Synthetic vs. Natural: Who's to blame?

Many people believe that synthetic fibers are to blame for many environmental issues in the textile industry today. However, that is not always the case. Obviously, the production of synthetic materials utilizes a lot of energy and fossil fuels, but in comparison to the production of natural materials, there is not a lot of difference. Kate Fletcher, in her book Sustainable Fashion and Textiles, states, "While there is no dispute that producing synthetic fibres impacts on people and the environment, natural fibre cultivation and processing is also high impact."

Natural fibers like cotton provide a significant threat to the health of people and the environment. The use of pesticides in the growing of cotton crops presents a significant problem. Also, the cleaning and treatment of wool uses many chemicals that can be hazardous. Synthetic fiber production causes problems in the environment by emitting gases into the air.

As you can see, there are problems with the traditional production of both synthetic and natural fibers. To say that synthetic fibers alone are a problem in the environment is entirely untrue. There is clearly a need to find better ways to produce and manufacture textiles. There are many people who are working in this area to find better alternatives; Charline Ducas from the Textile Exchange discusses many new ways in which natural fibers are beginning to be produced in more environmentally friendly processes.

In conclusion, it is not fair to solely blame synthetic textiles for our environment problems. We must realize that even if something is called natural, it may not be completely natural. We need to check and investigate the ways that they are being produced to decide which textiles are better or not.