I'm a mechanic. I've been wearing company-provided uniforms (Cintas, Uni-First, Aramark etc) for a few decades. I will say that the 65% polyester, 35% cotton (with the obligatory hi-vis yellow stripes) uniforms are absolutely terrible. They don't breathe, they don't absorb anything other than petroleum products and make summers miserable. Apologies for this random old guy coming in from right field, but the subject of this video hit close to home. Cotton, though produced through questionable means, would be a gift from the gods for mechanics everywhere.
I'm so sad that hemp is not used more: It's versatile (paper/paperlike products, textile, milk, food (seeds), fuel, insolation, apparently even plastic and paint? (and w33d but i say that jokingly)) it grows crazy fast (2-3 months vs 20-30 years for trees (paper), 5 months for cotton and 7-10 years for bamboo) it's natural I believe it can easily grow in most parts of the world / most climate there's little to no reason to not use hemp more
I prefer to avoid animal parts (and I’m allergic to wool) in my fabrics but I prefer natural fabrics. It’s rough. It feels kinda hopeless when almost everything is made of plastic. I also have sensitive skin like you. Thanks for sharing this information though! It’s not impossible but it’s definitely not easy. Hemp fabric can be really lovely. Hemp is pretty diverse.
I am a huge natural fiber stan thanks to my work with historical fashion, and it's great to have a clear breakdown of the difference between fibers! I actually didn't know that natural fibers are hollow in the middle. That's SO COOL! Now if only my organization would stop making us wear polyester uniforms...
I really appreciate you also addressing the downsides of cotton, I feel like that is a lot less talked about in sustainability corners and I think it's important to have the whole picture! Seems like linen is taking off during summers recently, at least here in Norway.
It's depressing videos like this that are actually useful and full of good information. There's plenty of sad stuff out there that isnt helpful, but this one adds some clarity to a complicated topic that we all should be aware of.
I'd be happy to see a vid of yours in my feed any day, but today this was exactly the video I needed. I was literally just discussing this with my mother!
Although you're right about "free labour" being a major reason cotton is popular I think it's also a self-reinforcing problem. In replacing linen as the main warm weather fabric it also influence the designs of our clothing, and I don't think most people would think a wrinkly linen t-shirt looks good. Another point worth addressing is water-repellancy. Although some natural fibres are a little water resistant none are fully waterproof and if you make them waterproof with oils/wax then you can't put them in a washing machine any more (and they're always at least a little tacky). So synthetic waterproof garments are the only realistic option for most people.
This was such an illuminating video! I’ve been interested in learning more about the natural vs synthetic fiber issue for a while. Although I try to almost exclusively buy secondhand at this point, I appreciate your mention of how nuanced this topic can be as well. Thank you for sharing this with us!
this video is so helpful, thank you!! i vaguely knew of a lot of this (particularly regarding how cotton has a lot of downsides, too) but it's good to be reminded Why (and more about recycled polyester, too!) i've been trying to avoid polyester for mostly sensory issues (too hot AND too cold!! a lot of it feels strange to me, sounds strange when i move, and often looks a bit shiny, which i don't often like...?). I wish i liked linen more, but i also dislike how easily it wrinkles!! i wish i was more fine with it!! I wish i could thrift more, but my taste in clothing has gotten... more particular than when i was a teenager, and it's also become in some ways harder to do so since then, as a plus size person, and with the rise in resellers on the likes of depop. It feels harder to find cute things at a price i can afford, or at a reasonable price (bc i'm bitter and won't buy something i can clearly tell was bought cheap to sell for an extortionate price LMAO)
Thank you for this video! Really informative. I've recently started focusing on slowly replacing my polyester clothes (when they wear out) with items made from natural fibers where possible and it had made a HUGE difference in my life. I am a very heat sensitive person and I didnt realize it, but my polyester clothes were contributing to my migraine problem as overheating is a trigger.
Almost all of the clothing I own is made of cotton or linen, since they are more comfortable to wear in Florida. Cotton is my favorite textile, especially the garments that feel like bed sheets. In my experience, high-quality cotton clothing wears and washes durably, making it easier to purchase second-hand cotton clothing that still has a lot of good years left. Plastic microfiber shedding is the main reason I cannot comfortably purchase/own/wear/wash synthetic clothing. Avoiding commodities made from animal bodies is really easy, they're always unethical! ❤
Since I started sewing my own clothes I have become more aware of synthetic fibers. Most vintage linens or fabric is cotton, or has a higher percentage of cotton. Compared to clothes I have owned for years, they are much more breathable and easier to wear. However, I will admit I do still use thrifted polyester fabrics. I'd rather see the ones already made be used rather than going to the landfill.
