Synthetic fabrics come with many obvious benefits, but there is also an environmental cost. How do they compare with natural fabrics, and is there an argument to be made, and a place in our wardrobes, for both?
By Steven Woods, from Yorkshire Fabric Shop
Natural vs Synthetic Fabrics
Textile fibres are often grouped as natural or synthetic, but the environmental comparison is more complicated than that binary suggests. Natural fibres come from plants or animals, yet they can still require intensive farming, cleaning, spinning, dyeing and finishing. Fossil-based synthetics such as polyester and nylon are manufactured polymers, while regenerated cellulosic fibres such as viscose or rayon sit between the categories: they begin with plant cellulose but are chemically processed into new fibres. Each route has different trade-offs.
There are also more complex fabric types. For example, jacquard fabric, which has a design woven into the actual weave, can be made from either natural or synethic fibres, or a combination of both, with elements such as cottons, silks, polyester, and more.
As the worldwide demand for textiles grows, the possible environmental impacts resulting from their manufacture, usage, and disposal will increase. Both natural and synthetic fabrics greatly impact our environment, and the future of this industry will surely affect us, whether for good or for bad.
Bearing that in mind, let’s try to compare the impact of fabrics on our environment, considering their advantages and disadvantages.
Natural Fabrics
Raw, natural materials are spun into threads, then woven or knitted into natural fabrics and yarns. All three sectors of nature, including animals, vegetables, and minerals, produce fibres that can be used in the manufacture of textiles.
Some of the fabric considered natural is used as design upholstery fabric, such as cotton, silk, and wool. A natural origin does not automatically make a textile environmentally preferable. Cotton can be water- and input-intensive, animal fibres can carry land-use and methane impacts, and all fibres are affected by processing, dyeing, transport, durability and end-of-life conditions.
Popular Natural Fabrics
Wool
Wool is a fabric made from the fur of sheep, goats, alpacas, llamas, and/or various other animals. It is a fibre that is very warm, absorbent, and strong. Thanks to the lanolin oils from some of these animals, it can be water-resistant, and is commonly used to produce outerwear and cold weather clothes such as sweaters and coats.
Cotton
Cotton fabric is developed from the cotton plant’s plant fibres. Cotton consists primarily of cellulose, an insoluble organic compound essential to the structure of plants, and is a soft and fluffy fibre.
In addition to that, Cotton fabric is soft and sturdy and is also used to make undergarments and t-shirts. Natural cotton, denim, and canvas are several examples of various types of cotton fabric.
Silk
Silk is a natural fibre for their nests and cocoons that is developed by insects as a material. Silkworms produce the most common type of silk. Silk is mostly made of a protein called fibroin, and as a substance, it is known for its shine and softness.
Benefits of Natural Fabrics
Natural fibres can offer useful properties such as breathability, moisture management, warmth or biodegradability under suitable conditions, but those properties vary substantially by fibre and finish. They are not automatically more durable, lower-impact or more suitable for children. The sections below describe common performance advantages without treating them as universal environmental benefits.
Skin Comfort and Sensitivity
Skin comfort depends on fibre structure, fabric construction, dyes, finishes, detergents and individual sensitivity; a natural origin does not guarantee that a textile is hypoallergenic or antibacterial. Product-specific evidence matters, particularly for peoplewith sensitive skin.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission notes that most soft “bamboo” textiles are actually rayon or viscose made from bamboo cellulose, and there is no evidence that this processed rayon retains the bamboo plant’s natural antibacterial properties. The same caution applies to health or skin-sensitivity claims for silk and other fibres: they should be supported for the finished product.
Breathable
Natural fabrics are have a high degree of absorption. This allows them to wick moisture away from your skin, if you happen to get caught in the rain, while this increased internal ventilation helps these fabrics to dry faster. If you suffer from the heat in these warmer months, such fabrics might make a big difference.
Renewable Feedstocks — With Trade-offs
Plant and animal fibres come from renewable biological feedstocks, but renewability is only one part of their footprint. Land use, irrigation, fertilisers and pesticides, livestock emissions, washing and scouring, spinning, dyeing and finishing can all be important. No natural fibre should be assumed to have a lower overall impact simply because its feedstock is renewable.
