What’s the Most Sustainable Fabric?

The Truth About Cotton, Bamboo, Synthetics & Conscious Choices

Let’s break down the truth behind the most common fabrics used in fashion—especially activewear and conscious brands:

🌿 NATURAL FABRICS

🧵 Cotton

Pros:

• Breathable, soft, and biodegradable
• Familiar and versatile
• Can be grown organically (without pesticides)

Cons:

• Conventional cotton is one of the most chemically intensive crops in the world
• Requires massive amounts of water (especially in places like India or Uzbekistan)
• Organic cotton is better—but still needs a lot of land and water

Bottom line: Go for organic, GOTS-certified cotton, and buy less. It’s not perfect, but it’s skin-safe and widely understood.

🎍 Bamboo (viscose/rayon from bamboo)

Pros:

• Grows fast, needs little water, no pesticides
• Marketed as “eco” and “sustainable”

Cons:

• The processing is harsh—to make bamboo soft, it’s chemically broken down (often using toxic solvents like carbon disulfide)
• Unless it’s closed-loop (like Lyocell), it can be worse than synthetic
• Very few bamboo fabrics are truly eco unless labeled “mechanically processed” bamboo” (which is rare and expensive)

Bottom line: Bamboo can be green in the field, but dirty in the factory. Be wary unless the brand provides transparent certifications (like FSC + OEKO-TEX + closed-loop).

🌰 Hemp & Linen

Pros:

• Extremely low-impact to grow
• Requires no pesticides
• Durable, breathable, biodegradable

Cons:

• Can be scratchy (unless blended)
• Needs mechanical softening or blended with cotton
• Limited in activewear (not stretchy)

Bottom line: Probably the most eco-friendly choice overall, but less common in leggings or stretchy clothing.

🧪 SYNTHETIC FABRICS

🧬 Polyester / Nylon / Spandex (Lycra)

Pros:

• Super durable, stretchy, shape-holding = perfect for yoga wear
• Long-lasting if cared for well
• Can be OEKO-TEX certified to ensure low toxicity

Cons:

• Made from crude oil
• Not biodegradable
• Sheds microplastics into water every time it’s washed
• Often treated with PFAS for water/stain resistance

Bottom line: Synthetic fabrics are problematic ecologically—but when certified (like OEKO-TEX®) and used for durability in slow fashion, they can be more ethical than “natural” options used wastefully. 

🌱 Biodegradable Polyamide (Amni® Soul Eco)

A new-generation synthetic designed to biodegrade quickly after disposal, while maintaining high performance.

Pros:

– Soft, stretchy, and high-compression

– Fast-drying and breathable

– Biodegradable at end of life

Cons:

– Still a synthetic (derived from petrochemicals)

– Requires industrial composting conditions to fully break down.

💚 Gypsy Amazon’s Position

We use OEKO-TEX® certified Brazilian Lycra because:

• It’s safe for skin — free from PFAS, azo dyes, and harmful solvents
• It lasts — fewer pieces bought, worn longer
• It performs — flexible, breathable, supportive
• We work in slow batches, not mass production
• We’re transparent — about what it’s made of, and what it’s not
• And now, some of our pieces are made with Amni® Soul Eco, a biodegradable Lycra that breaks down faster at end of life—offering the same comfort with less long-term waste