Deforestation & The Fashion Industry

We often hear about the climate footprint of different clothes and materials, but there’s another important impact to consider too, the deforestation footprint of fashion. Ancient forests are still being destroyed for the sake of fashion, at the expense of endangered animals, native plants, indigenous communities, and our climate. However, not all materials have such a high cost, so which ones do we need to be aware of?

Forests are often thought of as the ‘lungs of the Earth’. They help ensure the air we breathe, and the water we drink is clean, they are home to a biodiverse array of plant and animal life, and they even help us to combat the climate crisis – securely storing carbon inside of them. 

Rainforest Trust suggests that protecting just one acre of forest from destruction helps to keep as much as 400 metric tons of carbon equivalent emissions stored and unable to further wreak havoc on our climate. 

Yet, despite the irreplaceable significance and beauty of these natural places, the fashion industry is destroying them. But how, and for what materials?

Clothing made from decimated ancient forests

According to non-profit Canopy, more than 200 million trees are logged each year to be transformed into cellulosic fabrics like viscose and rayon. The organization notes that if these trees were placed end-to-end, they would circle our planet seven times. 

Unfortunately, many people aren’t aware that viscose and rayon are even made of trees, let alone trees from old-growth forests – those which are at least 120 years old but often even centuries older. This is an environmental disaster, as Canopy also states that less than 20% of the Earth’s ancient forests remain in intact tracts large enough to maintain biological diversity, which supports wildlife. Meanwhile, it’s also estimated that up to 30% of the viscose and rayon used in the fashion industry is made from endangered and ancient forests which once were home to native plants and animals. Often, even if it’s not old forests being cut down but trees planted specifically for harvest, old-growth forest is still cut down in order to make space for the monoculture of planted trees.

Leather: destroying the Amazon rainforest

By now, you might have come across a headline noting the link between deforestation in the rainforest of Amazonia and cattle ranching. This is because cattle ranching, which exists to sell cattle to slaughterhouses to produce and sell beef and leather, is responsible for 80% of destruction in the Amazon.

A significant amount of this harm is done illegally, with fires being set in order to burn forest and make space for cattle to graze, but other land is harmfully cleared for the same purpose legally, too.

Shockingly, recent research from environmental organization Stand.earth found a massive number of luxury and mainstream brands – including Adidas, Reebok, Camper, Nike, Puma, H&M, Zara, Gap, River Island, Coach, Calvin Klein, Prada and many more – have multiple ties to deforestation in the Amazon, because of their leather bags, shoes, wallets and accessories. Even brands using Leather Working Group certified leather were implicated. 

While Indigenous advocates from Amazonia deplore the fashion industry for their terrible mistreatment of such a precious land, Indigenous communities around other parts of the world combat massive land clearing for leather – a highly profitable co-product of beef production – too. 

In Queensland in Australia, for example, over 90% of deforestation is due to cattle ranching, as well as sheep farming. Native animals like koalas, considered vulnerable to extinction, have their habitat destroyed, with 50 million native animals dying each year due to habitat destruction. Skins of cattle and sheep grazing once rich and natural land are sold to the fashion industry for a great profit. 

It’s not just leather, all animal-derived materials are land hungry

A large part of the reason that leather production results in so much land clearing, is because the animal industrial complex which raises all farmed animals is inefficient and wasteful – putting more into the system than the system produces.

More agricultural land is used for animal production than anything else. Half of all habitable land on the planet is used for agriculture, and 77% of that is used to raise animals for slaughter and grow crops for those animals to eat. 

So how does this impact fashion? We can produce far more cotton or hemp than we can wool on the same amount of land – did you know that producing one bale of Australian wool (where most wool is from) instead of cotton requires 367 times more land? Alpaca’s wool and cashmere are similarly land-inefficient. 

We can also produce far more pineapples to feed people and create leather alternative materials than we can leather from cow skins on the same land. The same can be said of cacti used as the building block of another leather alternative, and cork bark – also used in place of leather and stripped from trees in a process that allows the living tree to sequester more carbon. 

So how do we protect forests when we get dressed?

The first and most important thing we can do to protect precious forests when we get dressed is to consider them at all – so asking this question is a great start. When we are more aware of the potential impact our wardrobes have on the planet and those living on it, we are able to make more informed and less harmful decisions. 

Suppose you’re seeking to ensure your wardrobe has a low deforestation footprint and protects native land by using efficiently produced materials. In that case, it’s best to choose some of the many wonderful alternatives to leather and avoid all viscose and rayon that is not certified to come from trees planted specifically for the material’s production, on land which hasn’t been decimated for production. Fortunately, there are plenty of great alternatives to these materials, made in supply chains that are both similar and entirely different – more sustainable – at the same time. 

A great alternative to rayon is this EcoVero fabric from Brava

What are some forest-friendly alternatives to viscose and rayon

Tencel

Tencel is a lyocell material – a cellulosic material similar to rayon, with some major differences. Tencel is made from fast-growing Eucalyptus trees grown specifically to create the material, without any biodiverse forest risk involved. Forest protection organization Canopy gives the company producing Tencel it’s highest rating category possible. Tencel is also made in a closed-loop, meaning that the substances used to create it are recycled and not sent out into waterways.

