@nohahassan8265]

thank you so much for the nice info