Sustainable fashion

[Ahimsa]

Regarding the bamboo discussion on the last page: Bamboo fabric is usually just a viscose fabric made from bamboo pulp, and even though growing bamboo can be very sustainable, the production of viscose usually is quite polluting. I don't think viscose can ever be called organic, even when made from organic raw materials.

I also think I have read that in some jurisdictions viscose has to be labeled as viscose no matter what plant is the source of the cellulose. So even if the viscose may be made from bamboo, it might not be labeled bamboo.

Wiki can help clear this all up.
But to address the point at hand,
"The steps in the manufacturing of bamboo viscose are as follows:

1) Bamboo leaves and the soft, inner pith from the hard bamboo trunk are extracted using a steaming process and then mechanically crushed

2) The crushed bamboo is soaked in sodium hydroxide to produce cellulose. A common misconception is that sodium hydroxide is a harmful chemical. If used in a responsible manner sodium hydroxide has little known effect on the environment and health of workers. It is routinely used in the processing of organic cotton into fibre and is approved by the Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS) and the Soil Association Sodium hydroxide does not remain as a residue on clothing as it easily washes away and can be neutralised to harmless and non-toxic sodium sulphate salt. A chemical used in this step that can cause nervous system damage with chronic exposure is carbon disulfide. If handled properly there are no negative side effects for humans and environment as sulphur containing by products can easily be transformed into sulphuric acid which is needed for the spinning process.

3) The bamboo cellulose is forced through spinneret nozzles (like a sieve) into a sulphuric acid bath that hardens the solution into viscose fibre threads and neutralizes the caustic sodium hydroxide to form Glauber's salt, sodium sulphate, which is used e.g. as a filler in lessive detergents. The process is the standard viscose process. This process is also used to manufacture fibres from wood pulp.

4) The fibre threads are spun into viscose yarn and rolled onto spools. According to textile classification so called bamboo is standard viscose, abbreviation CV. It has no advantages with respect to standard viscose made from wood pulp like e.g. beech or eucalyptus.

The processing of the cellulose pulp into fibre "can" be cleaner than the processing used for conventional viscose "if" a closed loop process captures and reclaims all the solvents used in the manufacturing, though this is "not" standard practice. The resulting bamboo viscose fibre is very soft to the touch."

[ErnstLudwig]

Sheep are the species with the highest number of recorded breeds – contributing 25 percent to the global total for mammals."
And livestock account for 18% of all CO2 emissions.

http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000448/index.html

btw ratio of methane emission of sheep is way better then cattle, so it's actually better for the climate to feed on them (if u have to...)

There's a very good reason why some European countries (*cough* Scotland/Ireland *cough*) don't really have forests anymore.

Well I think all Europe lost its "natural" forests during the dark age, because a) to generate new land and b) usage as building material. Ask Iceland, the viking ships must have come from somewhere.
However most countries have been enforcing reforestation since that time (that is why it happens that a small trail divides a conifer forest from a broad-leaved forest = both types are man made). But obviously some countries simply botched.

[gavagai]

Regarding the bamboo discussion on the last page: Bamboo fabric is usually just a viscose fabric made from bamboo pulp, and even though growing bamboo can be very sustainable, the production of viscose usually is quite polluting. I don't think viscose can ever be called organic, even when made from organic raw materials.

I also think I have read that in some jurisdictions viscose has to be labeled as viscose no matter what plant is the source of the cellulose. So even if the viscose may be made from bamboo, it might not be labeled bamboo.

This is absolutely true. "BAMBOO" is extremely regulated in the US for use on packaging, hang-tags and store signage.

[Ahimsa]

btw ratio of methane emission of sheep is way better then cattle, so it's actually better for the climate to feed on them (if u have to...)



Well I think all Europe lost its "natural" forests during the dark age, because a) to generate new land and b) usage as building material. Ask Iceland, the viking ships must have come from somewhere.
However most countries have been enforcing reforestation since that time (that is why it happens that a small trail divides a conifer forest from a broad-leaved forest = both types are man made). But obviously some countries simply botched.

There's a fun and colorful chart regarding lamb here.

hey all, could someone give me some recommendations for eco-friendly faux leather fabrics? so far, i've found only this link that says it's "green", how does that one sound? otherwise i have two more links but neither is indicated as "eco": this and this for faux suede. Thanks a lot in advance!