Ecovero

Ecovero is made by the same company which created Tencel, Lenzing. Ecovero is still actually a viscose material, but it is made from ‘certified renewable wood sources using an eco-responsible production process by meeting high environmental standards’. The material has been awarded the EU Ecolabel and is manufactured with up to 50% fewer emissions and water impact than generic viscose.

Recycled, post-consumer materials

Every second around the globe, a garbage truck full of textiles and clothing is sent to landfill. This disturbing amount of waste is due to the ever-quickening pace of our fast fashion industry, which too often is no longer selling clothes designed to last and be loved. 

With so many textiles currently being discarded, why do we continue to make more new material? Again, non-profit Canopy suggests we needn’t: ‘all 6.5 million tonnes of viscose being produced this year could be made using only 25% of the world’s wasted and discarded cotton and viscose fabrics, thereby saving forests, reducing municipal and industrial waste to landfills, and reducing carbon emissions, energy, and water use.’

More and more brands are beginning to use materials made from old materials, which is a wonderful thing. 

Cactus Leather from Allegorie

Which leather alternatives are best for forests and the rest of the planet?

Desserto cactus leather

This leather alternative is quickly becoming more widely available and is made up largely of cacti grown in Mexico, where its makers support natural biodiversity. No trees are cut down for the cacti plantation. The material is made by turning the cacti into a dried powder, which is backed onto a woven (sometimes recycled) material, which is then coated with polyurethane. It’s not totally perfect, but it’s one of the best and most sustainable choices that is available at the moment. 

Piñatex

This pineapple leaf alternative to leather is 95% biodegradable and uses the leaves on a pineapple plant that are otherwise simply discarded. This means no additional land is needed for the production of the material, which is then coated with a bio-based resin for longevity. 

Cork

Cork leather is a really great option for those who want their bags and wallets to be biodegradable, water-resistant and eco-friendly. Able to be embossed to mimic the patterns of crocodiles and snakes, cork trees are harvested of their bark every few years while the trees continue to grow – largely across Portugal. 

Hemp Shirt from Patagonia

What are some low-land impact alternatives to wool?

Hemp

Hemp is a much-loved material in the sustainable fashion community, and for good reason. Extremely land efficient because of how densely this plant grows, hemp can be grown without pesticides and minimal water if sustainable agriculture is practiced. This bast fiber is often blended with organic cotton to make it more cosy to rug up in. 

Sustainably sourced cotton

There are a lot of unsustainable and unethical sources of cotton – which can degrade land and drink up too much water – but too, there are plenty of great sources of it! Certified organic cotton, recycled cotton, and sustainably grown cotton like Good Earth Cotton are all wonderful options which are used to make knitwear. 

Bamboo lyocell

Similar to Tencel (which is also a good alternative), bamboo lyocell is produced in a closed-loop. Bamboo can be cut down while it continues to grow, and it grows at a rapid pace. What’s more, it can be grown without pesticides. It’s important to opt for bamboo lyocell rather than rayon because it is more sustainable, and this material is great for knitted garments that are breathable and soft. 

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About the Author

Emma Håkansson is the founder and director of Collective Fashion Justice which seeks to create a total ethics fashion system that prioritizes the life and wellbeing of non-human & human animals, as well as the planet, before profit & production. She has written countless articles on ethics, sustainability, and fashion, and has two books due out over the next two years.

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Sustainable Vegan Knitwear You Will Love

Getting rugged up and feeling cozy amongst the cold of winter and other cooler seasons is such a simple pleasure. While often we might not think of our knitwear choices beyond what it looks like, how it feels, and if it will keep us warm, there are environmental and ethical considerations worth making whenever we buy new clothes. For the sake of the planet, as well as human and non-human animals, sustainable vegan knits are great to seek out.

What can make knitwear unsustainable?

If we’re wanting knitwear that warms us up, while not contributing to the warming of our planet, there are a few things we can do. Before we even talk about material choice, it’s important that we think about how often we purchase knitwear. Even the most sustainably made knitwear can become unsustainable if we don't really want it, and it ends up going to waste. 

Before buying any new piece of clothing it’s worth asking ourselves some questions, like, ‘do I really need this?’, ‘can I see myself wearing this hundreds of times, over years to come?’, ‘is this well made?’, ‘is this a timeless piece, or will it fall out of fashion quickly?’, and ‘do I absolutely love this?’.

If we ask ourselves these questions, we’re likely to slow down our clothing consumption, only buying things that we adore. This is a great win for the planet, as, across the globe, we consume 400% more clothing than we did just two decades ago, and globally, equal to one garbage truck full of clothing and textiles heads to landfill every single second.

Once we’ve made sure we’re being conscious about our knitwear purchases and how we make them, it’s a good idea to think about materials.

Why avoid synthetic knitwear?

