As the years have gone on, it seems harder and harder to find clothes made from natural fibers like cotton, wool, linen, or even bamboo. Maybe it’s because I’ve gotten older that I’m paying closer attention, but in the early 2010s, I could find a 100% cotton top without even trying. Of course, since I was in my teens then, I didn’t really care about what fabrics were in top – just as long as it was cute. Oh, how youth is wasted on the young.
Now that I’m older (and I’d like to think wiser, although the jury’s out on that), I’ve been paying closer attention to how different fabrics feel on my skin and how many wears they last. This closer look led me to write a blog post last week about tips for how to look for natural fibers while you’re shopping. Though I briefly go into the history of synthetic fiber use in that post, in this article, I’m taking a critical lens to how we got here and why it feels so difficult to find naturally derived clothing today.
What Are Synthetic Fibers?
Synthetic fibers are man-made materials designed to imitate the qualities of natural fibers. The production process involves turning chemical ingredients into long polymer chains, then melting or dissolving those polymers and pushing them through tiny holes called spinnerets to form continuous filaments.
Petrochemicals derived from petroleum or natural gas refining create the most widely used synthetic fibers, such as polyester, nylon, acrylic, and spandex. Manufacturers can add additives, dyes, and finishes along the way to impart specific textures, colors, or performance traits to the fibers.
How Do Synthetic Fibers Differ from Natural Fibers?
Unlike synthetic clothes, natural fibers come from living organisms. Cotton comes from the cotton plant, wool typically comes from sheep, and silk comes from silkworms. Humans have used these naturally occurring items since we started wearing clothes. In fact, in 2021, scientists discovered a 120,000-year-old site for leather and fur production in a Moroccan cave. (This was during the time of the Ice Age. Where’s Scrat?) Bones at the site suggest that these artisans crafted pelts and leather from sand foxes, golden jackals, and wildcats.
Differing from the long history of natural fibers, we didn’t start wearing synthetic fibers until their invention in the 1900s. While natural fibers can wrinkle and don’t stretch very well, artificial fibers are durable, stretchy, and don’t wrinkle much. They also tend to be quick-drying, and many are ultra-lightweight. This is why we can find synthetic materials in everything from upholstery to industrial products and clothes.
Notably, synthetic copies of natural materials are more affordable. For example, synthetic satin is typically made from polyester or nylon and mimics silk’s shiny look. Where 1 yard of stretchy satin fabric is $9.99 at Hobby Lobby, 1 yard of Mulberry Silk is $90.30 on Etsy. That’s the reduced price, down from $120.39. (All currency is USD.)
The History: A Pivot From Centuries of Natural Fiber Usage
The Early 1900s
The first commercially viable artificial fiber, viscose rayon, was developed in 1894 by English chemists Charles Frederick Cross, Edward John Bevan, and Clayton Beadle. The fiber isn’t fully synthetic, as it’s a reaction product of carbon disulfide and cellulose. Cellulose is an organic compound present in green plants and wood. It took 11 years before viscose rayon began to be produced commercially.
It wasn’t until October 27, 1938, to be exact, that the chemical firm DuPont introduced a fully synthetic fiber to the world: nylon. Wallace Carothers developed it after 11 years of research involving more than 230 DuPont technicians and scientists. The company touted nylon’s durability and many uses to the masses. As a viable substitute for silk, its production came at the right time. WWII rationing had begun, and the military found a multitude of uses for nylon, including replacing the silk in parachutes.
World War II also changed how we size clothes. In 1939, the USDA Bureau of Home Economics launched a yearlong study of nearly 15,000 women living in the United States. It ultimately resulted in a report aimed at standardizing women’s sizing and speeding up clothing production, making it more cost-effective. I discuss this in-depth in another blog post.
The Late 1900s
After the war, synthetic fiber usage in clothes really took off. In the 1960s and 70s, polyester became the fabric of choice because of its affordability and wrinkle resistance. By this time, scientists figured out how to blend polyester with natural fibers, creating products that are more durable and comfortable. Since polyester is colorfast, designers could use vibrant colors, which became a staple of these decades. Manufacturers incorporated polyester into dresses, skirts, suits, and more. If you recall the disco outfits people wore during these decades, those were polyester.
