There are two main groups of fibre materials:
● Natural fibres, using natural materials like elements derived from animals and plants.
● Chemical fibres; made from man-made materials like petroleum or biological substitutes (plants).
The following are the two key points for bio-based raw materials:
1) < Biodegradability > They degrade into water and carbon dioxide by microorganisms naturally present when buried in soil.
2) < Carbon neutrality > The idea is to offset the impact of the carbon dioxide emitted when producing or discarding textile products with the carbon dioxide absorbed as plants grow (as raw materials) to ease the overall environmental impact.
◉Cellulosic fibres:
●Rayon/Tencel/lyocell: Wood pulp used as a raw material.
●Cupro: The fibre around the cotton seeds known as <cotton linter> is used as a raw material.
●Acetate/Triacetate: Mainly made from the raw material of wood pulp, this cellulosic fibre, produced by a chemical reaction with acetic acid, is also known as a ‘semi-synthetic fibre’.
◉Plant-derived synthetics:
●Polylactic acid/PLA fibres: The fibres are made by spinning yarns of polylactic acid, which originates from lactic acid using fermented starch of corn, sugar cane and potatoes. A single t-shirt can be made from two sugar canes and is biodegradable. In other words, it decomposes into water and carbon dioxide when buried in soil, due to hydrolysis and a bacterial enzymatic rereaction.
●Bio-based polyester: Polyester, a textile produced in bulk, remains a material in focus, with each manufacturer striving to make various approaches. This includes generating ethylene glycol (which is partly polyester-based) from plants, to produce polyester using 30% plant-derived raw material as a step towards independence from fossil resources.