As the fashion industry has sped up, we’ve seen the rise of synthetic fibers like nylon, acrylic and polyester. It’s worth avoiding knitwear made from these synthetic materials, including knitwear made with a blend of these materials (because organic cotton or wool knitwear isn’t going to biodegrade if blended with plastic) for a few reasons. First, while plastic fibers don’t biodegrade, returning to the earth, they do break down into tiny pieces. These microfibers can wreak havoc on already fragile ecosystems, including our oceans. There are more than 500 times more microplastic particles in the ocean than stars in our galaxy. These particles end up inside fish, marine mammals, and birds and make their way into almost all parts of the planet as they wash up on beaches and are even eaten by people. When it comes to knitwear, if you ever wash a synthetic sweater, it will shed these microplastic fibers, contributing to this problem.

What’s more, the production and sale of synthetic fibers like polyester and acrylic funds the fossil fuel industry – as these materials are made of said fossil fuels. Did you know that producing polyester, which made up 52% of all fibers produced in 2020, alongside other synthetics, means using an estimated 342 million barrels of oil each year? We need to be transitioning away from this industry entirely, not supporting it. 

Is wool knitwear sustainable since it’s biodegradable?

Often, once people learn about the environmental devastation associated with synthetic knitwear, they will instead consider opting for knitwear made from sheep’s wool, or alpaca wool, cashmere, and so on. But is this the sustainable choice that it might first seem to be?

While it's true that (so long as animal hair isn't treated or dyed with substances that render it non-biodegradable) these materials do decompose, there's much more to material sustainability than this factor alone. The animal agricultural systems that produce these materials are hugely harmful to the environment, particularly when considering greenhouse gas emissions and land clearing. 

The United Nations recognises the farming of animals as one of today's 'most serious environmental problems', which must be remedied with 'urgent action'. This isn't surprising, considering how much methane systems rearing animals, including sheep, alpacas, and goats, release. Higg's Material Sustainability Index shows that alpaca and sheep's wool are the most climate impactful materials to produce, only after silk. In fact, did you know that if you chose an Australian wool knit sweater over one made from Australian cotton, that choice would emit about 27 times more carbon equivalent emissions

Animal agriculture is also extremely land inefficient, with far more land needed to rear animals than to grow cotton, hemp, or other plant-based fibers (not to mention the benefits of recycled materials!). Given that forests, trees, and natural green landscapes can sequester so much carbon, this is also a climate issue. Using land for animal agriculture comes with a 'carbon opportunity cost', and if we transitioned to an entirely plant-based agricultural system by 2050, we could sequester 99-163% of our carbon emission budget to 1.5 C through rewilding of currently cleared land used for animal agriculture! If you're wondering how that works, consider that producing a bale of Australian wool requires 367 times more land than is needed for a bale of Australian cotton – and hemp is considered to be even more land efficient. 

Are all plant-based knitwear materials sustainable?

Given both synthetic and animal-derived yarn used to produce knitwear come with serious environmental harms, it’s worth looking into plant-based materials. Unfortunately, not all plant-based materials are sustainable – let’s talk about conventional cotton.

Conventional cotton is often made in a very thirsty system, requiring significant amounts of freshwater to be used. Then, too, pesticides and fertilizer, which often run off farms and into waterways that are polluted and eutrophied – sometimes leading to dead zones – are often mismanaged and over-used in conventional cotton systems. These are all significant reasons to seek better alternatives. 

Fortunately, not all cotton is grown equally, and it can be grown sustainably. Often, certified organic cotton is a great and sustainable choice. Some systems and countries have developed more sustainable production methods, and Australian cotton has come far in recent years. But, of course, recycled cotton is the most sustainable choice, making use of something which already exists, rather than requiring more resources to be made. 

Other materials like hemp and lyocell produced in a closed-loop like Tencel, and blends of these, can be really sustainable options worth seeking out. 

Is all knitwear ethical?

Of course, sustainability in fashion isn’t only about the direct impact that materials have on the planet. We cannot sustain injustice on this planet either, and so we need to think about the ethics of how our knitwear is produced.

Another reason to consider the materials used in knitwear more carefully is because of the individuals who are harmed in the making of some fibers. For example, if cotton isn’t certified to be made fairly, it is far too often grown and picked by children, people forced to work, and even people working in modern slavery conditions. Fortunately, ethical cotton and other plant-based materials exist. 

Too, animal-derived materials don’t only have a harmful environmental impact, but their production harms animals. Not only are sheep often treated with extreme cruelty on farms and during shearing, but the wool industry is a slaughter industry, and sheep are killed when they are no longer of financial value because their wool quality has degraded as they age. This happens about halfway into their natural lifespan and is a practice across the alpaca wool and cashmere industries. 

What’s more, even if an ethical and sustainable material has been used to produce knitwear, the knitwear itself won’t be ethical if it is knitted and sewn by a garment worker who is mistreated. Today, a shocking 98% of garment workers are paid a poverty wage, and exploitation and abuse are far too common in the industry full of people – largely women of colour – who make our clothes. 

With all of this being said, buying knitwear might begin to feel impossible! But don’t worry, there are plenty of wonderful brands out there making knitwear that is good for the planet, people and animals. 

