Is Viscose the Way to a Greener Future?
by Jenna Watson, Barcelona on 01.25.07
The New York Times reports on the eco-issue of “fast clothes” and today’s practically disposable clothing. This phenomenon of buying cheap clothes that only last a season or two, as Rosenthal reports, is pioneered by stores like H&M, Old Navy and Target, to name but a few. “In many places, cheap, readily disposable clothes have displaced hand-me-downs as a mainstay of dressing.” The article covers the Cambridge University Institute of Manufacturing study led by Dr. Julian Allwood entitled, “Well Dressed? The present and future sustainability of clothing and textiles in the United Kingdom.” In addition to pages of interesting information on the topic, the study carried out LCAs on a cotton t-shirt and a viscose blouse.
The results for the t-shirt and blouse are interesting, if not surprising for some, and the report’s suggestions for impact reduction are definitely worth sharing. Bottom line – the LCAs conclude that cotton clothing are actually more energy intensive than viscose due to their care requirements during the use phase.
The study assumes that cotton shirts are washed at 60ºC (140ºF) compared to only 40ºC (104ºF) for the viscose. As well, it is assumed that cotton T’s are tumble dried and later ironed, whereas viscose can be hang dried and there is no need for ironing. On one hand this is a fair assumption, on the other hand it made me think that perhaps I am laundering my cotton clothes incorrectly! I wash my cotton clothing at 40ºC or less, I never tumble dry (since I don’t own a dryer) and I never ever iron (don’t own one either). Perhaps all this time I have been running around dirty and nobody had the heart to tell me? The study shows that 60% of the energy use for the cotton T comes from its care, while for the viscose blouse only 14% of the energy use comes cleaning. Other interesting results are that the purchase of “a 250g cotton T-shirt implies purchasing 1,700g of fossil fuel, depositing 450g of waste to landfill and emitting 4kg of CO2 into the atmosphere. These figures are largely driven by the energy required to launder and dry the T-shirt during its life cycle.”
Some key points regarding the LCA as highlighted in the study are these:
- The main environmental impact is in the washing of cotton clothes.
- Washing at a lower temperature reduces all environmental impacts by about 10%.
- Eliminating tumble drying leads to around 50% reduction in the global climate change impact of the garment.
- Recycling of both viscose and cotton has a significant environmental benefit by reducing the need for more primary production.
- The energy use for transportation of the products is relatively small in the overall picture, so changing the location of the production has little immediate environmental impact.
- Using eco-friendly detergents is not more expensive and is just as effective as regular ones.
What can you do to reduce the impact of your clothing without stock piling your wardrobe with viscose or other man-made materials? It’s pretty straightforward. Extend the life of your clothes, don’t buy and throw away. Purchase pieces that will last longer than 25 washes (as is assumed in the study). Shop at second-hand clothing stores or give your unwanted clothes to places that will re-sell them or give them to people that need them. Or have an unwanted clothing party with your friends. Invite people over with their “old” clothes and exchange. Repair your clothes instead of getting rid of them the moment a button falls off or they get a small hole. Wash your cotton clothes in cold water, hang dry and don’t iron if you don’t have to. Mother Watson’s trick if you must dry – throw your clothes in the dryer for 5 minutes and then hang them up. That gets rid of most of the wrinkles. The rest fall out while hanging and you save lots of energy. Don’t fear – viscose is not the way of the future, we simply need to change our consumer habits and our garment care ways to keep our clothing as green as our lifestyles. Download the report here. You can find more tips on greening your wardrobe here.
Viscose and polyester are not the same thing.
The New York Times article is about polyester (synthetic, from oil) not viscose ('man-made' but from plant cellulose)
The ISG report is about both man-made cellulose fibres like viscose and synthetic fibres like polyester and nylon.
Both make good points though. A long-lasting, robust product offsets many of the negative points in the manufacturing and choice of materials.
Options like recycled polyester have the potential to offer the best of both worlds (in the right applications).
I have some Old Navy dress pants that have lasted two years wearing to work every day. The $40-$50 pair dockers didn't last more than one season so I don't think its quite fair to single out a few brands when they all are just as bad.
I think you are laundering your clothes incorrectly. I wash all my cotton stuff in cold water, then hang it out on the line. If you hang it properly you don't need to iron it at all. It works fine for me.
"The New York Times article is about polyester (synthetic, from oil) not viscose ('man-made' but from plant cellulose)"
True - the NYT article discusses polyester and other synthetic fibers, however the Cambridge report includes LCAs of only cotton and viscose (and carpet). Thus the reason this article is focused on cotton and viscose. Although the suggestions regarding garment care can be used for all materials. Cold wash, hang dry and no iron!
I wash all my clothes except whites in cold water. I've never had a problem with them not getting clean enough. Also, what kind of dweeb irons their T shirts? Pull them out of the dryer while they're warm or line-dry them and fold them and there will be no wrinkles.
Also, I'm wearing six-year-old jeans, three-year-old boxers, and a two-year-old waffle-knit undershirt. All from Old Navy. I've had no trouble with their clothes lasting long enough. Believe me, if I had to buy a whole new wardrobe every year I'd never shop there.
Dear Icelander,
Thanks for your comments! And good on ya with your laundering habits.
A clarification: I don't doubt that Old Navy, Target and H&M make clothing that lasts for years. I myself also have clothes from those stores that have lasted for a long time. The problem here is the consumer habit (popular among some and not necessarily all) of buying clothes and then throwing them away after only a few months or a couple of seasons. As you said, "buying a whole new wardrobe every year." This is not a reflection on the quality of the clothing, but on the consumer habit that is aided by the low prices of garments offered in some stores.
I wash *all* my clothes (including whites!) in cold water. I never understood when to use "warm" or "hot" cycles, so I never did. Cold water seems to do a good enough job. I hang dry most of my shirts and pants because the dryer is hard on clothes (colors stay brighter longer, and the fabric lasts longer if hung-dry).
I wash everything in cold water too. Never had a problem.
I have H&M stuff that's lasted years and is in great condition. Even the most expensive, well-made clothes will fall apart if you don't care for them properly, so there's something to be said for instituting "Laundry 101" classes somewhere. The most frequently asked question I got when I worked in men's retail was, "Will this shrink?" which prompted me to wonder if people really didn't know what heat does to clothes...or at a more basic level if they didn't know how to wash clothes at all.
Either that, or we need to rethink the way we wash our clothes, and there is Tide for Cold Water out that touts the claim that using cold water washes will save energy.
Line drying is fine, but sometimes I feel like the clothes end up "crunchy." Is it just me?
Please also look at Treehuggers, "How to Green your Wardrobe."
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/11/how_to_green_yo_12.php
Caught up late with this post. I have a green guest house in Scotland and find it hard to avoid tumble-drying completely because of the wet weather (indoor drying doesn't work when you have dozens of sheets).
I find that the best solution is to wash cold mostly; to wash hot occasionally (or your machine may get smelly and pass the smell on) and to line dry until clothes are just a little damp. Put them into the dryer for 5-10 minutes at the end of the line dry and hey presto! no ironing and no nasty 'crunchiness'.
As for the fabric type? Buy organic or Fairtrade cotton with just a bit of synethic added.