Designer Myrrhia Resneck’s Spring 2013 collection features elegant, flattering, edgy knitwear, sustainably made in California.

One important part of sustainable fashion is local manufacturing, and it can still be challenging to have a fully “Made in the U.S.” fashion line. Oakland-based knitwear designer Myrrhia Resneck of Myrrhia Fine Knitwear has invested heavily in localized production and made it her goal to provide livelihoods in the textile industry in her community.

After one year of production, Myrrhia decided to invest in a Stoll knitting machine – currently the only one of its kind in Northern California – which she intends to use to create a micro industry for surrounding farms and other knitwear lines (NoCal designers, take note).

Myrrhia uses sustainable materials including locally sourced fiber from Northern California and wool and cotton that is sustainably grown and harvested as well as milled into yarn locally. The company is also involved with the Fibershed movement – an organization dedicated to regionalizing fiber sourcing.

In starting her knitwear line, Resneck continues a long-standing family tradition of fashion-related business endeavors. Her maternal great-grandfather started out peddling clothes out of the trunk of a car, her grandfather and great-uncle operated a chain of women’s clothing stores in the Midwest, and, at age 7, Resneck’s paternal grandmother taught her to knit. That same week, she had designed and completed her first project – a pair of green slippers. Fast forward a couple decades and although her focus has changed, that initial passion for knitwear remains.

Myrrhia’s knits and accessories are inspired by “friends and family, technology, and space.” The recently released Spring 2013 collection features patterned maxi skirts, lace knit tops, cropped and boyfriend cardigans, flowing long dresses of scrolling lace and playful short dresses of scoop and boatneck cuts as well as versatile infinity scarfs made of soft, silky knits. The pieces showcase the designer’s sustainability efforts, using fibers like un-dyed organic cotton (grown only 90 miles from Myrrhia’s studio by Foxfibre) and Lenzing Tencel, which is harvested sustainably from Eucalyptus trees.

The pieces are highly wearable, timeless, yet fashion forward. The geometric shapes, lace-like textures and elegantly paired colors work just as well for day as for night. The rich earthy tones and vibrant shades of blue, purple, and teal are universally flattering and goes beyond seasonality to suggest a style of “elegant-femininity-meets-majestic-warrior-goddess nuances.”

We think we can identify with that.

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Have you ever worn a eucalyptus tree?

You may have worn eucalyptus since Tencel, the fiber and fabric made out of eucalyptus wood pulp, is rapidly gaining popularity among big name apparel producers like Patagonia and Topshop. Tencel is classified as a man-made cellulose fiber, meaning that the fibers used to make it are extracted from the cellulose-rich core of the eucalyptus tree, and processed by machine to be made into yarns and textiles.

Tencel is recognized as a very sustainable textile solution because of its superior fabric qualities, biodegradability, renewable resource base, and production process that could be entirely closed-loop.

Eucalyptus wood fiber was originally termed lyocell by the company that created the fiber extraction process, but Tencel has become synonymous with lyocell as it is the leading wood pulp textile product. The producer of Tencel fabrics is Austrian-based Lenzing AG, a company dedicated to developing sustainable and environmental solutions for fabric manufacturing. They have found eucalyptus to be a highly renewable resource since it grows at a rate of 6-12 feet per year, reaching nearly 100 feet within a 10-year period. The eucalyptus trees Lenzing uses are grown on plantations certified as sustainably and responsibly managed to ensure this renewability.

After harvest the trees are turned into pulp that is broken down with amine oxide, a non-toxic solvent that heats the wood pulp until all of its cellulose dissolves. Then the cellulose solution is squirted through a spinneret with hundreds of tiny holes to solidify streams of large molecules into fibers that can be spun, simultaneously releasing the amine oxide. Once the fibers have been spun into yarn, they are washed to remove any solvents, dyed and finished, ready to be woven with nearly any type of fabric to produce a range of high quality textiles.

Academic studies have shown that growing wood for fiber products has a much smaller impact than cultivating cotton, and manufacturing Tencel causes hardly any damage to the atmosphere or environment.  Amine oxide is the only chemical used throughout the entire process of fiber extraction and processing, and has been recognized by the Forest Stewardship Council as “a non-toxic solvent.”