1) Willow and Claude

This brand isn’t so much a brand, but a project from Collective Fashion Justice, a non-profit working to create a total ethics fashion system. Named after two rescued sheep, the project is made up of a collection of 100% Australian, sustainably grown and ethically made cotton knitwear – turtlenecks, scarves and crewneck sweaters – and an award-winning short film which explores the environmental and ethical issues of knitwear production, and a kinder alternative to these existing systems. 

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2) Afends

This Australian brand grows its own hemp and offers beanies, knit sweaters, and other garments made from the planet, as well as from recycled and organic cotton.

The brand also provides details on how much better for the environment their hemp products are compared to others made across the fashion industry. 

use code SUSTAINABLYCHIC15 for 15% off full-priced items

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3) Will’s Vegan Store

Another brand offering both feminine and masculine styles is UK-based Will’s. Ethically made across Europe, the knitwear selection is largely made of recycled materials, like recycled cotton, as well as recycled post-consumer polyester, made from recycled clothing. If opting for a recycled synthetic garment, it’s worth considering a Guppyfriend or other microfiber catching bag to use in your washing machine. 

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4) Kowtow

This gorgeous, New Zealand based brand offers a wide selection of knitwear like cardigans, crew neck sweaters, scarves, beanies and turtlenecks which are made ethically from certified organic and fair trade cotton. The cotton is dyed sustainably, and the knits feel weighty and luxurious. 

Make sure to check the product details, as this brand also sells some wool.

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5) Kordal Studio

This beautiful label offers sweaters which are hand-knitted ethically in Peru, and botanically dyed.

While not all of the brand’s selected fibers are sustainable, Kordal offers a divine selection of organic cotton pieces like fisherman style sweaters, cardigans, and even knitted pants.

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6) ArmedAngels

Offering styles for both men and women, ArmedAngels is a fairly made German brand which uses some excellent materials in their knitwear collections.

Through the site, you can set a specific ‘vegan’ search, and find knitted dresses, vests, jackets, sweaters, cardigans and more, made from materials like organic cotton and Tencel.

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About the Author
Emma Håkansson is the founder and director of Collective Fashion Justice which seeks to create a total ethics fashion system that prioritizes the life and wellbeing of non-human & human animals, as well as the planet, before profit & production. She has written countless articles on ethics, sustainability, and fashion, and has two books due out over the next two years.

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Image: Allegorie

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What is Apple Leather?

Apple leather is a vegan leather-like material that is completely free from animals, making it the perfect material for anyone who particularly loves cute, fluffy cows. The material was developed by Frumat and is made by Mabel, an Italian manufacturer. Relatively new, the material, which is officially named Apple Skin, was first made into bags in 2019.

How is apple leather made?

Apple leather is a bio-based material, meaning that it is partly biological: natural, organic. In the Tyrol region of northern Italy, an enormous amount of apples are grown. These apples are pulverised into delicious juice, and made into jams. When making juice or jam, the seeds, stalks and skins of apples can’t be used. Before apple leather came to be, these ‘left-overs’ were simply discarded, unuseable by the industry.

Today, Frumat collects these otherwise wasted fruit scraps and turns them into a fashionable material. The left-overs, like the apples turned to juice, are crushed, and then naturally dried into a fine powder. This powder is blended with a kind of resin that is, essentially, dried and laid flat into a final material -- apple leather. 

Up to 50% of the final material is apples, and the remaining material is the resin, which basically coats and holds together the powder. This resin is what makes up conventional synthetic leather, and it’s called polyurethane. 

Is apple leather sustainable?

Apple leather is half synthetic, half bio-based, so is it sustainable? When we consider this, it’s important to understand the environmental impact of other comparable materials. According to data from the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), the most common leather, cow skin leather, is the third most negatively impactful material to produce. This is the case according to SAC’s index, which considers climate, water scarcity, fossil fuel use, eutrophication, and chemistry. It might be surprising, but even polyurethane synthetic leather has less than half that impact.

As a fully synthetic, fossil fuel-derived material, polyurethane synthetic leather is less sustainable than apple leather, even if it is less impactful to produce than cow skin leather. It’s a spectrum of sustainability. Apple skin leather is the most eco-friendly of these, partly because it requires fewer fossil fuels than both animal and purely synthetic leather. That’s always a good thing, considering the terrible impact mining for fossil fuels has on our warming planet.

Apple skin also has the added benefit of making use of fruit material that would otherwise be wasted. The same could be said for animal skins in the meat industry; however, we know that animal skins are highly valuable to this slaughtering system, and that raising cattle is extremely harmful because of the greenhouse gas emissions and land degradation associated with it. Comparatively, apple production is far less harmful, so it is a better industry to fund and make material from. 

Image: Allegorie

Apple leather and ethics

When we consider sustainability, we should also consider ethics. Sustainability simply means we are able to continue doing or producing something for a long time -- because we are using what we have in a responsible way, because it won’t run out, and because production won’t harm the planet or those living on it. Apple leather supports the fruit industry, and this is a positive thing. Everyone loves fruit! On the other hand, one of the main competitors of apple leather is cow skin leather, which comes from an industry which is documented not only to be responsible for an enormous amount of deforestation, but for the exploitation of cattle, mutilating and killing these thinking, feeling creatures. Many people would not consider this harm against animals we share the planet with as responsible or sustainable, being conscious of their right to protection and freedom. While not everyone feels this to be the case, it is, at the very least, something for everyone to consider.

