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    Not All Natural Fibers Are Created Equal: The Truth About Viscose Rayon

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    Danish Nawaz
    While viscose rayon is derived from a natural material, its production process has significant negative environmental impacts. It involves large-scale deforestation that destroys habitats and reduces oxygen levels. Trees used take decades to regrow versus cotton which is harvested annually. Additionally, the chemical process used to transform wood pulp into viscose rayon releases toxic chemicals into waterways and the air. This polluting production method only utilizes 30% of the tree. Some more sustainable alternatives to viscose rayon include using cotton, bamboo, or lyocell which employs a closed-loop production with non-toxic compounds.

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    Not All Natural Fibers Are Created Equal: The Truth About Viscose Rayon

    Uploaded by

    Danish Nawaz
    50 views4 pages
    While viscose rayon is derived from a natural material, its production process has significant negative environmental impacts. It involves large-scale deforestation that destroys habitats and reduces oxygen levels. Trees used take decades to regrow versus cotton which is harvested annually. Additionally, the chemical process used to transform wood pulp into viscose rayon releases toxic chemicals into waterways and the air. This polluting production method only utilizes 30% of the tree. Some more sustainable alternatives to viscose rayon include using cotton, bamboo, or lyocell which employs a closed-loop production with non-toxic compounds.

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    While viscose rayon is derived from a natural material, its production process has significant negative environmental impacts. It involves large-scale deforestation that destroys habitats and reduces oxygen levels. Trees used take decades to regrow versus cotton which is harvested annually. Additionally, the chemical process used to transform wood pulp into viscose rayon releases toxic chemicals into waterways and the air. This polluting production method only utilizes 30% of the tree. Some more sustainable alternatives to viscose rayon include using cotton, bamboo, or lyocell which employs a closed-loop production with non-toxic compounds.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    50 views4 pages

    Not All Natural Fibers Are Created Equal: The Truth About Viscose Rayon

    Uploaded by

    Danish Nawaz
    While viscose rayon is derived from a natural material, its production process has significant negative environmental impacts. It involves large-scale deforestation that destroys habitats and reduces oxygen levels. Trees used take decades to regrow versus cotton which is harvested annually. Additionally, the chemical process used to transform wood pulp into viscose rayon releases toxic chemicals into waterways and the air. This polluting production method only utilizes 30% of the tree. Some more sustainable alternatives to viscose rayon include using cotton, bamboo, or lyocell which employs a closed-loop production with non-toxic compounds.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    of 4

    Not All Natural Fibers Are

    Created Equal: The Truth


    about Viscose Rayon
    As the earth matures and we come to grips with humanity’s role
    in the degradation of the environment in multiple forms of
    pollution and the overarching condition of climate change,
    it’s important that we make the right choices as individuals
    and companies with regard to the products we use and the
    effects they have on the environment.

    Product choices we make for sustainability should include the


    clothes we wear, which are predominantly made from cotton, an
    all-natural product; polyester, a man-made fiber, and viscose,
    the subject of this article. We can safely assume that natural
    products have a lower negative impact on the environment than
    man-made products, but they are certainly not equal;
    furthermore, not all products perceived to be natural actually
    are.

    Let’s take a look at viscose, and why it shouldn’t be


    considered a fabric choice that’s also pro-environment.

    Trees, Not Plants—Think about That


    Cotton farmers produce new plants that yield fresh cotton
    acreage every single year—cotton cellulose takes five to six
    months to produce. While any type of farming activity taxes
    the environment, cotton plants are much better for the planet
    than their viscose rayon counterparts. Here’s why: viscose
    rayon comes from trees.

    While trees can certainly be replanted, it takes years (pine


    trees, for example, have a harvest age range of 25-35 years)
    to replace those harvested for the wood pulp that becomes
    viscose rayon fiber. Harvesting trees destroys animal
    habitats, changes ecosystems, and depletes oxygen levels.
    Nearly 30 percent of the rayon and viscose used by the fashion
    industry comes from ancient and endangered forests that will
    take decades to replenish or even fail to regenerate in some
    cases.

    Large-scale deforestation from the demand for viscose is


    chilling. Indonesia alone has lost 15 million hectares of
    forest in the last dozen years, while forest ecosystems in the
    USA, Canada, Brazil, and South Africa are under severe threat
    as well. The Amazon rainforest, largely situated in Brazil,
    has lost nearly 300,000 square miles of trees over the last
    fifty years, and viscose production has been a large part of
    the problem.

    A Dirty Process
    The process of transforming wood pulp into fiber doesn’t hold
    up well to scrutiny with regard to sustainability. In fact,
    it’s a dirty process.

    In the production chain, trees go through a chemical process


    to remove everything but the cellulose that will become
    viscose fiber.

    The wood pulp is treated with sodium hydroxide (caustic soda)


    and carbon disulphide, which is then filtered and spun into
    filaments (viscose). This process releases toxic chemicals
    into the air and waterways surrounding viscose plants are also
    at risk for pollution.

    Carbon disulphide has been linked to higher levels of coronary


    heart disease, birth defects, skin conditions and cancer in
    textile workers and also in those who live near viscose
    factories. In this chemically-intensive, polluting process of
    converting pulp to fiber, only 30 percent of the tree is
    usable. often wastes 70 percent of the tree, according to
    fashion industry watchdog Canopy.

    What’s the Answer?


    While viscose rayon as a product may have natural origins,
    it’s pretty safe to say that it’s not environmentally-
    friendly, nor is it a particularly safe product for both
    environmental and health reasons. The chemically-intensive,
    highly-polluting processes necessary to take wood pulp from
    trees, extract cellulose, and create workable fiber are simply
    too dirty to be considered good for either people or the
    planet.

    While viscose rayon certainly represents the one of the least


    expensive paths for creating a natural fiber for apparel, many
    manufacturers are concluding that the true price is too costly
    to the environment and human health. Thankfully, there are
    alternatives.

    Many manufacturers have looked to the many varieties of cotton


    to achieve their goals for design and comfort, finding a
    product whose farming and manufacturing communities are
    steadfastly devoted to ever-improving standards of
    environmental sustainability, including life cycle assessments
    that look at cotton’s sustainability from a cradle-to-grave
    perspective.

    But there are many who still want to achieve the same goals
    for fabrics, in terms of color, texture, and other aspects
    that can only achieved with rayon. These manufacturers are
    eschewing hardwood wood pulp, from sources like pine, for more
    sustainable options like bamboo. Another alternative is
    Lyocell, a type of viscose rayon that uses a non-toxic,
    organic compound instead of caustic soda, which is easier to
    filter and used in a closed loop production process.

    Conclusion
    Today’s consumers are smart and understand the difference
    between a truly natural fiber versus one that has been
    chemically transformed from a natural raw material into a
    cellulosic fiber. When people know the truth, they make better
    decisions. As more people discover the truth about viscose
    rayon, they will see why many are making the switch to cotton
    – a real natural alternative.

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