Yarn is the key material to produce knitwear. Today, most knitting produce from synthetic material to get diversified characteristics from the fiber. But synthetic fiber doesn’t eco-friendly. Here the issue arises about sustainability.
As the knitting industry continues to grow, demand for yarns has also grown. In response, more and more producers are manufacturing yarns from sustainable materials, to reduce the impact these new products have on the environment.
In this blog, we will take a deep dive into the aspect of Sustainable Yarn Materials.
What is sustainable yarn?
Sustainable yarn is a special kind of yarn that is made from natural and recyclable fibers and is therefore environmentally friendly. There are many different types of sustainable yarns, including:
Sustainable Yarn Materials are natural, biodegradable, and non-toxic yarns. Without using synthetic yarn material there are 03 more eco-friendly options available for mass knitwear production. They are as:
1. Natural Yarn:
The Yarn from Natural Fiber is known as natural yarn. There are many kinds of natural fiber such as cotton, jute, banana fiber, hemp fiber, wool, silk, and so on. Unfortunately, there are very few natural fibers has the tensile properties for knitting. Among them, cotton is the most popular natural plant fiber and wool is the most popular animal fiber.
Although, uses other types of animal fibers in knitting too. Such as angora, cashmere, alpaca, etc knitting yarn. The alpaca fibers form knitting yarn and are notable for their strength, which is significantly higher than that of other natural wool fibers for their softness. This natural fiber comes in an impressive range of natural colors from white, beige, light brown, dark brown, to black. Therefore, it doesn’t need to dye with synthetic dye or pigments.
2. Recycle Yarn
Today, global recycling yarn witnessed a marked upsurge in demand for recycled yarn. The Yarn produced from recycled fiber material is known as recycled yarn. The final yarn is a brand new, colored yarn, but produced without using any dyes or chemicals. This makes recycled fibers one of the most environmentally friendly yarns for knitting!
Mainly industry produced two kinds of recycled yarn: Recycle cotton yarn and recycled polyester yarn. Recycling yarn from used cotton fabric is known as recycled yarn. It could be produced from textile leftovers and older or earlier-used apparel. And The yarn recycled from polyester is known as recycled polyester. In this scenario, polyester textiles and other polyester materials such as PET bottles could use for producing polyester.
In short form, both are known as respectively cotton and polyester. These minimize unnecessary wastage and are more sustainable alternatives to disposal.
3. Certified Organic Yarn
The yarn produced from natural and recycle material and get approval from Organic Textile Standard Organization such as OCS, GRS, RWS, and RMS is known as certified organic yarn. These leading standard setters define worldwide recognized requirements for organic eco-friendly textiles practices.
The yarn from the fiber harvesting of the raw materials, maintaining environmental and socially responsible manufacturing to labeling, and textiles certified to GOTS provide a credible assurance to the customer.
Here it can offer knitwear produced from organic animal yarn such as organic wool, and organic plant yarn such as organic cotton yarn. Organic wool is derived from humanely-raised sheep living on chemical-free land. Similarly, organic cotton comes from plants that are pesticide-free and not genetically modified as well. Today, most of sustainable clothing manufacturer takes care that the fiber isn’t chemically produced to make it into yarn and knitwear.
What is Sustainability?
Sustainability is a universal idea that satisfies human wants while protecting future generations’ capacity to satisfy their own needs. Sustainability is not only about environmentalism. Without compromising the resources, we have now, and helps preserve them for tomorrow. Such include social and economic resources, as well as natural resources. Embedded in a variety of conceptions of sustainability that take into account issues like social equality, economic progress, and environmental protection.
Why is so important right now
The textile manufacturing industry is notable for consuming a large amount of energy, w, water, and other natural resourcWasteaste water has the second water pollution in the environment and has forced the apparel industry to take the path of sustainability. The overall Textile industry is responsible for a shocking 4 to 10% of global greenhouse-gas emissions per year.
1 kg of recycled yarn, consisting of 70/30% Cotton and Polyester saves up to:
- 2,626 liters of water (99.8%)
- 5kg of CO2 (96.3%)
- 82m2 of land used (99.7%)
- 1kg of terrestrial ecotoxicity (82.7%)
Today, manufacturer and consumers are concerned about greenhouse emissions, global warming, and increasing carbon footprint due to textile pollution. Hence, Sustainability in knitwear manufacturing is very important right now.
A. Corporate responsibility matters:
Modern Knitwear production of sustainable textiles not only helps to reduce the negative impacts on the environment but also supports millions of laborers to earn fair wages and ensure a proper working environment.
Every manufacturer should ensure the working conditions are as sustainable as can make them. The manufacturing facilities must have a pure air supply, and may not produce any extra waste that is difficult to dispose of. The manufacturer must have a corporate responsibility initiative that will guide what the business does.
B. Filtering run-off water
The manufacturer may choose to use solar power in the processing facilities, process recycles fibers more responsibly, and even ensure that your water run-off is clean.
The processing of recycled and natural fibers is a dirty process. The manufacturer must not allow wastewater to go back into the soil. In a sustainable manufacturing process, there is no way to use chemicals to clean these fibers. Because those chemicals could be transferred into the water and air during the dyeing and finishing process. Every manufacturer must filter any excess water that leaves the processing plant.
C. Use Renewable energy
If a company wants to use renewable energy in production facilities, it can install solar or wind energy to fill in the gaps. In this way, can save quite a lot of money by using renewable energy. When consumers observe that a manufacturer is doing an ethical thing, and manufacturer can use these tactics as part of a marketing pitch.
Advantages of Sustainable Yarns
There are many advantages to using sustainable yarns. They are often eco-friendlier and more sustainable than their conventional counterparts. Sometimes they are also less expensive.
Here are just a few of the advantages of using sustainable yarn materials:
- No chemical dyes or mineral salts are needed during manufacturing.
- Recycled plastic yarns are soft and strong, and can be used for both light and heavy-weight yarns.
- Sustainable yarns are a great alternative to conventional yarns. They are often more affordable than their conventional counterparts, while also being more eco-friendly.
- Sustainable yarns don’t require any chemical dyes or mineral salts during manufacturing and are made from natural and recyclable materials.
If you’re interested in exploring sustainable yarns, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, make sure the yarn you choose is certified organic.
Sustainable offerings:
- Ethical Knitting
- All Sustainable Practices
- Certifications
Sustainable Fashion
The term Sustainable fashion is increasingly used these days, as we all become ever more aware of the serious environmental impact of our apparel Sustainable fashion refers to clothing that has been produced with consideration for the several environmental factors that the textile industry affects.
The development of sustainable textiles and issues like climate change have got more concern from apparel businesses, knitwear makers, and the general public in over a decade. Therefore, customers are demanding garments that have been produced ethically.
Today sustainable fashion scenario is gradually changing. In the first decade of the 21st century, many knitwear manufacturers considered sustainable fashion an important aspect of their clothing business. While customer awareness of sustainable fashion has grown considerably.
It is practiced to incorporate sustainability in business. Our eco-brands and green clothing partners have become a common thing and are found in retail clothing stores to mainstream fashion. We encourage and inspire individuals to choose eco-friendly clothing so they can stay fashionable.
Conclusion
The environmental impacts of the global knitwear industry have led all the big companies to change manufacturer policies and include sustainability as a core concept. Renowned fashion already knew that sustainable eco-friendly knitwear business is a profitable business.It is always ready to cater to ‘Going Green’ and the increasing demand for sustainable fashion with all sustainable certifications e.g.L OCS/GRS/RWS/RMS.