This has so much valuable information and is so well explained to me as somebody who doesn't know a whole lot about fabric fibers. TYSM for making this video!
Thank you for such a great, informational video. Really appreciate the down-to-earth breakdowns of pros/cons with synthetic vs natural, and I learned a lot from this. Real talk here.
This is a very good video. I really like the comment you made at the end, along the lines of, "The most sustainable clothing is the stuff you already own," which is not a direct quote, but close enough. My s-i-l and I go round and round with this, with her on the side of changing out the majority of her wardrobe yearly to keep up with fashion, and me who likes more classic styles, and will wear something until it doesn't look nice anymore, but then turn it into something else, like a quilt, doll clothes, or hell, just plain dust cloths. I hate throwing clothes away. Or if I get tired of it, but IT STILL LOOKS GOOD, then it gets donated.
I’ve become kind of obsessed with linen and hemp since I switched to all natural fibers. It’s so much more comfortable than everything else. But I wish there was a natural elastic fabric for athleisure.
I think the one big synthetic fiber that I am never going to touch again is pleather. Every pleather item that falls into my hands starts peeling and falling apart like clockwork. Purses especially! Boots last a little longer, but inevitably they peel too. It if was real leather peeling, it'd just be annoying, but pleather is extra wince-worthy because it's plastic that's shedding off into the world around me.
I'm a super fan of especially wool and linnen, and make efforts to source as many pieces of clothing second hand. Wool and linnen are such a great combo during cold weather, and linnen on its own it's wonderful during summer.
I have sensory issues and natural fiber is the only way to keep me from going into a full on overheated meltdown. Even if a synthetic could in theory provide reasonable ventilation, it still feels like claustrophobic plastic on my skin.
Also if you have synthetic fabrics and a washing machine there are filters you can buy for washing machines to catch the excess fibers to prevent them from running into the water supply
I knit and crochet and I thought the wool girlies were bullshitting me with this expensive-ass fiber but after I started using it I don't think I can go back...I am a certified Sweaty Bitch and wool is just so perfect and breathable. We've been played boys our ancestors actually knew what the f they were doing
Peace silk is worse for several reasons. First of all, because it is gathered after the moths emerge from their cocoons, the silk itself is of a lower quality. All considered that might not be that bad, HOWEVER - when the moths hatch they’re released into the wild. The thing is, silk moths have been domesticated. They no longer belong in the wild and have no place in the ecosystems they’re released into. While they’re alive, they quickly devastate plant life. They die pretty quickly because, again, they’re domesticated and don’t belong in the wild. Despite the promise of peace silk claiming the moths can live out their lifespan after hatching, they’re quickly picked off by predators. Their presence is incredibly disruptive to the natural flow of wild ecosystems, as they’ve become an invasive species. Even though it may seem cruel to kill the silk moths for regular production, the ecological disaster peace silk produces is actually far more cruel.
@TheStitchess damn I didn't even consider that... yeah stopping any kind of keeping of livestock would require. Idk. A lot of logistics on where they would go... and especially because moths only cocoon once. Personally I'm waiting for manmade spider silk to become more available. Filament fibers are really pretty and unique so it sucks that rn there aren't a lot of ecofriendly types of it
@@straberryshinigami15g97 weird take... what do you want people to do w all the moth eggs then? Peace silk just takes the cocoons, the predators are the ones killing them in that case not us
If we are using a product's shady history as a reason to avoid it then we should also avoid tobacco, sugar, cocoa, and other products associated with this era.
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #1 НАЧАЛО ПУТЕШЕСТВИЯ [Новый сезон] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/380Q7gLWGvk/mqdefault.jpg)
I'm a mechanic. I've been wearing company-provided uniforms (Cintas, Uni-First, Aramark etc) for a few decades. I will say that the 65% polyester, 35% cotton (with the obligatory hi-vis yellow stripes) uniforms are absolutely terrible. They don't breathe, they don't absorb anything other than petroleum products and make summers miserable. Apologies for this random old guy coming in from right field, but the subject of this video hit close to home. Cotton, though produced through questionable means, would be a gift from the gods for mechanics everywhere.
I have always felt SO SORRY for people in those uniforms. I just couldn't do it. I feel for you!