The cons of apple leather

All that said, apple leather is still 50% fossil-fuel derived, being a synthetic material. This also means it won’t biodegrade. Most leather-like materials do not fully biodegrade (with the exception of cork, and some materials which aren’t available to market at a significant scale). According to Tannery Magazine data, cow skin leather doesn’t effectively biodegrade either, even when vegetable tanned.

This isn’t ideal, because one day, if the bags, shoes or wallets these materials make up are discarded, they will become pollutive rubbish. It’s important to consider here, though, that if we are purchasing high-quality materials, sewn and made into high-quality pieces, we can have our bags and shoes for many years to come and even hand them down. While some synthetic materials are certainly of a lower quality, known to peel and crack, high quality synthetics are solid and long-lasting specifically because they are synthetic, and so prone to break down.

As innovation in the fashion industry continues, we’re likely to see more materials that not only are free from all fossil-fuels and animals, but that can biodegrade while still lasting as effectively as other materials. 

Where to buy apple leather bags, shoes, and accessories

There are plenty of innovative brands that are making shoes, bags and accessories made of apple leather to a high-quality standard in ethical supply chains. Here are some of our favorites:

Dooeys

Dooeys house shoes are not your average slippers. Not only are they made from 100% vegan plant-based materials (including apple leather), but they are also very comfortable, supportive & beautiful! Dooeys is also a woman-owned and run brand that offsets its carbon emissions by giving back to multiple environmental organizations. They are named after the Dutch word “doei” which means an enthusiastic goodbye.

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Veerah

This New York-designed, Guangdong-made shoe label is proudly animal-free, transparent, and ethically made.

The brand releases impact reports on their ethics and sustainability, and uses a host of beautiful materials like apple leather, recycled plastic, and even algae-based materials to make their signature stilettos, boots, sandals and fun shoe accessories.

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code: sustainablychic for 20% off

Good Guys Don't Wear Leather

This Parisian-designed shoe brand has always been at the foreground of cruelty-free design.

All shoes, of which some are made of apple leather, are made in European, fair production environments.

You can find apple leather designs for both men and women, be they boots, sandals, or something else! 

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Komrads

This sneaker brand is dedicated to creating shoes worn by people who love the planet.

Using apple leather for their upper material, alongside recycled rubber soles, recycled cotton and plastic bottle lining and laces, this brand is doing it right.

Their classic sneakers are ethically made in Slovakia and independently scored on their environmental and social impact.

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Nae

Nae is a Portuguese vegan footwear brand making shoes and accessories with natural, recycled, and sustainable materials.

We love the Zinnia Black Vegan Heels and handbag (both made from apple leather) shown here!

The brand ships its shoes and handbags in recycled packaging that is also 100% recyclable.

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Matt & Nat

This brand has been a leader in vegan handbags for many years and now has a line made with Appleskin! Its gorgeous apple leather collection features totes, crossbody bags, shoulder bags, wallets, and more. Matt & Nat is a Canadian vegan brand committed to designing high-quality, timeless products without using leather or other animal-based materials. All its products are vegan and cruelty-free.

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Allégorie

A proudly woman-owned and managed brand, Allégorie is socially responsible and sustainable when creating their timeless wallets, card holders and bags.

Making use of apple leather, alongside cactus and mango leather, these accessories are crafted in the heart of New York City, and made to last.

You can read more about Allegorie here!

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Marhen J.

A vegan Korean fashion brand, MARHEN.J comes from a Spanish derivation‘MARGEN’ which means 'composure, relaxation'. Their practical designs come in many different colors and styles.

MARHEN J. is ready to replace the conventional leather industry with superior artificial leather technology - and, of course, apple leather!

& we are in love with this sweet saddle bag!

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Mianqa

If you are looking for fun colors, then this is your brand! Mianqa is a contemporary fashion brand that offers sustainable luxury bags, uses recycled materials, decreases waste, and empowers women by partnering with FSWW - an NGO in Istanbul supporting low-income women.

Besides using apple leather, their bags are also lined with fabrics recycled from pet bottles, and each bag is handcrafted at the atelier.

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Samara

One of the first to use apple skin leather, this brand has a gorgeous collection featuring the material. Their crossbody bag, tote, laptop case and mini pouches all look as delicious as the apples they came from and are made ethically. The brand avoids synthetic PVC and makes use of more sustainable materials as much as possible.

Samara is also completely woman-led, with a portion of brand profits supporting a non-for-profit cause close to co-founder Salima’s heart.

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About the Author
Emma Håkansson is the founder and director of Collective Fashion Justice which seeks to create a total ethics fashion system that prioritizes the life and wellbeing of non-human & human animals, as well as the planet, before profit & production. She has written countless articles on ethics, sustainability, and fashion, and has two books due out over the next two years.

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What is Organic Cotton?

Cotton is a plant-based, biodegradable material. It could be assumed then, that it must always be sustainable. Unfortunately though, depending on how cotton is farmed, the environmental impact of the material can be significant. Producing cotton organically can be a good way to reduce cotton farming's impact.