Biodegradable
Many unblended natural fibres can biodegrade under suitable biological conditions, but a finished textile may contain dyes, coatings, elastane, synthetic stitching or other treatments that change its end-of-life behaviour. Biodegradable also does not mean that a garment will quickly or safely break down in a landfill.
Organic cotton is produced under standards that restrict synthetic pesticides and fertilisers, but the finished garment still has impacts from processing, dyeing, manufacture, use and disposal. Compostability should only be assumed when the complete textile—including dyes, finishes, blends, threads and trims—is suitable for the intended composting system.
Synthetic Fabrics
Synthetic fabrics, typically produced by chemical processes, are made of synthetic materials. During the chemical phase, the fibres are usually extracted using a spinneret, which is a system that takes polymers to form fibres. Synthetic fibres have become a mainstay of the textile industry because they can be engineered for properties such as strength, stretch, low moisture absorption and consistent mass production.
Popular Synthetic Fabrics
Microfibre
Made from extremely finely woven filaments of acrylic, nylon, polyester, or rayon, microfibre can be woven so tightly that wind, rain, or cold can not penetrate the cloth, making it perfect for use in raincoats.
Rayon
The material used to create rayon is regenerated cellulose. It has similar characteristics to soil, a brilliant look, excellent draping qualities, a high absorbency, and no static or pilling issues. While rayon is made from plant fibres, it is called semi-synthetic because of the chemicals used in the manufacturing process, such as sodium hydroxide and carbon disulfide.
Polyester
Polyester is made of polyethene terephthalate. A fast-drying, durable, soft, and sturdy textile that does not wrinkle and keeps its shape well, it combines well with natural fibres–including cotton, wool, or artificial fibres–to make the fabric more durable and easier to wash.
Benefits of Synthetic Fabrics
Affordable
Many mass-market synthetic textiles are inexpensive because polymer production and fibre manufacturing operate at very large scale, but price varies by fibre, quality and application. Conventional polyester and nylon are fossil-derived, and their market price does not capture impacts such as greenhouse-gas emissions, microfibre pollution or end-of-life constraints.
Stain-resistant
Synthetic fibres tend to be more resistant to stains, and some are even engineered to avoid staining. The resulting fabrics are more stain resistant, making clothing made from synthetic fibre more useful for everyday wear.
Water-resistant
Most of them are also water-resistant, though many natural fabrics are not. Since these qualities can vary widely, it is highly recommended to check the water resistant nature of any garment carefully before any purchase.
Natural vs Synthetic Fabrics: Compare the Whole Lifecycle
A common misconception is that natural fabrics are environmentally benign while synthetics are inherently harmful. In reality, different impact categories can point in different directions. Cotton may involve substantial land and water use; polyester is fossil-derived and can shed persistent microfibres; wool can have significant land and methane impacts; regenerated cellulose depends heavily on forestry and chemical recovery. No single fibre category wins every comparison.
A useful comparison asks what the textile is for, how it was sourced and processed, how durable it is, how often it will be washed, whether it sheds microfibres, whether it can be repaired or reused, and what realistic recovery route exists at end of life. Both cotton and polyester can enter some recycling streams. See our guide to recycling old clothes.
Final Thoughts
Both natural and synthetic fabrics have strengths and trade-offs, and purpose matters. Fibre performance, fabric construction and garment design determine whether a material works for summer heat, winter insulation, stretch, rain protection, upholstery or heavy wear; the natural/synthetic label alone does not decide the rightclothes for summer, while your winter wardrobe could also feature synthetic fabrics.
For environmental impact, extending the life of a suitable garment can be more useful than replacing it solely because another fibre sounds greener. Reuse, repair and longer wear can reduce demand for new production regardless of whether the existing item is natural or synthetic. See our guide to second-hand clothing. Fabric impacts continue across production, use and end of life, so durability, care and actual wear matter alongside fibre choice.
If you intend to buy new fabrics, and you are torn between natural and synthetic fabrics, we recommend that you consider the above advantages and weigh them before making your decision.