Known for being very fast growing and highly renewable when it’s harvested properly, organic bamboo is another carbon negative raw material. It does need to be mechanically processed to be sustainable or it could be a highly chemically involved processed product. Make sure you’re getting bamboo linen and not a bamboo synthetic mix, or those chemicals are going to be in there.

This material is made of tree bark, and the Cork oak tree (Quercus suber) processes CO2 faster while regrowing its bark. So plantations grown for the harvesting of cork become carbon sinks, absorbing loads of carbon dioxide. The Cork oak is part of an important, unique ecosystem that supports other plants and animals that can’t live anywhere else. Another winner there if you’re looking for vegan bags or shoes, which cork is often used for.

Saving old clothes or fabrics from being thrown away helps increase a product’s sustainability by how long it can be used for before it gets thrown away. Check out our blog post on deadstock fabric if you want more information on recycled or reused fabrics.

If you want sustainable natural fabrics, but you don’t mind animal-derived products - we love our sustainable wool clothing - then here’s a couple of different products to look at.

Fairly obvious here, but we’re not just talking about sheeps wool. There are many sources including alpaca, cashmere, camel, yak, angora rabbits and the merino and possum that we love to work with.

Wool is long-lasting and doesn’t require much chemical processing. It has natural anti-microbial and anti-odor properties. It’s also fully biodegradable; you could technically throw it in the compost but it might take a while. There are possible issues with land clearing for livestock, and animal welfare and treatment, especially with sheep wool.

See if the company you’re buying your clothes from tells you where their wool came from. New Zealand is one of the world leaders for ethical wool production, with the Animal Welfare Act protecting the sheep from bad treatment and the farming mostly free range without land clearing. A great reason to stay local.

It comes from the soft downy under-feathers of ducks and geese. Down is often a byproduct of the industry so it’s use prevents another waste product, helping to make sure all of the animals are used.

The origins in the meat industry can mean an association with unethical animal welfare, but it is another biodegradable product. Obviously, watch what the down is being stuffed into; cotton or linen pillows, waterproof synthetic coats and so on.

There are some things that you can’t produce without the use of synthetic fibres. So here’s a few that rank a little more sustainably than your standard ‘plastic fabrics’.

Recycled nylon made from plastic waste from oceans and fishing nets, econyl doesn’t use much water to repurpose. But same as any synthetic, it can produce microplastics when it reaches disposal or with excessive washing.

Most polyester is very versatile with a huge range of uses. By using recycled polyester, it reuses ‘single-use’ plastics helping to reduce the landfill waste. Unfortunately, polyesters can only be recycled a few times before they break down and produce microplastics.