Have you guys heard of Modal fabric? It’s made using pulp from beechwood, and a lot of folks are touting it right now as an eco-friendly alternative to more conventional rayons.
Modal is super soft and doesn’t shrink like cotton. It has a really nice drape and is considered a “bio-based” fabric. This means that it’s made using natural materials but isn’t considered a natural product.
Bio-Based Fabrics
The process to create Modal is similar to the one used to create rayon from bamboo. It’s an intense, chemical process that takes the pulp from natural beechwood to produce a synthetic fabric.
Of course, there are folks who tout the fabric’s benefits, too. Royal Robbins is a clothing company that produces Modal apparel. In this video, a Modal advocate from Royal Robbins talks about the fabric’s upsides:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ynt0TFZJung
So what do you think? Do the upsides outweigh the harsh chemicals used in Modal’s production process? Like bamboo, the answer is far from cut and dry. Let’s discuss in the comments below.
[Image Credit: Creative Commons photo by treehouse1977]
Closed loop rayon production, which reuses the chemicals rather than dumping them, is pretty ecologically sound. Tencel and Lyocell both are made in a closed loop process with fewer and less harmful chemicals, and I’d argue that they are more ‘green’ than conventional cotton. Bamboo rayons are usually made with the acetate process and the chemicals are rarely reclaimed.