welcome to part two of our lecture on sustainable textiles in part two we're going to be talking about sustainable textiles and their properties including cotton hemp pea silk bamboo lioel Pina banana and wool we'll start with cotton cotton is of course a very popular fiber in the apparel industry in the last 80 years the total area of land used in Cotton growing has not changed but the crop output has tripled this is due to pesticides and fertilizers American and Australian cotton Industries have invested in biotechnology to try to combat the excessive use of insecticides associated with commercial cotton production but this means that most cotton grown today is genetically modified which is also considered very controversial increasing demand for cotton at competitive prices has resulted in what may be considered Mass exploitation of cotton farmers and the land upon which cotton is cultivated in addition approximately 30% of the cotton harvested and woven for production is shipped to a second country for manufacturing which increases Cotton's carbon footprint Alternatives include organically grown cotton there are a growing number of farmers moving toward organic cotton organic cotton relies on crop rotation and the use of natural enemies such as ladybugs to suppress harmful in SE rather than chemicals or other toxins organic cotton does not use genetically modified organisms but it seeks to build a biologically diverse agricultural system replenishing and maintaining the soil's fertility now right now only a small percentage of global cotton production is organic it's grown in about 20 countries and turkey is the primary producer organic cotton does not pollute and there's no over production but it is definitely more expensive to produce and it does not decrease water usage we also need to consider the fact that cotton is a dominant crop 40% of all fabric that's used in fashion is cotton so we do need to consider the widescale use of cotton as our population grows and we have issues with food security because we only have so much land that is airable and that means that land the land is farmable we need to consider whether we want to use this land for food or for fiber we want to think about increasing the biodiversity of materials and not just relying on two dominant fiber types like cotton and polyester these conditions are really important considering how much water cotton requires to grow and we're soon going to have issues with water scarcity cotton is a really thirsty crop and this is presenting problems to countries that are growing it ubekistan and Kazakhstan have areas that have been turned into desert through excessive cultivation of cotton in fact poor irrigation systems actually led to the shrinking of the RLC there's a little bit more water today in the RLC it seems to maybe be coming back or retaining a little bit better in some areas but the overall impact on the water system is still massive and it's only due to poor management of water irrigation for cotton cultivation so even though cotton is a natural fiber the amount of water that's required for it to grow is still a big issue and a big concern for places like this where irrigation may not have been designed in an optimal way and is depleting the Water Resources in these regions now let's talk about fair trade cotton is one of many cash crops it's grown for money as opposed to sustenance in the US it is the leading cash crop and the number one added value crop which has grown under written contract with the intent of receiving a premium because of its special attributes and this is an important global commodity farmers in the global South are often paid very little for their efforts in developing cotton for example in 2004 West African cotton farmers were paid 30% of the true market price for their cotton whereas us producers who received subsidies were paid 70% 53% of global cotton is government subsidized so it's no surprise then that unsubsidized countries find it difficult to trade at a fair price fair trade cotton is cotton which has met the International Fair Trade standard for the production of cotton seed which is harvested with seed and fiber attached and is therefore eligible to carry the fair trademark this is an independent product certification label that means that farmers receive a fair and stable market price as well as benefiting from longer term and more direct trading relationships cotton farmers at the bottom of the supply chain are susceptible to exploitation fair trade certification helps combat this by basing the fair trade price on the actual cost of sustainable production now this is not to be confused with ethical trading which is a business model that aims to ensure acceptable minimum labor standards are met in the supply chain for the whole company and the range of products so moving on to hemp hemp is another natural fiber that is considered to be highly sustainable hemp creates one of the most eco-friendly Fabrics in the world it requires has no pesticides it crowds out weeds without herbicides and it controls erosion of the top soil and it produces oxygen it's a renewable resource that can be cultivated in as little as 100 days and is the world's most versatile fiber hemp's tensile strength is eight times that of cotton fiber which accounts for its historic use in sales and ropes it is an exceptionally durable and strong eco-friendly fiber and fabrics made from hemp are hypoallergenic and non-irritating to the skin current tests indicate that hemp is also able to kill staff and other bacteria that come in contact with its surface hemp has the look of classic linen and depending on the fabric blend it can have the feel of flannel hemp material will also soften with age and with each washing like linen and cotton hemp is a cool choice for summer it breathes well and it's recommend recomended for warm humid