What is Rayon Fabric and is it a Sustainable Material?
Everywhere you look, fresh styles and low prices make it easy to spruce up your wardrobe. Unfortunately, it’s exactly these constant style changes and cheap garments that are contributing to the hugely negative impact that fashion is having on the environment, with 10% of global carbon emissions coming from the fashion industry.
It’s not all bad news, and there are some great ways to shop sustainably by visiting thrift stores or supporting ethical brands. Separating ethical practices from greenwashing can be difficult, especially with so many labels screaming “natural” or “sustainable”. One popular fabric that’s been called sustainable is rayon, but is it really?
What is Rayon Fabric?
Whether you’ve heard of it or not, there’s likely some rayon hanging in your closet right now. Rayon is a popular choice for fashion designers all around the world. It’s a soft and smooth fabric, which drapes off the body very well. Rayon is also breathable and absorbent, so it’s recently become a staple for athletic wear.
It’s been around much longer than your running shorts though, with rayon first patented in 1885 after the French silk industry faced a crisis, and natural silk fibres were in short supply.
What is Rayon Fabric Made From?
Image Credit: stevanovicigor via Envato Elements
Rayon fabric has been called a “natural fabric” because it’s made from trees such as bamboo, pine, eucalyptus, or beech wood. The manufacture of rayon does start with a natural ingredient, but there’s a reason that the finished product isn’t recognisable as a plant, and that’s because it’s highly treated and processed.
To make rayon, wood pulp is required. Whether it’s beech, bamboo, or something else, the wood pulp must first undergo treatment so that the cellulose can be extracted. Cellulose is part of the plant’s cell wall. Once it’s been extracted, the cellulose is dissolved in sodium hydroxide and rolled into a sheet. This changes its properties, and the sheet is crumbled and chemically treated again, before being soaked in sulfuric acid and turned into fibres. These fibres soon become thread-like filaments for rayon fabric.
Different Types of Rayon Fabric
The word rayon is used to describe many different types of fabric. A fabric can be called rayon if it’s man-made from a type of cellulose and treated in a process like the one described above. Three types are very common, and you’re likely to find these in your wardrobe.
Viscose
The first type is viscose rayon, and you’ll find those words used interchangeably on labels. Viscose rayon often has a smooth, silky feel to it and because of this, it’s regularly used as a cheaper alternative to silk. This is the most common kind, and it can be used in a range of products from clothing to industrial cords.
Modal
Another type of rayon that’s commonly created is modal rayon. Modal fabric undergoes the same treatment process, but it’s regularly blended with fibres such as cotton or spandex to change the properties. Underwear, pyjamas, sheets, and towels are all common uses for modal fabric.
Lyocell
Lyocell is the third commonly made rayon fabric. Lyocell feels and looks more like linen or cotton, and it can also be used in a blend. Because of this, lyocell feels more natural. Compared to modal or viscose rayon, the creation of lyocell does use gentler chemicals, although it’s still heavily processed and treated.
TENCEL is a branded form of sustainable Lyocell produced by Austrian company Lenzing. The company sources its materials from sustainably grown forests and recycles the solvents used in the production process.
Is Rayon a Sustainable Fabric?
Image Credit: GitaKulinica via Envato Elements
Rayon has a reputation for being a sustainable fabric because it comes from a natural material base, and it’s often blended with natural fibres like cotton and linen.
Firstly, it’s important to consider where this base material is coming from. In 2022 around 30% of rayon fabrics were created with wood pulp from endangered and ancient forests. Deforestation is also a big problem, with established diverse forests cut down to make way for new planting of trees exclusively for rayon production. As well as devastating an ecosystem, deforestation also sees the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Is Rayon Biodegradable and Compostable?
Another reason that rayon has been labelled sustainable is that it’s biodegradable and even compostable. Studies have shown that rayon can break down in soil in just 6 weeks, which is almost twice as fast as cotton; however, these studies tested decomposition in ideal situations, which most rayon fabrics won’t generally be subjected to.
Rayon fabrics are sometimes blended with synthetic materials such as polyester, which would prevent the material from being biodegradable or compostable, so it’s definitely worth knowing what you’re buying if you’re looking for the most sustainable option.
Chemicals Used to Produce Rayon
We’ve talked about some of the chemicals that are used in the creation of rayon, and if they were starting to sound a bit scary to you, that’s because they are. The chemicals used in the rayon manufacturing process can cause insanity, insomnia, blindness, and heart, kidney, and lung damage to workers.
Carbon disulphide is one of the worst chemicals used in the manufacturing of rayon, and it’s been labelled as dangerous for humans for over 100 years, being found to cause brain disease and damage the nervous system.
Even if workers are adequately protected, these chemicals are still damaging the environment. Waste chemicals are disposed of once they’ve been used, and can leach into water supplies and soil, harming the environment and nearby communities.
Lyocell production doesn’t require carbon disulphide, but it does use amine oxide — a solvent used to dissolve the wood pulp.
Pros and Cons of Rayon Fabric
Pros
Rayon is commonly used because of its fabric properties. It’s light, drapes well, and can be used in anything from ball dresses to pyjamas to athletic wear. It looks nice and can be dyed in a range of colours and patterns to suit any garment. From a dressmaker’s perspective, rayon can be great.
From an environmental perspective, the fact that rayon is biodegradable, and breaks down faster than fabrics like fleece or polyester is a positive.
Cons
Because of the deforestation in creating the base wood pulp for rayon, the fact that it’s made from natural ingredients doesn’t make it sustainable. Combine that with the harsh and dangerous chemicals used in the manufacturing process, endangering many factory workers and the local environment too, and there are big problems.
Another problem with rayon fabric is that it doesn’t last very long. It’s a weak fabric, and everyday wear and tear, along with washing, starts to break it down quickly. Because it’s cheap to obtain, rayon is regularly used by fast fashion manufacturers who aren’t worried about durability. This means rayon is ending up in our landfills, often not long after it was purchased in the first place.
Final Thoughts on Rayon Fabric
While some companies are working on making rayon without harmful environmental impacts, these companies are few and far between. Rayon makes up more than 8% of the fabric in the world, and most of this fabric is produced cheaply, at an expensive cost to our world and the people who make it.
Whatever your clothing needs are, fabrics like organic cotton, linen, hemp, wool, and silk are more deserving of the “natural” label and better for you and our planet.
If you’re looking for sustainable fabric, rayon is not the magic answer, unless you choose material produced by a company such as Lenzing.
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