What’s Wrong with Conventional Cotton?

Before we get into what all the fuss about organic cotton is, we need to understand some of the issues with ‘conventional cotton’. It’s important to note that cotton -- whether organic or not -- is produced differently across farms and countries, but when we talk about ‘conventional cotton’, we’re talking about the most common, average way that the fluffy plant is grown. 

According to the Sustainable Apparel Coalition’s Material Sustainability Index, the environmental impact of conventional cotton production from cradle to gate (so basically, not considering cotton as a garment and its post-consumer ‘after-life’) is so significant that it’s the fifth most impactful material of all. After silk, alpaca wool, cow and goat leather, conventional cotton has the greatest eco-impact when considering global warming, eutrophication (which can lead to dead-zones), water scarcity, fossil fuels, and chemistry. 

The majority of this eco-impact comes down to how thirsty conventional cotton is. You might have heard, for example, that a single conventional cotton t-shirt can require about 2,494 liters of water to make -- enough water for a person to drink 2 liters daily, over nearly three and a half years. This is a big deal, given that freshwater is essential to life on Earth and something which 1.1 billion people around the world lack proper access to, including in top cotton production countries like India.

What’s worse though, is that water isn’t just used to grow conventional cotton, but is polluted in conventional cotton production. Because of the heavy and often careless use of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, waterways surrounding cotton farms can become polluted with these substances, harming the health of the ecosystem and all those living in it -- humans included, when this contaminated water is drunk. 

Carelessly used pesticides and herbicides in conventional cotton production can not only harm the environment, including soil health, but cotton farmers, too. In 2017, at least 50 farmers were killed in part of India, likely due to pesticide poisoning.

How is Organic Cotton Different?

Understandably, you may be looking at cotton a little differently now if you weren’t aware of this darker side of the industry. Fortunately, though, there are solutions and better ways.

Organic cotton is grown without the use of synthetic pesticides and herbicides. Organic cotton crops can be sprayed with Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) natural proteins to protect them from insect infestation and crop destruction, but not with the cocktail of toxic chemicals often sprayed over conventional cotton crops. 

This not only helps to protect farmers, but the environment, too. Eutrophication occurs when water is overly enriched with nutrients, often due to fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, which can result in dead-zones in water, where life struggles to persist. The same Sustainable Apparel Coalition data referenced earlier shows that eutrophication is reduced in organic cotton as compared to conventional cotton production. 

While organic cotton, by definition, is about the use of synthetic chemicals, organic cotton often is significantly less water-intensive than conventional. Most organic cotton is just rain-fed, meaning that no additional irrigation water is added to the crops. When organic cotton isn’t rain fed, the irrigated water consumption for it is reported by Textile Exchange to be 182 liters per kg of lint (basically harvested fluff), compared to conventional cotton’s enormous 2,120 liters per kg of lint. With water scarcity being the greatest impact associated with this soft, white fiber, this is a great change. 

Is All Organic Cotton the Same?

Not all organic cotton is grown equal. If we look at something like Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certified organic cotton, we get a material that must meet ecological and social health criteria. These include wastewater treatment to prevent contamination, even by natural fertilizers, and the assurance that farmers and farmworkers are paid living wages. This is wonderful, and a great reason to look out for GOTS-certified organic cotton clothing, but the GOTS standard exists because this is not the norm in cotton production, even within organic cotton production. 

Are There Any Issues with Organic Cotton?

Not even organic cotton is not free of issues. Unless organic cotton is grown within a standard like GOTS, or the Fair Trade scheme, cotton being organic does not ensure it is an ethical or wholly sustainable crop. 

Organic cotton can be more land-intensive, producing less cotton per hectare than genetically modified cotton. Cotton that is genetically modified to have the Bt natural protein inside of it, rather than sprayed over it, cannot be considered organic even if no additional pesticides or herbicides are used on the crop. This Bt cotton is often more land efficient, meaning more land which can be kept natural, full of trees and life.

Because of the discrepancies in organic cotton production, certified organic cotton is a safer bet. Unless obliged to follow criteria like those in the Global Organic Textile Standard, without transparency, we can’t know that an organic cotton farm isn’t irrigating their crop with significant amounts of water or harvesting their cotton in a way that harms soil health. In this way, organic cotton can still have water scarcity and soil health impacts associated with it.

When we consider ethics, we must remember that cotton production has historically been linked to the Atlantic slave trade. Today, one in five cotton products are tied to the unjust treatment of ethnic minority groups in Xinjiang, China, where more than half a million people are forced to pick cotton. After India, China is the second-largest producer of organic cotton. This isn’t to say that cotton grown in China can never be ethical, but with little transparency in the industry, it is nearly impossible to know if non-certified organic cotton is tied to forced labor, or modern slavery. 

Are There Other Types of More Sustainable Cotton?

As well as the ethical and far more sustainable organic cotton certified by GOTS or other legitimate groups, there is other more sustainably sourced cotton, too. 

