These aren’t rogue factories. And because of the high concentration of the rayon industry – 75% of it is dominated by 10 companies– you can be almost positive that any conventional brand you can think of sources their rayon from the same dirty factories. There is also some interesting innovation in the works to shift the raw material away from forests altogether. While rayon is made from natural materials (like beech trees or bamboo), it undergoes intense chemical processing, making it a manufactured fiber. When I visited the Green Eileen pop-up (now Fisher Found) the old viscose shirts and pants that came back in through donations had held up remarkably well, and were easy to upcycle into new garments. Rayon is made of cellulose, which is a fibrous chemical found in all plants. To help boost your familiarity with this ubiquitous fabric, keep reading to see everything you need to know about rayon. But rayon (also known as viscose – they are the same thing and are used interchangeably) is not a natural fiber. What about the toxicity of rayon production? Rayon is breathable and does not insulate body heat, which makes it ideal for use in clothing worn in hot and humid climates. This can make it challenging to pin down exactly what it is, how to launder it, and what type of weather it’s best suited for. It’s a low-cost and convenient fibre to work with and lends itself to diverse uses. Rayon comes in many forms – … It also shows up in dresses, blouses, and outerwear. Let’s begin with Rayon, because it is the material from which viscose derives from. While its texture and versatility make it an ideal choice for a range of apparel, rayon isn’t a durable fabric, and standard machine washing can cause it to stretch, shrink, or bleed onto other articles of clothing. In Indonesia, rayon factory workers have been found washing the chemicals off of rayon textiles right in the river. How the plants are sourced (often in a way that destroys old-growth rainforests). They are OEKO-Tex certified and manufactured in accordance with ISO-9000 and ISO-14001.” (These are international safety and environmental standards that I personally trust.) It can imitate the feel and texture of silk, wool, ... Rayon fibers are naturally very bright, but the addition of delustering pigments cuts down on this natural brightness . (A more accurate term would be to call them manmade cellulosic fibers.) That’s sort of like putting high fructose corn syrup in a food product and listing it as “corn.” Yes, it was once corn, but it’s since been transformed into a manmade product that has serious negative implications. Branding by Idil Berken. Rayon is a manufactured fiber made from natural sources such as wood and agricultural products that are regenerated as cellulose fiber. So, these emails make a difference. But rayon (also known as viscose – they are the same thing and are used interchangeably) is not a natural fiber. Ninety-six major fashion brands, including Levi’s, H&M, Zara, Eileen Fisher, Stella McCartney, VP Corp (owner of Timberland, North Face, and Wrangler, among many, many others), have promised to clean up their rayon supply chains by the end of 2017, due to the excellent work by CanopyStyle, a subsidiary of the nonprofit Canopy, who turned to cleaning up fashion’s supply chain from deforestation after working on paper sourcing. Rayon is a semi-synthetic cellulosic fiber used widely in everything from clothing construction to bedsheets to tire cord. One of the most common types of rayon is viscose rayon, which has a lot in common with cotton. Rayon is one of the most versatile fabrics around, yet it remains somewhat of a mystery. But according to the nonprofit Canopy, modal has been linked to deforestation, and there are other suppliers of modal besides Lenzing that are pulping rainforests to manufacture it. It’s a low-cost and convenient fiber to work with and lends itself to diverse uses. Nine out of the ten top rayon manufactures have made the same pledge to not source material from mills that contribute to deforestation. The cellulose is extracted from wood or cotton pulp, although wood pulp is most common. Viscose, eco-friendly modal and Tencel, bamboo, and other man-made plant-based fibers are all considered rayons. There is hope. Rainforests are being burned and cleared in Indonesia and elsewhere in order to plant palm oil plantations. The many types and grades of rayon can imitate the feel and texture of natural fibers such as silk, wool, cotton, and linen. Regenerated fibers are made by processing natural fiber materials. It’s also why there are no rayon producers in the U.S. It’s (almost always, more on this later) too toxic to comply with the EPA’s standards – workers are at high risk of insanity, nerve damage, heart disease, and stroke. That’s what is happening in Asia, according to a report that came out on Tuesday by the Changing Markets Foundation. These tough plant materials are broken down through a chemical and mechanical process involving sodium hydroxide and carbon disulfide into a viscous (ah, that’s where that name viscose came from) liquid, that is then spun into threads using sulfuric acid. We can't decide between this and the baby pink. (Lenzing is rather vague on this point, though apparently Lenzing as a whole has the Pan-European Forest Certification.) In a nutshell, rayon is a fabric made from purified cellulose fibers, which are typically created from wood pulp.Though rayon is derived from natural materials, it requires certain chemicals, so it’s considered to be a semi-synthetic fabric.. One of the most common types of rayon is viscose rayon, which has a lot in common with cotton. For when you're on the hunt for just the right black tee. Rayon is produced from naturally occurring polymers; it may be a really artificial fiber or completely a natural fiber….. Rayon is a semi-synthetic or artificial fiber. But I’m here to try to clear this up for you. It has become more and more popular – the global output of viscose rayon is projected to reach $16 billion per year by 2021. Eileen Fisher has used it for years. We’ve seen how expensive silk is – for many years, chemists tried to invent artificial silk that could be mass-produced more cheaply. 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