Lenzing retrieves the released amine oxide after the spinneret process and concentrates it through distillation so that 99.5% of it can be re-used. All waste is utilized, such as any of the leftover wood, which is used as bio-diesel to power Lenzing’s internal manufacturing process. Even by-products of the manufacturing process are harnessed and utilized, like xylitol found in the wood that the food industry uses as a natural sweetener.

This entire process renders Tencel a very versatile fabric, and one with superior qualities such as good draping, softness, breathability, moisture-wicking and natural wrinkle-resistance. Tencel is even biodegradable, with several experiments proving that the material can completely biodegrade in under six weeks (one study found it to decompose in eight days) in the compost.

Tencel has also received the Biobased Certification by the USDA’s BioPreferred℠ program that aims to reduce reliance on petroleum based consumption, meaning that the fiber is “composed wholly or significantly of biological ingredients—renewable plant, animal, marine or forestry materials.”

The textile is used for a number of applications such as high fashion, activewear, outerwear, underwear, home textiles and furnishing fabrics. A few months ago, Lenzing released information on innovations in Tencel yarn for denim, which could reduce the amount of cotton used for jeans alongside eliminating the often harmful and water-thirsty processing of cotton-based denim textiles. Kontiki designs bags that incorporate recycled bike tubes and has collaborated with Lenzing by also using their Tencel denim.

Several designers and apparel companies have decided to incorporate Tencel fabric into their garments not only because of its environmental benefits, but mainly because of its amazing qualities as a textile. Patagonia has been at the forefront of utilizing Tencel fabrics, with above pictured Tencel and organic cotton blends becoming a fast favorites. Even mainstream brands like Acne and Free People are adopting the material because of its extreme durability and breathability, while higher end labels like Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, rag & bone and Elie Tahari favor its excellent drape,  softness and applicability for a range of designs from silky dresses to leggings and trousers.

Tencel is not finished or dyed by Lenzing, making the traceability, full impact and knowledge of chemical use in a Tencel garment difficult. However, as the fashion industry begins to understand the long-term sustainability of producing clothes responsibly, we’ll no doubt see the tenacious Tencel staking its claim as a textile of the future.

Also check out:

Fiber Watch: Off Of Wine Bottles & Into Clothing

Fiber Watch: The Bast Is Yet To Come

Fiber Watch: The Sartorial Sting Of Nettles

The post Fiber Watch: Tencel the Tenable appeared first on EcoSalon.

Column“Best regards and please continue to bark up the right tree.”

These were the closing words of wisdom I received from Oliver Heintz, founder and managing director behind BARK CLOTH®. His email salutation is potentially playful or maybe meant to leave a mark on your memory. Regardless, through this signature, I was inevitably inspired to trek deeper into deconstructing the fibers of the forest, to uncover the origins of two sustainable materials in particular: bark cloth and Lenzing’s tencel.

BARK CLOTH

Derived from the Mutuba tree (wild common fig), Heintz’s BARK CLOTH® is the pioneer in developing fabric from this wood-based material; they have been cooperating with small-scale organic farmers in Uganda since 1999. Traditionally, bark cloth is manufactured by the Baganda people; in their process, the inner bark is harvested during the rainy season, and then transformed into a soft fabric by using various wooden hammers. With such an organic creation process, bark cloth can have extensive varying textures and shades of brown.

It may seem perplexing to imagine bark as a material that you could actually wear. But remarkably, the process of stripping bark from trees and removing the soft inner layer to make it into softer, wearable garments – like loincloths and purses – is thought to have been around since 4,000 B.C., where it began in southeastern China. For the Ugandan-Germany family venture BARK CLOTH®, the material’s essence is undeniably distinguished: “Its strong contrast between archaic authenticity and state-of-the-art textile finishing processes generates a convincing effect for nearly unlimited applications.”

In the nineteenth century, bark cloth production slowed with the introduction of cotton cloth by Arab traders. However, the Baganda people have continued to embrace this traditional craft, particularly for their cultural and spiritual functions. UNESCO even named “the art of bark cloth making in Uganda” as a World Cultural Heritage site in 2008.

