If you're looking for a sustainable, eco-friendly fabric, nylon is not the option for you.
The truth is, nylon is far from being a sustainable fabric.
Nylon production comes with a whole host of environmental and social concerns, making it a pretty toxic material.
Nylon's negative impact — both on the environment and human health — can be broken down into two stages: pre-consumer and post-consumer stage.
The pre-consumer stage mainly has to do with the way nylon is produced.
Being a synthetic fabric, nylon is derived from byproducts of petroleum and petrochemicals.
As you already know, the petroleum industry is notorious for activities like drilling, fracking and shipping — all of which are devastating for our environment and contribute heavily to the climate crisis.
Nylon manufacturing is a thirsty and energy-intensive process.
It uses a lot of water, energy and other resources to produce nylon in textile factories. Not to mention the toxic synthetic dyes used in the process.
During the production process, these toxic dyes and chemicals end up in the wastewater, which then runs down into streams, rivers and other waterways around the manufacturing plants thereby causing water pollution.
This is really concerning.
As most of the nylon is manufactured in countries with weak environmental protection laws like China and Pakistan, this makes nylon a major cause of water insecurity in those regions.
And if that wasn't enough, nylon production makes the climate crisis worse.
Nylon is created by combining diamine acid with adipic acid, a reaction that releases huge amounts of nitrous oxide gas into the atmosphere, 300 times worse than carbon dioxide.
In addition, since all of the world’s nylon is currently manufactured in Asian countries, exporting this nylon to the rest of the world releases millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide in the transportation process.
And all of this happens before the nylon product reaches consumers.
Post-consumer issues for nylon arise once the product has reached the end of its life cycle.
When it’s time to dispose of nylon-based products, we’re confronted with the bad news that nylon is non-biodegradable.
This means all the disposed nylon accumulates as waste in landfills — where they remain for hundreds of years.
Not to mention the humongous amount of nylon waste in the form of ghost nets (i.e. discarded fishing nets) discarded into our oceans every year.
Remember the viral video of struggling seals caught in old fishing nets?
Every year over 650,000 marine animals die or get injured by nylon ghost nets. This is the tragic reality.
Then there's the issue with microplastics.
Being a plastic polymer, nylon waste releases microplastics into our environment.
Microplastics are harmful to marine life as well as to human health. They get into our bodies through the food we consume and the water we drink.
The Future of Nylon
In the past few years, there's been a buzz generated in the fashion and textile industry because of recycled nylon.
Also known by its patented name Econyl, it's comparatively a greener alternative to traditional nylon. Econyl is the preferred option for sustainable, eco-conscious fashion brands who want to use nylon without the nasties.
Italian plastics company Aquafil first developed this nylon-alternative fabric.
The company claims that Econyl has 90% less global warming potential compared to standard nylon, though this number hasn’t been verified by an independent source.
Unlike traditional nylon, Econyl is made by repurposing old discarded fishing nets and other nylon textile production scraps. This helps divert tons of nylon waste from the oceans and landfills each year.
But there are still a few setbacks to consider.
Nylon is not biodegradable — which means neither is Econyl.
When its time runs out, fabrics made from Econyl will also probably end up in our oceans contributing to the same issues of water pollution and microplastic contamination that they seek to avoid.
At the end of the day, synthetic fabrics — recycled or not — still cause immense harm to our planet, people, and all other life forms.
Moving forward, our collective goal should be to shift away from synthetic fabrics altogether.
Instead, embrace natural fabrics like organic cotton, hemp, and organic linen. Made without the use of toxic chemicals and dyes, they will not put the health of our planet, the workers and you, the end consumer, at risk.
Sustainable brands like Bhumi are saying no to synthetic fabrics and using only GOTS-certified organic cotton to make their sleepwear, bedding and blankets.
With zero chemicals and toxic dyes used throughout the production process, the fabric is soft, breathable and safe for your skin.
FAQ:
What is ripstop fabric?
Also known as "sports fabric", ripstop is a woven, lightweight, waterproof fabric threaded with nylon. It's primarily used in making sports equipment such as parachutes, camping gear, backpacks and hot air balloons.
By itself, nylon fabric isn't resilient enough to resist tearing. This is why nylon is blended with cotton, silk and polyester and woven in an interlocked pattern to form the tear-resistant ripstop fabric.
Does nylon fabric have BPA?
Yes. Bisphenol-A (or BPA) is an industrial chemical often used in making synthetic fibres such as polyester, spandex and, you guessed it, nylon.
It's used to coat the fibres in order to strengthen them during production.
BPAs can be absorbed through your skin and cause serious health complications. You can learn more about BPA and associated health risks here and here.
Is it safe to wear nylon clothes?
Since nylon is a synthetic fabric, it's treated with hundreds of harmful toxic chemicals during the production process. These toxins remain in your clothes and often penetrate your skin, leading to various health issues.
Though the effects may not be obvious or immediate, it goes without saying that you should steer clear of all synthetic fabrics in your clothing, bedding and other accessories wherever possible.