Australian grown cotton, for example, has reduced its use of synthetic insecticides by 97% since 1992, and the vast majority of Australian cotton growers are a part of the voluntary my Best Practice Management (myBMP) program. This program demands over 300 criteria for the more sustainable and ethical production of cotton. Such criteria include the use of rotational crops that release soil-beneficial nitrogen into the soil, like chickpeas, and criteria around water management. Australian cotton is more water-efficient than that of many other countries.  

Also from Australia comes Good Earth Cotton, which is reportedly carbon positive and completely traceable from ‘seed to shelf’, thanks to FibreTrace technology. This is a fantastic step towards total ethics fashion.

Another great option is recycled cotton, which has a reduced impact compared to both conventional and organic cotton since no land is needed for agriculture, so it can be kept natural and biodiverse. It’s always good to use what we already have.

What to Buy?

If you’re looking for organic cotton, certified is the best option, especially since more supposedly ‘organic cotton’ is sold than actual organic cotton is grown, with false organic claims being made by some brands. 

As always, it’s important to ask questions before you buy. Ask brands if their organic cotton is certified and with what standard. Ask where their cotton is grown, what the environmental and social impacts of their cotton production is, and how much they even know about the cotton in their garments. 

Cotton is a wonderful, plant-based and biodegradable material, but we need to remember that it’s a little more complicated than that, too. Mindful purchases are always better purchases, and certifications can really help with this. 

Want to Shop Organic Cotton Brands?

Here is a list of all our favorite sustainable cotton brands for the entire family!

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About the Contributor

Emma Håkansson is the founder and director of Collective Fashion Justice which seeks to create a total ethics fashion system that prioritizes the life and wellbeing of non-human & human animals, as well as the planet, before profit & production. She has written countless articles on ethics, sustainability, and fashion, and has two books due out over the next two years.

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Is the LWG Certification Sustainable?

If you’re someone who’s eager to make sure the shoes, bags and accessories you buy are eco-friendly, you might have heard of the Leather Working Group, which certifies leather goods that are promoted as sustainable, supporting environmental stewardship. But how accurate are these claims? Let’s dive deep into what the certification actually ensures. 

Animal-derived leather, particularly the most common of its kind, cow skin leather, is a controversial topic in the sustainable fashion space. Whether it’s deforestation in the Amazon, regenerative agriculture claims, methane, or the intersection of environmentalism and animal protection, there’s lots to explore. With so much information – and misinformation – swirling around, the leather industry has attempted to develop environmental stewardship protocol for leather manufacturing. Queue the Leather Working Group.

So, if a bag is labelled with the Leather Working Group certification logo, what’s that mean for the environmental footprint of that accessory? 

Leather tanneries, chemical pollution and worker’s rights

Most leather is tanned in either China, Brazil, Russia, India or Italy. Unfortunately, environmental and social justice issues – which are inextricably linked – have been found across the industry in these and other countries. In fact, as with much of the mainstream fashion industry, such issues are the norm rather than the exception. 

Tannery workers are far more likely to be at risk of becoming sick with some types of cancer. They also face chronic coughing, skin ailments and other diseases directly tied to their work. Why? 90% of leather is tanned with carcinogenic chromium, as well as other harmful substances like arsenic and formaldehyde. These chemicals are known to run out into waterways surrounding tanneries, endangering the health of local wildlife and human communities. The Pulitzer Centre’s short film, The Toxic Price of Leather, explores just how devastating this impact is to areas around India’s tanneries. 

In response to these woeful problems, the Leather Working Group (LWG) has a strong focus on tanneries and improving their environmental impact. The LWG auditing process includes hundreds of questions which do reduce the negative impacts of tanning. 

Concerningly though, ‘gold status’ LWG certification can be achieved by a tannery which conducts zero social auditing. Some very limited worker health and safety considerations are made, but these are very minimal, and a score of just 50% is considered a pass. 

Not only does this cause concerns considering the health risks facing workers, but because exploitative pay, child and forced labour has been documented in the industry. Workers deserve better, and the fashion industry will never be sustainable if it refuses to stop treating people like commodities to exploit for economic gain. 

Is Leather Working Group leather chromium free, or vegetable tanned?

Considering the often dangerous risks associated with using chromium to tan leather, many people wonder if certifications like LWG ensure chromium is not used. LWG leather can contain chromium, but there’s more to consider here, too.

While many people pine for the less than 10% of leather that is vegetable tanned, studies have found that this tanning process does not actually have a significantly different environmental impact, compared to conventionally tanned leather. In fact, contrary to popular belief, vegetable tanned leather is not even considered ‘effectively biodegradable’ by the industry – though it is often marketed as such to distinguish it from chrome leather. There are different ‘benefits’ and ‘failings’ of each tanning process, but more importantly, the majority of leather’s environmental impact does not occur during tanning.

Leather’s environmental impact: beyond the tannery

If most of leather’s environmental impact doesn’t take place in a tannery, where’s it coming from? And what’s LWG doing about it? Some of this impact occurs at slaughterhouses, and the vast majority, on farms and ranches. Before we go further, a little mythbusting: if you’ve ever heard that leather is a by-product of meat and dairy production, it’s in fact a valuable co-product. 