I'm so sad that hemp is not used more:
It's versatile (paper/paperlike products, textile, milk, food (seeds), fuel, insolation, apparently even plastic and paint? (and w33d but i say that jokingly))
it grows crazy fast (2-3 months vs 20-30 years for trees (paper), 5 months for cotton and 7-10 years for bamboo)
it's natural
I believe it can easily grow in most parts of the world / most climate
there's little to no reason to not use hemp more
I prefer to avoid animal parts (and I’m allergic to wool) in my fabrics but I prefer natural fabrics. It’s rough. It feels kinda hopeless when almost everything is made of plastic. I also have sensitive skin like you. Thanks for sharing this information though! It’s not impossible but it’s definitely not easy. Hemp fabric can be really lovely. Hemp is pretty diverse.
Hemp is such a good fabric, but so hard to find!
I am a huge natural fiber stan thanks to my work with historical fashion, and it's great to have a clear breakdown of the difference between fibers! I actually didn't know that natural fibers are hollow in the middle. That's SO COOL! Now if only my organization would stop making us wear polyester uniforms...
I wish linen was more accessible cause it's so good. It takes more to process it than cotton but less water and lasts way longer
I really appreciate you also addressing the downsides of cotton, I feel like that is a lot less talked about in sustainability corners and I think it's important to have the whole picture!
Seems like linen is taking off during summers recently, at least here in Norway.
It's depressing videos like this that are actually useful and full of good information. There's plenty of sad stuff out there that isnt helpful, but this one adds some clarity to a complicated topic that we all should be aware of.
I'd be happy to see a vid of yours in my feed any day, but today this was exactly the video I needed. I was literally just discussing this with my mother!
Although you're right about "free labour" being a major reason cotton is popular I think it's also a self-reinforcing problem. In replacing linen as the main warm weather fabric it also influence the designs of our clothing, and I don't think most people would think a wrinkly linen t-shirt looks good.
Another point worth addressing is water-repellancy. Although some natural fibres are a little water resistant none are fully waterproof and if you make them waterproof with oils/wax then you can't put them in a washing machine any more (and they're always at least a little tacky). So synthetic waterproof garments are the only realistic option for most people.
i kind of hate the cotton water debate because they always use clean drinking water to compare it to and that's not necessarily what we have to use
This was such an illuminating video! I’ve been interested in learning more about the natural vs synthetic fiber issue for a while. Although I try to almost exclusively buy secondhand at this point, I appreciate your mention of how nuanced this topic can be as well. Thank you for sharing this with us!
this video is so helpful, thank you!! i vaguely knew of a lot of this (particularly regarding how cotton has a lot of downsides, too) but it's good to be reminded Why (and more about recycled polyester, too!)
i've been trying to avoid polyester for mostly sensory issues (too hot AND too cold!! a lot of it feels strange to me, sounds strange when i move, and often looks a bit shiny, which i don't often like...?). I wish i liked linen more, but i also dislike how easily it wrinkles!! i wish i was more fine with it!!
I wish i could thrift more, but my taste in clothing has gotten... more particular than when i was a teenager, and it's also become in some ways harder to do so since then, as a plus size person, and with the rise in resellers on the likes of depop. It feels harder to find cute things at a price i can afford, or at a reasonable price (bc i'm bitter and won't buy something i can clearly tell was bought cheap to sell for an extortionate price LMAO)
Thank you for this video! Really informative. I've recently started focusing on slowly replacing my polyester clothes (when they wear out) with items made from natural fibers where possible and it had made a HUGE difference in my life. I am a very heat sensitive person and I didnt realize it, but my polyester clothes were contributing to my migraine problem as overheating is a trigger.
Almost all of the clothing I own is made of cotton or linen, since they are more comfortable to wear in Florida. Cotton is my favorite textile, especially the garments that feel like bed sheets. In my experience, high-quality cotton clothing wears and washes durably, making it easier to purchase second-hand cotton clothing that still has a lot of good years left. Plastic microfiber shedding is the main reason I cannot comfortably purchase/own/wear/wash synthetic clothing. Avoiding commodities made from animal bodies is really easy, they're always unethical! ❤
Since I started sewing my own clothes I have become more aware of synthetic fibers. Most vintage linens or fabric is cotton, or has a higher percentage of cotton. Compared to clothes I have owned for years, they are much more breathable and easier to wear. However, I will admit I do still use thrifted polyester fabrics. I'd rather see the ones already made be used rather than going to the landfill.
