Pop Quiz: Clothing Au Naturel

Answer: D -- All of these fibers are cellulose derived, although not all of them are naturally occurring.

Linen comes from the fibers of the flax plant, the same one that gives flaxseed to your bread, and linseed oil to your furniture.

Rayon is "less natural", and is made by dissolving cellulose into a solution, and then extruding it through hundreds of tiny holes into sulfuric acid, which solidifies it into fibers:
www.cirfs.org

Tencel is made in a similar method to Rayon, although the solvent used can be reclaimed, making the process significantly less polluting:
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-lyocell.htm

If you're interested in other natural fibers, why not browse back through Treehugger's past posts on :
Natural Knitting and How to green your wardrobe

Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:

• Flax
• How does hemp work?
• Hemp
• Try This Unusual Tomato Quinoa Bread Recipe