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What You Can Do:  WoodWise™ Clothing

Did you know that you can spin trees into cloth?

Worldwide, manufacturers make as much cloth from wood pulp as they do from wool.

Rayon is the most common wood-based fabric, but acetate, triacetate, and Tencel® are also made from trees. Unfortunately, turning wood into rayon is wasteful and dirty, because lots of water and chemicals are needed to extract usable fibers from trees. Only about a third of the pulp obtained from a tree will end up in finished rayon thread. The resulting fabrics usually require dry cleaning, which is an environmental concern as well as an added expense and inconvenience.

Much of our rayon comes from developing countries, such as Indonesia, where environmental and labor laws are weak and poorly enforced. There is mounting evidence that rayon clothing manufacturing contributes to significant forest destruction and pollution in other countries.

What about Tencel®?

In recent years, many environmental businesses have also begun to offer Tencel® clothing. Tencel® is also a wood-based fabric, but it's made using a newer closed-loop process that is more efficient and much less polluting. Manufacturers of Tencel® also say that making their product from trees does not damage the environment, but these claims have not been independently certified through the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Learn more about FSC certification »

WoodWise™ TIPS

• Look for organic cotton, linen, washable silk, or hemp instead of rayon. While regular cotton fabric is more forest-friendly than rayon, cotton farmers often use large amounts of pesticides that can damage soil and water. To find companies that sell beautiful forest-friendly clothing, visit Green America's National Green Pages™.

• Buy used clothes, especially children's items and casual wear. Share or swap clothes with friends and co-workers.

• Donate your old clothes to the needy or resell them at a consignment store.

WoodWise™ CHALLENGE:

Tencel® fabric would be an even better environmental choice if the wood it used were certified under the Forest Stewardship Council system. Unless companies receive this certification, there is no guarantee that their wood comes from a sustainable source.

Write to the President of Tencel, Inc. and ask that their company pursue FSC certification: Tencel, Inc., 111 West 40th Street, New York, NY 10018.

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