These styles ultimately became unpopular as manufacturing processes improved, and they are now emblematic of that period. As the century progressed, researchers identified ways to improve the appearance and feel of synthetic fibers and developed many other types. In tandem with the increased use of synthetic fibers, consumers became increasingly aware of their environmental impact. By the 90s, there had been initiatives to return to natural materials; however, with the arrival of fast fashion in this decade, it became even more difficult to push back.
More Recently
Since 2000, total fiber production has more than doubled. Keep in mind that “total fiber production” includes all types of fibers – natural and synthetic. With that said, polyester accounts for the majority of fibers produced, constituting 59% of global fiber production. Eighty-eight percent of that polyester is virgin, made from petrochemicals (the remaining 22% is made from recycled polyester).
While polyester manufacturing is at the highest rate it’s ever been, we as consumers are also the most informed we’ve ever been, thanks to the Internet and social media platforms. According to one study involving 1,284 Norwegians, most consumers preferred natural fibers over synthetic fibers. Researchers observed similar findings in India and Bangladesh, countries in the Global South where fast-fashion factories are common.
Despite consumer preferences for natural fibers in their clothing, companies continue to use synthetic materials. In a 2024 report, the NYC-based nonprofit Changing Markets Foundation found that major brands (Zara and Lululemon, among others) are increasing their reliance on synthetic materials in their clothing. Further, among the 50 companies the charity surveyed, Shein used the most synthetic materials. Within its complete garment portfolio, 82% of its items use synthetic fibers.
Despite It All…
After this exhaustive analysis, I can still see the benefits of using synthetic fibers in clothes. They’re cheap, durable, stretchy, and often stain-resistant. They are great for workout clothes and environments such as industrial production or medical.
With that said, its use in large-scale garment production is ecologically devastating: not only is it made from plastic, but washing and wearing it also releases microplastics into our water and bodies. The European Environment Agency estimates that, as a result of factory production and home washing, between 200,000 and 500,000 tons of microplastics enter the marine environment each year.
An Intentional Obfuscation?
Most people have at least heard of the negative aspects of synthetic fibers in clothing, whether or not they’ve looked more deeply into the issue. As I shared, consumers around the world have expressed a preference for natural fibers. The environmental impacts, coupled with consumer sentiment, lead me to question why brands have continued to rely on synthetic materials despite it all. I suspect they are taking advantage of the fact that plastic’s names may overwhelm consumers who may not know what to look for when searching for naturally-derived clothing.
Take this example: over the last few years, technology has improved to the point that some vegan leathers are now environmentally sustainable. Under the umbrella term of “vegan leather,” you could buy a plant-based vegan leather product made from renewable resources like cork or pineapple leaves.
On the contrary, you could buy a petroleum-based vegan leather product made from petrochemicals like polyurethane (PU) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The only way you could know is to take a close look at the materials on the care tag, but at a glance, you’d have no idea, especially considering that “vegan leather” is a buzzword now. Plus, many items that would have vegan leather (a purse, a belt, etc.) wouldn’t have a care tag.
Life In Plastic Isn’t Fantastic
I’ll admit, it’s easy for me to fall down a cynical rabbit hole. Let me be clear: I don’t think that brands like Shein, Zara, or Lululemon are evil or want to destroy the earth. I know they are driven by cutting costs and increasing profits, as is the norm in capitalism. What makes me pause is that they are not being more transparent about the materials in their clothes. Terms like “vegan leather” can be confusing, as can terms like “linen blend.” This summer, I bought a pair of what I thought were linen pants, only to find out that the fabric contained a percentage of linen, not all.
If brands aren’t going to make it easy for us to be informed, then the burden falls on us to develop a better eye for what we’re actually buying. It involves slowing down enough to check the fiber content label, Googling when something feels off, and remembering that buzzwords don’t equal transparency.
When The Shine Wears Off
Ultimately, I want a shift in how brands talk about and advertise their clothes. If a blouse is 90% polyester, I want them to say that plainly without cloaking it in confusing synonyms for polyester. If brands advertise a pair of pants as a linen blend, I’d like them also to communicate the percentage.
There has always been pushback, to varying degrees, against synthetic fibers in the promotion of natural fibers. I hope that the next decade brings more honesty from brands and a cultural reconsideration, one where quality overrides speed and where fiber content is transparent. We’re long past the era when synthetics felt like the gleaming future and natural fibers felt outdated. At this point, the most “modern” thing a brand can do is proudly communicate how it makes its clothes. And if it’s not proud, it needs to consider why.
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