Sustainable Fabrics: Wearing SOY… ♥ ♥ ♥

This could possibly be my new FAVOURITE plant. SOYBEANS! Being vegan, I can’t live without soy products, and what do I find out when researching Soy Bean fabric?

♥ It is made from the leftovers of tofu and soy milk products. ♥

Soybean fabric is akin to recycled paper, if you think about it in those terms, since it uses the waste products from the above mentioned foodstuffs. So, basically, soybean is THE BEST. Not only is  it nutritious to eat, it makes for one of the most environmentally friendly fabrics, even in the production stages.

“Soybean fibre is a kind of reproducible plant protein fibre, which uses the residual cake after oil is extracted from the soybean, abstracts high polymer from soybean cake and prepares a protein spinning solution of a certain concentration. After obtaining the spinning solution, a filament bundle of a single fibre 0.9-3.0 dtex is spun with the use of the wet-method spinning process. Next, the fibre performance is stabilised through hydroformylation, and then it undergoes winding, heat setting and cutting. In this way, soybean fibre of various lengths and specifications for spinning can be manufactured.

 Because the auxiliary and additional agents and materials used in production of soybean fibre are not poisonous, the semi-finished fibres can be recovered of most additional agents and used again, and the residue remained after purification of protein can be used as foodstuff. Therefore, its production course will not cause pollution to the environment, and complies completely with environmental protection requirements.”
– Fibre & Textiles in Eastern Europe

Apart from being environmentally amazing, the fabric provides many benefits for the wearer as well:
– It produces a super soft, silky and light fabric that feels like cashmere but is smoother.
– It has the appearance and lustre of silk, giving people a sense of elegance.
– It has anti-bacterial and UV radiation prevention properties.

UGH. In short, Soybean is PERFECT. ♥

Sustainable Fabrics: BAMBOO BABY~

When it comes to environmentally friendly fabrics and clothing, garments made from bamboo are, by far, one of the best in the industry these days when it comes to sustainability.

Bamboo is a type of viscose and is created from the leaves and the soft inner pith of the bamboo trunk. They are extracted using a steaming process and eventually crushed mechanically. The bamboo is then chemically treated to turn it into cellulose and forced through spinnerets to obtain fibre threads, which are then spun into yarns.

Bamboo is a naturally organic fibre, requiring no pesticide in it’s growth, as well as growing extremely quickly, up to one meter per day, and being able to grow densely on a small amount of land. Another environmentally friendly property of bamboo is it’s ability to absorb 35% more carbon dioxide than the average tree.

Some properties of fabric made from bamboo include high absorbancy, higher than that of cotton, breathability, making it comfortable against the skin, and thermo-regulating, keeping the person wearing it warm in cooler climates. It is also a versatile fabric, being able to be as soft as cashmere and durable enough to produce bamboo denim.

In short, here is a list of BAMBOO awesomeness:
– Able to be grown quickly and in small areas.
– No pesticides are needed.
– Produces more oxygen than conventional cotton, meaning is gets rid of more greenhouse gases.
– It is a breathable fabric, keeping one cool in summer and warm in winter.
– It is an anti-bacterial fabric as well as deoderising, keeping one allergy and odour-free.

And while studies have shown that the processing of bamboo into fabric uses a LOT of chemicals and energy intensive processes, and even some labour concerns, being primarily produced in China, it is still a lot greener than conventional clothing.

Some information taken from this LA Times article.

Salvo’s stuff

Apart from meeting with Kate Geck in the 2nd week, we also got a visit from the head of the Salvation Army. Pretty cool, huh? The team were really LOVELY and brought with them HUGE bags of donated clothes for us to choose from, with 1hr to put a little something together from what we managed to grab!

It was a pretty fun process! My team, which consisted of myself, Danni and Helena, turned a top and a skirt into a dress with many ruffles. Here is a photo:

Anyway, here are some pictures  of some of the garments I managed to grab as well. I tried going for the weirdest prints and brightest colours I could find..

I was trying to work off what my brain was processing about Kate’s art, all the psychedelic trippiness of it(I mean that with all the love!).. Alas, there were hardly any crazy colours I could find amongst the piles of clothes we were choosing from.. 😦 Ah well, I’ll work with what I have. I do enjoy putting weird fabrics together after all.

Also, I’m not much of a work-as-i-go person… Spontaneity just doesn’t come to me as easily as it should. UGH. I will probably FAIL at Project Runway if I ever got to go on it, but that’s never gonna happen, so never mind…