I think you are the youtuber I am most excited to see upload.
This has so much valuable information and is so well explained to me as somebody who doesn't know a whole lot about fabric fibers. TYSM for making this video!
Great video. Thank you.
Thank you for such a great, informational video. Really appreciate the down-to-earth breakdowns of pros/cons with synthetic vs natural, and I learned a lot from this. Real talk here.
Thank you for sharing this information in such a clear and compact format.
♥️
This is a very good video. I really like the comment you made at the end, along the lines of, "The most sustainable clothing is the stuff you already own," which is not a direct quote, but close enough. My s-i-l and I go round and round with this, with her on the side of changing out the majority of her wardrobe yearly to keep up with fashion, and me who likes more classic styles, and will wear something until it doesn't look nice anymore, but then turn it into something else, like a quilt, doll clothes, or hell, just plain dust cloths. I hate throwing clothes away. Or if I get tired of it, but IT STILL LOOKS GOOD, then it gets donated.
I’ve become kind of obsessed with linen and hemp since I switched to all natural fibers. It’s so much more comfortable than everything else. But I wish there was a natural elastic fabric for athleisure.
I think the one big synthetic fiber that I am never going to touch again is pleather. Every pleather item that falls into my hands starts peeling and falling apart like clockwork. Purses especially! Boots last a little longer, but inevitably they peel too. It if was real leather peeling, it'd just be annoying, but pleather is extra wince-worthy because it's plastic that's shedding off into the world around me.
huhhhh I did not know that, thank you for educating us. I will look out for the materials when I need new clothing :)
I'm a super fan of especially wool and linnen, and make efforts to source as many pieces of clothing second hand. Wool and linnen are such a great combo during cold weather, and linnen on its own it's wonderful during summer.
I have sensory issues and natural fiber is the only way to keep me from going into a full on overheated meltdown. Even if a synthetic could in theory provide reasonable ventilation, it still feels like claustrophobic plastic on my skin.
I want to convert my wardrobe to all natural fibers, but it seems that almost all, if not all, workout clothes are synthetic
Please make more fashion videos!!! I love this type of content
I wish I weren’t allergic to hemp. I would wear it a lot!
I’ve never actually heard of anyone being allergic to hemp 😮 that’s unfortunate!
Also if you have synthetic fabrics and a washing machine there are filters you can buy for washing machines to catch the excess fibers to prevent them from running into the water supply
Really neat video! Thank you! ❤
Excellent video!
love this educational video!!
I knit and crochet and I thought the wool girlies were bullshitting me with this expensive-ass fiber but after I started using it I don't think I can go back...I am a certified Sweaty Bitch and wool is just so perfect and breathable. We've been played boys our ancestors actually knew what the f they were doing
peace silk is worse? is that because it takes more labor or something?
Peace silk is worse for several reasons. First of all, because it is gathered after the moths emerge from their cocoons, the silk itself is of a lower quality. All considered that might not be that bad, HOWEVER - when the moths hatch they’re released into the wild. The thing is, silk moths have been domesticated. They no longer belong in the wild and have no place in the ecosystems they’re released into. While they’re alive, they quickly devastate plant life. They die pretty quickly because, again, they’re domesticated and don’t belong in the wild. Despite the promise of peace silk claiming the moths can live out their lifespan after hatching, they’re quickly picked off by predators. Their presence is incredibly disruptive to the natural flow of wild ecosystems, as they’ve become an invasive species.
Even though it may seem cruel to kill the silk moths for regular production, the ecological disaster peace silk produces is actually far more cruel.
How about no silk?
why would we needlessly kill a being that doesn’t want to die?
It’s cruel either way
@TheStitchess damn I didn't even consider that... yeah stopping any kind of keeping of livestock would require. Idk. A lot of logistics on where they would go... and especially because moths only cocoon once. Personally I'm waiting for manmade spider silk to become more available. Filament fibers are really pretty and unique so it sucks that rn there aren't a lot of ecofriendly types of it
@@straberryshinigami15g97 weird take... what do you want people to do w all the moth eggs then? Peace silk just takes the cocoons, the predators are the ones killing them in that case not us
My sustainable journey consists of me being poor.
Don't wear nylon or acrylic
Don't buy polyester
If we are using a product's shady history as a reason to avoid it then we should also avoid tobacco, sugar, cocoa, and other products associated with this era.
I can’t tell if you’re being serious but yeah we should stop buying those products especially if their “shady history” is their current reality