Fast-fashion is all about mass-producing inexpensive, temporary styles to meet the perceived needs of consumers every week. While the ever-growing fast-fashion retailers have to spit out the trendy must-haves at lightning speed, the market asks fabric suppliers to find cheaper and faster ways to produce inexpensive, poorly made fabrics despite its devastating consequences.
Did you know that the garments we put on, the towels we wipe, or the bed sheets we sleep on can be associated with causing health problems or devastating historical forests?
If you check your fabric labels, you may come across the term “Viscose.” Viscose is a semi-synthetic fiber made via intensely processing natural fiber with chemicals. The substance acquired from pulp or cellulose of bushes (eucalyptus, beech, pine), sugar cane, or soy. However, to turn pulpy viscous substances into fibers, it needs to dissolve into a chemical solution (sodium hydroxide and carbon disulfide).
Since it’s plant-based, it should be ‘better’ than its synthetic equivalents, right? Not really. The whole process is chemically-intensive and highly-polluting. It impacts the surrounding environment and the health of textile workers and local inhabitants living near the viscose factories. Not only contributes to the irresponsible deforestation of the world’s precious and ancient forests, but more than 150 million trees are also cut for the viscose supply chain every year, which has ruinous consequences for the environment, endangering vulnerable animals such as elephants and orangutans.
So if Viscose can be avoided, what is the solution?
As the world recognizes the hidden cost of fabric production, perhaps we could consider environment-friendly fabrics that don’t leave large carbon footprints.
Expertly loomed, our luxurious, fast-absorbing Turkish towels produced using only 100% long fiber organic cotton combed for extra softness —longer cotton fiber results in a softer, more luxurious feel than other regular towels. Our cotton crops are processed without heavy metals or carcinogenic compounds.
Although Viscose appears everywhere, it is not difficult to avoid it in your wardrobe at the end of the day. Consider affordable organic cotton towel options from Cozy Koza to enjoy your ‘guilt-free’ towels without sacrificing quality.