Ranches and slaughterhouses both profit from the sale of skins; the leather industry is worth well over 100 billion dollars, and when skins don’t sell – even due to the popularity of animal-free alternatives – massive financial losses occur. Because of this, when we talk about the impact of leather production on the planet, we need to consider slaughterhouse and on-farm impacts. To be fair, environmental experts use ‘economic allocation’, attributing emissions to either skins or flesh sold as food, based on how much money they make the industry. 

If we look from a purely environmental perspective, slaughterhouses can be wrapped up with all sorts of problems: the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization recognises these facilities as having a high local pollution potential, as discharge and waste – like blood, bones, entrails and faeces – can contaminate freshwater ways. This can, in some cases, even lead to eutrophication, a process which has the potential to cause dead-zones where aquatic life struggles to survive. 

Wondering what LWG certified leather does to combat this problem? You might be shocked to hear it, but the answer is absolutely nothing. The Leather Working Group certification is a tannery-only audit.

image from The Guardian

The most environmentally damaging part of leather production is ignored by the LWG certification

Not only are slaughterhouses and their impact ignored by the LWG certification, but so too are farms. This is seriously concerning, especially considering how significant the land, climate and water footprint of leather is, when considering on-farm impacts. 

There are serious consequences to the Leather Working Group’s inaction at the farm level. In fact, a stand.earth report showed a significant number of brands selling Leather Working Group certified leather were tied to and likely funding the deforestation of the precious Amazon Rainforest. Did you know that 1 Brazilian leather bag is equal to 1,000 square metres of cleared land?

Some brands choose to avoid leather from Brazil to protect the Amazon, but unfortunately, deforestation is a global problem. In Australia, cattle rearing is a leading cause of deforestation – and the country is one of the world’s top ten producers of skins. Inefficient use of land, kept cleared and empty of native vegetation is a problem across the globe, often fuelled by demand for animal-derived products. 

Land use transformation can result in massive greenhouse gas emissions, and rearing cattle for slaughter is already a gassy business. Even compared to conventional synthetic leather – a material we need to transition beyond using – cow skin leather products have a carbon equivalent footprint nearly 7 times more harmful. Until LWG acts on climate and deforestation, the certification cannot ensure sustainability. 

The Leather Working Group also says it certifies ‘ethical leather’ – is this true?

If the term ‘ethical leather’ – used by the LWG – were ever to be considered as a genuine possibility, we’d need to talk about animals. While the ethics of workers’ rights and treatment aren’t considered by the Leather Working Group, is the wellbeing of animals, at least?

Unfortunately, this is another area where the LWG doesn’t like up to its promises. Not a single animal protection consideration is made by the group. 

Cattle in the leather industry are often painfully mutilated – their sensitive horns cut off, their skin branded with searing hot metal. Others are confined to feedlots where they can’t follow their natural instincts, and some are killed at just a few days old, sometimes in horrible ways. 

Where can we find genuinely sustainable and ethical leather?

The safest, most sustainable and ethical way to source leather, is to choose plant-based leather. Materials created as alternatives to tanned cattle skin continue to be developed, and are only becoming more environmentally friendly and budget conscious. 

While not all leather alternatives are created equal, here are some that we love, and that are available at the moment:

Apple leather

This material is partly bio-based, and partly synthetic. While that’s not perfect, this material – like cactus, mango and grape alternatives – has a lower land, carbon and water footprint, and isn’t tied up in so many ethical quandaries. Apple leather alternatives – made partly from apple cores, seeds and stalks discarded in the juice industry – are becoming more and more easily accessible.  

Piñatex

This material has a far lower environmental impact than animal leather and conventional synthetic alternatives. Made from otherwise wasted pineapple plant leaves which are coated in a bio-resin, the material is about 95% biodegradable. Piñatex has a somewhat unique texture, and it ages beautifully, softening over time, and kept in perfect condition with moisturising balms – just as with other leather. 

Recycled vegan leather

While it’s likely you’ve heard of recycled leather, did you know recycled vegan leather exists, too? Both of these materials usually have some synthetic element to them, in order to bind the material together. 

While virgin synthetics aren’t the solution we need for the future, using what is already here is worthwhile, and helps to make fashion more circular. 

Cork

An option that’s often forgotten, cork is a great, water-resistant, sturdy and biodegradable leather alternative. Perfect for hardier uses like belts, backpacks and shoes, cork bark is removed from trees that continue to grow, with this process actually allowing trees to sequester more carbon. 

Mirum

This new material is beginning to pop up all over the place, and is made without any plastic. Certified as 100% bio-content through the USDA’s bio-preferred program, Mirum is versatile, made with slightly different ingredients depending on the use. 

For example, a black Mirum handbag can be made from a blend of Forest Stewardship Certified natural rubber, natural colourants like charcoal, natural fillers like clays, as well as plant-based oils and waxes. 

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About the Author:

Emma Håkansson is the founder and director of Collective Fashion Justice which seeks to create a total ethics fashion system that prioritizes the life and wellbeing of non-human & human animals, as well as the planet, before profit & production. She has written countless articles on ethics, sustainability, and fashion, and has two books due out over the next two years.

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WANT TO FIND SUSTAINABLE BRANDS? VISIT OUR BRAND DIRECTORY!

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