Yes, Brentano was going to be one of my suggestions XD. For suede, you might want to try Ultraseude.

[ErnstLudwig]

There's a fun and colorful chart regarding lamb here.

I was talking about methane, since it is one of the worst climate effectors and relatively easy to quantify (btw we should stop eating rice! ).
The table looks nice but unfortunately provides me with no info. No real data assessment resulting in a usable ranking. Like which gases measured, how do they rate relative to each other, do they take into account food intake, growth rate, usable parts of the animal vs lost ones... Especially if you consider CO2 as "bad" it gets highly complex since every animal produces it.

For two gases it can look like this

http://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/pdf/4_Volume4/V4_10_Ch10_Livestock.pdf

[Ahimsa]

I was talking about methane, since it is one of the worst climate effectors and relatively easy to quantify (btw we should stop eating rice! ).
The table looks nice but unfortunately provides me with no info. No real data assessment resulting in a usable ranking. Like which gases measured, how do they rate relative to each other, do they take into account food intake, growth rate, usable parts of the animal vs lost ones... Especially if you consider CO2 as "bad" it gets highly complex since every animal produces it.

For two gases it can look like this
http://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/pub..._Livestock.pdf

I was talking about their emission as a whole not just one particular gas or byproduct. But yes, they do go into particulars, all one need do is explore. Sorry for not having posted the expounded portion. Here. If you scroll down to the bottom and click on "next section" it just keeps on going with it XD.

Is there a particular section in that pdf that you would like me to read, because I'd rather not read all of it. Not that it's not worth my time, rather that I am lazy and am really trying to finish reading a book at the moment.

[ErnstLudwig]

ah ok, they have some explanation but don't tell were the data is from. When it comes to such difficult calculations I prefer official/original scientific publications and not "filtered" info by interest groups (CleanMetrics Corp?).

We can talk about this way to long, but I would like to know how they calculate the CO2 production (sheep + cows in an airtight chamber for 24h with a defined atmosphere?).

About methane:


Factor 1.5 isn't "While beef and lamb generate comparable amounts of methane and require similar quantities of feed" especially if you say it's 25x more potent then CO2.

What I definitely can agree on is that for the climate alone cows & goats are worse then for example swine & poultry.
However cows can be used for leather (as well as sheep; pig leather is not that nice) and sheep additionally for wool. That is a form of sustainability or at least an additional "purpose" of the animals that we kill. Sheep manure can be used as a fertilizer, swine is more or less "waste"...
I'm getting at that it is highly complex and if you want to be on the save side, reduce meat overall (and stick to local "checkable" production). Less meat it good for the health anyway (0 debatable).

[Ahimsa]

Urban Zen

[Ahimsa]

^ I saw that at some point in my search, but the whole doll bit confused me as to whether or not it would look good for clothes.

[xmattyx]

Not familiar with them. I have heard of the Italian vegan shoe store Noah.

What blogs, etc. do you guys follow to keep abreast of these things?

[Ahimsa]

^Thanks for the link! I wish they had better pictures though =/

xmattyx I follow the discerning brute, gliving, and girlie girl army, but I actually get a lot of interesting ones from the alternative fashion blogs that I randomly come upon. Like I found Umasan World through dirtyflaws.

Camilla Norrback

[Ahimsa]

rilu, this piece by Viridis Luxe reminded me a lot of that knit you posted that relates to Berserk.
She mostly uses hemp and bamboo.

[Ahimsa]

^ecoterre is such a fantastic site no?
But I don't think anyone has posted about Elroy...
And wow is that pricing fantastic...and yet no men's

[Ahimsa]

Bentwood Rings

[Heirloom]

^Thanks for the link! I wish they had better pictures though =/

xmattyx I follow the discerning brute, gliving, and girlie girl army, but I actually get a lot of interesting ones from the alternative fashion blogs that I randomly come upon. Like I found Umasan World through dirtyflaws.

Camilla Norrback

Camilla Norrback aint anything bit a piece of shit. They're so self righteous about being organic and environmentally friendly, and still I see them producing things in India with fabrics of unknown origin like any other company. Just thought you should know.