climates as the fabric resists mildew and absorbs moisture this fabric will protect you from the Sun with its UV resistant qualities disadvantages to hemp are that like linen hemp wrinkles easily and can be somewhat scratchy depending on the blend so look for hemp blended with other Fabrics that give it a softer hand hemp is not color fast so the color is not very rich P silk also known as aimsa silk means nonviolence which is part of Buddhist philosophy there are two main types of aysa silk cultivated and wild or semi-domesticated most cultivated P silk is from the silk moth called the bombex Mori it is raised just like conventional cultivated silk instead of being processed with heat to kill the poopa the cocoons are allowed to hatch and breed silk is processed from the hatched cocoons in some cases the cocoons can be cut open and the poopa tipped out to avoid soiling the Cocoon with urine there's a vegetarian issue with PE silk in PE silk each fertilized female moth will lay between 200 and 1,000 eggs averaging about 500 some strains require refrigeration for the eggs to hatch without Refrigeration the embryos will die over a month or two when hat hatched they must be fed immediately or they will die of starvation and dehydration within a day this process can result in the destruction of approximately 200 to 300 embryos or hatchlings per moth another solution is wild silk where cocoons are collected from the wild allowing the poopa to fly free however wild silk is harder to produce and less available next is bamboo Bamboo is a popular fiber often associated with sustainable production bambo is grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers it requires no irrigation and it rarely needs replanting because it produces CHS bamboo grows rapidly and can be harvested in 3 to 5 years it produces 35% more oxygen than an equivalent stand of trees and it is an excellent soil erosion inhibitor there are two types of fiber that are derived from bamboo one is mechanical and the other is chemical mechanical bamboo fiber is not WI used and it's similar to linen and texture chemical bamboo fiber is produced with solvents it's a manufactured fiber bamboo used to be toted for its antibacterial properties but once processed into a solution it loses these properties the processing eliminates benefits such as these antimicrobial properties but also breathability and odor resistance the resulting fabric is rayon which is not necessarily eco-friendly the controversy Li in the processing which uses costic soda and other toxic chemicals often not in a closed loop production which lead to environmental harm tensel which is the trade name for liil hits many of the marks for sustainability it is a natural man-made fiber known for its drape its softness and its smoothness tensil or liil is made from cellulose in Wood pulp primarily from eucalyptus trees which have natural cool in properties and outstanding moisture management tensil absorbs excess liquid and quickly releases it into the atmosphere inhibiting bacterial growth this natural moisture wicking property reduces odor and the need for frequent washing fibrils tiny components in the fiber help with moisture transport tensil absorbs 50% more moisture than cotton while polyester does not absorb moisture at all tensil is very durable with high tenacity in both wet and dry States increasing the dimensional stability of the end product even in a small percentage in the yarn or fabric makes the textile durable lensing the company that developed tensil sources its wood pulp from certified and controlled sources such as sustainably managed plantations the solvents used in production are part of a closed loop process recycling them to minimize waste tensil requires less dye than cotton and the yield is six times higher than cotton with significantly lower water usage next is Pina Pina is the long fine lustrous fiber obtained from the leaves of pineapple plants typically cultivated in Hawaii the Philippines Indonesia India and the West Indies these resilient strong fibers are used for sheer silky Fabrics ropes twine and paper peanut cloth is wear resistant and easy to clean making it an ideal ECOT textile for clothing accessories and Home Design Solutions banana fibers are obtained from the banana plant after the fruit is harvested these fibers are similar to Bamboo and Ramy fibers but are finer and have better spinability banana fiber is strong has low elongation and a somewhat shin shiny appearance it's lightweight and it has good moisture absorption and release qualities it is biodegradable and eco-friendly and it can be spun using various methods okay Wool Wool is the original Eco fiber it's 100% natural it's renewable and it's biodegradable wool is naturally thermal regulating it's easy to care for it's reparable and it's durable wool production uses less energy and water than many other fibers and wools do not shed microplastics wool is part of the natural carbon cycle sequestering carbon through regenerative farming practices and acting as a fertilizer when it's disposed of and finally penex penex is a plant-based material made from Pineapple waste offering a leather-like appearance it is strong it's versatile it's breathable it's soft it's light it's flexible it's durable and it can be easily printed on stitched and cut PEX is a natural and sustainable material requiring no extra water fertilizers or pesticides for production and so that brings us to part two of our lesson on sustainability and textiles we covered various textiles considered to be sustainable or eco-friendly but we've definitely not exhausted the list there are many other fibers and textiles still being developed and I encourage you to explore more for now take a break and then come back to watch part three where we'll look at sustainability and Innovations happening in the textile industry today