Cotton is one of the most popular fabrics in the world, but the difference between organically grown cotton and non-organic one is crucial. To make your clothes last longer you must be aware of its peculiarities. Organic cotton is cotton that is produced without causing any harm to the environment. Unlike organic cotton, non-organic one is grown with large amounts of insecticides (used to kill insects), pesticides (used to kill pests) and herbicides (used to control weeds). It has not been proven that all of these chemicals affect people who wear cotton, but cotton plantation workers become victims of pesticides every year, and many of them die. The total amount of eco-cotton is less than 1% of the total production, but it is constantly increasing. To stimulate growth, only organic fertilizers are used that are manure and compost. For growing organic cotton, a mixture of garlic, chili pepper, and soap is used. There are no genetically modified seeds as well. Instead, energy-saving technologies, such as solar panels, are used. Moreover, farmers rotate crops. If different cultures grow in the same area, the soil regenerates naturally. For the production of non-organic cotton, the same area is constantly used, which leads to the depletion of humus. As a result, chemical fertilizers are used.Besides, organic cotton is hand-harvested, so only fully ripened seeds are selected. After the harvest, the fibers are separated from the seeds and processed separately, which ultimately leads to an improvement in the quality of the cotton fabric. By contrast, non-organic cotton is machine-harvested that negatively affects the quality of raw materials. In this way defoliants make the cotton heads fall off the branches themselves, and it doesn’t matter whether they ripened or not. Furthermore, manufacturing clothes made from organic cotton involves the usage of toxic dyes, chlorine bleaches, and formaldehydes, which can harm our health. It’s important to understand that organic cotton isn’t treated with anti-wrinkle chemicals, so it creases easily. Better iron such fabric when it is still wet, or use steam ironing.After all, buying organic cotton, you care not only about yourself but also about the environment.

Every piece of clothing has an impact on the environment, but the big question is how much of an impact? Shoppers concerned about the entire life cycle of their clothing should learn about the production process that goes into making fabrics and where they end up after use, as some are harder on the planet than others. The following guide to fabrics is hardly comprehensive, but it’s a good introduction to points worth considering next time you’re out shopping. LINEN: is a plant-based fabric made from flax which can be grown on rough terrain that’s unsuitable for food production. It can be cultivated and processed without chemicals, though this is more commonly found in Europe and less so in China. COTTON: is a natural plant-based fiber that makes up a quarter of all fabric used in clothing, furniture, and other textile blends, such as rayon and synthetics. It is a durable, breathable, and highly versatile fabric. WOOL: If you’re comfortable with the fact that wool is an animal product, this could be the most environmentally friendly option. Wool is tough, wrinkle-resistant, resilient (which means good at retaining its original shape), and it can “absorb up to 30 percent of its weight in moisture before feeling damp”.It holds colorful dyes easily, without use of chemicals.Wool can replace many of the water-resistant synthetics and polyester fleeces that feature prominently in outdoor gear without fear of microfiber shedding – which, one could argue, wreaks havoc for wildlife down the food chain, despite being vegan.The biggest issue with wool is the methane emissions from burping sheep. An estimated 50 percent of wool’s carbon footprint comes from the sheep themselves, as opposed to other fabric industries whose larger emissions hail from the fabric production process. These sheep, however, are usually raised on non-arable land. POLYESTER: currently dominates the clothing industry, found in 60 percent of clothing. People like it for its stretchiness, durability, and comfort, but it’s important to remember that it’s a plastic manufactured from crude oil (an energy-intensive process). Even though some manufacturers are adding recycled polyester, often sourced from plastic bottles, to their fabrics, these have the same environmental repercussions as new polyester, which researchers are only just starting to understand. What we know now is that every wash releases plastic microfibers into waterways and these persist indefinitely, contaminating lakes and oceans and getting ingested by animals and, indirectly, by humans. WHAT TO DO?: choose organic fabrics whenever possible. These are more expensive, which means you’ll likely buyless but that’s a good thing, too. We need to break free from the fast fashion mentality that encourages rapid turnaround times on trends and a quasi-disposable attitude toward clothes.

No one has escaped the soaring prices of the silk raw material.Silk has suffered and will undergo substantial increases. It is estimated that this year there has been a 20% increase. The reason is derived from the Country that produces 95% of the world’s silk: China.The new lifestyles, resulting from the strong economic expansion, allow the Chinese population different consumption patterns than in the past. The Chinese have increased consumption of any goods, including silk. The demand of the Chinese domestic market absorbs a large part of the silk production, which consequently becomes difficult to find for the rest of the world. Sultex industries, like all Companies in the textile supply chain, had to revise the price list several times during the year because the fluctuation in the cost of raw materials is really exaggerated.In order to respond to market demands and to address the high cost of silk, Sultex industries has introduced mixed-composition materials. There has been a long search for mixed silky textile materials by the Sultex industries style office, which guaranteed optimal performance both in terms of comfort and workmanship. Therefore, a mixed silk and acetate, solid color fabric was introduced in the Sultex industries samples, but it guarantees an excellent performance. The fabric has a high percentage of silk but is mixed with other fibers in order to guarantee an excellent result while lowering the cost.