Fabric
Bamboo
Bamboo fabric has been growing in popularity because it has many unique properties and is more sustainable than most non-renewable textile fibers. The fiber is made from the pulp of bamboo grass and can be woven into bamboo fabric. It is highly water absorbent, which translates into an excellent wicking ability that pulls moisture away from the skin when produced as a fabric. Through the application of heat, bamboo is refined into charcoal and is then ground into a fine powder and spun into a fiber, until it is woven into a fabric.
Bamboo has inherent antibacterial qualities. It retains these qualities through multiple washings and can also neutralize odor-causing bacteria. The fiber has insulating properties that keep the wearer cooler in summer and warmer in winter. It is recognized as a green material under LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, an industry standard for green certification). However, Ailin does not know of any factories producing bamboo that have FSC Certification, which would insure that the bamboo was harvested in a sustainable fashion in relation to the ecosystem in which it is grown. We look forward to continuing our research into bamboo charcoal and eventually to helping support growers who seek Fair Trade certification and who practice sustainable, organic farming of bamboo. We do support the use of bamboo as a renewable, natural fiber in lieu of non-renewable fibers, and support its natural progression into an organically harvested fabric.
Ailin uses Bamboo charcoal as a woven fabric in some of its designs. A bamboo symbol is noted next to each design on our website that incorporates bamboo charcoal and carefully spells out its planet-friendly aspects.
Downcycled Polyester
Ailin has varying degrees of control in the stages set forth by our suppliers when cultivating downcylced fabrics.
PCD (post-consumer downcycled) filament yarn is used throughout our line as both a woven and a knit fabric. A recycled symbol is noted next to each design on our website that uses PCD and carefully spells out its planet-friendly aspects. The term post-consumer is used because the fabric that we use is produced and derived from PET bottles or garbage that has been used by us as "consumers". Instead of being deferred to an incinerator or a landfill as "trash", our suppliers catch the PET bottles on "the downstream" and give it a new life by making it into yarn and ultimately into clothing. Through a highly advanced chemical decomposition and purification process of the PET bottles, the bottles are broken down into flakes or pellets and are then spun into a highly pure polyester raw fiber. By extending the lifecycle of these PET bottles, we collectively help to generate less reliance on non-renewable resources, like petroleum, which is often used in the production of fabric in the apparel industry. We then shift our intention to rely more on what we have collectively already produced as "waste" as a healthier alternative to fabric production. Our knitted downcycled polyester items are all certified by the Oeko-Tex Standard 100. |