Bark Cloth – available on Source4Style

With roots of holistic capacities, the source – the Mutuba tree – serves as a significant sustainable resource in East Africa. It is considered one of the most multipurpose plants, especially in areas where intensive banana-coffee lakeshore land use systems are in place. Its roots transfer nutrients from deep soil areas closer to the surface, while its canopy above shades the banana and coffee shrub. Not only does the Mutumba’s presence boost crop yields, but it also serves as construction wood, fast growing firewood, its leaves rot quickly and function as an excellent fertilizer, and it also possesses medicinal properties – tea can be made from its leaves to treat a sore throat, while the tree’s latex is a skin ointment to cover wounds.

A refined, more “finished” variation of bark cloth, BARKTEX® seems to be proving just as multifaceted as its mother tree. Currently, DLR Aerospace Centre is testing it for use in airplane wings, while the company is also cooperating with the Freiburg Rainforest Institute in an effort to develop ecologically, economically, and socially sustainable materials for use in sports equipment and outdoor gear.

Bark cloth belts at Christian Siriano SS11 at NYFW

And, yes – bark cloth has now pounded its way into the high-end fashion sector as well. As one of the earliest members of Source4Style, Christian Siriano discovered the material through their sourcing platform, and designed a collection of belts that were featured in his Spring 2011 Collection at New York Fashion Week. Others have fashioned bark cloth into trench coats, shoes, and mind-blowing gorgeous dresses.

DIY extraordinaire and author of P.S. I Made This, Erica Domesek, recently acquired a bundle of bark cloth.

As she tells EcoSalon, “One of the beauties of what I do is that I’m attracted to materials. It’s kind of like when you buy a really nice dress, and you save it for a special occasion. I’m that way with materials – I hold onto them until I know exactly what I want to do. The bark cloth is definitely not an everyday material – it’s something special.”

We can’t wait to see what fabulous creation Domesek evolves from the wood-ware, when the time is right to let it shine.

TENCEL

TENCEL® is a fiber procured from the wood pulp of eucalyptus trees, and produced by Lenzing, the only fiber producer in the world to possess the European Union Eco-label. So, to chop it down to the basics: excess wood pulp is processed into a thread that can be woven into super-soft tencel fabric.

U.S. Marketing Manager of Lenzing, Tricia Carey tries to break it down for us. Basically, Lenzing purchases FSC-Certified wood pulp, then adds a non-toxic solvent called amine oxide. This solvent goes through a closed loop cycle and then the fiber is extruded through the spinnerettes and cut into specific staple lengths.

Not only is tencel biodegradable, its fibral makeup is innately formatted for comfort. As you can see by the above image, the surface of tencel is smoother and more supple; wool tends to be more scaly, while cotton is irregular and rough in texture.

“Tencel has been commercial for 20 years and in that time the expansion has been amazing. Most recently we have seen more use in activewear garments and denim. Tencel is used at retailers like J. Crew, Banana Republic, Gap, Nordstrom, Victoria’s Secret, Ann Taylor, Club Monaco, Target, J. Jill, Macy’s and more,” Carey tells EcoSalon.

J.Crew Tencel Shirt

As cotton production becomes more difficult to keep up with due to population increases, economics, water waste, and inconsistent climate shifts, man made cellulosic fibers (MMCF) may be the fabrics of the future.

Carey tells EcoSalon, “We can clearly see the demands on the earth will continue to increase as the global population continues to grow.  Land will be needed for food crops and water for drinking. There is a ‘Cellulosic Gap’ where there will be a demand for more regenerated cellulosic fibers, like viscose, modal and TENCEL®.”

So, what does the future of fashionable fabrics hold for us? And, will cotton no longer be the fabric of our lives?

ALSO READ:

THREADED: The Awamaki Lab Places Peruvian Handwoven Textiles Front & Center

THREADED: Julia Ramsey Sheds Her Skin About ‘Pelt’

Image: Raymond Meier

The post THREADED: Wearable Woods – From Forests Into Fashionable Fabrics appeared first on EcoSalon.