Summer Bliss Sale: 10% OFF ALL T-SHIRTS! Limited time and quantities left.YOU ARE HERE: LAT HomeCollectionsCotton Much as they're trumpeted by so-called eco-designers, plant-based alternatives to cotton are a minuscule piece of the fashion puzzle. Dwarfed by cotton and synthetics such as polyester, spandex and rayon, textiles made from flax, wood pulp, hemp and bamboo make up less than 2% of the market. But that percentage is growing due to consumer and corporate demand, as well as technological advancements that make natural fibers easier to transform into wearable fabrics. One of the more promising developments in sustainable textiles is flax, a stalky and fibrous plant that can be grown with far less water and fewer pesticides than cotton and produced at a lower price. While cotton is cultivated on 12.6 million U.S. acres, flax is currently grown on just 2 million acres of U.S. and Canadian farmland. Most flax is produced for its grain, which is turned into food. But its fiber can also be transformed into materials that look and feel similar to cotton.

As a textile, it's incorporated into 1.1% of U.S. garments and most commonly used in linen. One version of a flax fabric, Crailar flax, was created by Vancouver-based Naturally Advanced Technologies in collaboration with the National Research Council of Canada. In the works for almost four years, it isn't yet commercially available, but Hanes, in North Carolina, has been working with NAT for more than three years and a spokesman said the company "might introduce some products that incorporate flax possibly late this year on a pretty small scale." A NAT spokesman said that Crailar flax is produced with a naturally occurring proprietary enzyme that transforms the fibers from the flax plant stalk into a soft and strong textile ideally suited for knit garments, such as T-shirts and underwear, mostly in blends with cotton. The processing agents for Crailar flax meet the Global Organic Textile Standards, according to Chief Executive Kenneth Barker. Bamboo, once the darling of eco-designers who prized its silky hand feel and drape, has largely been discredited as an alternative source.

While bamboo is among the fastest-growing plants on the planet and grows without irrigation, processing its fiber into textiles requires heavy-duty chemical solvents such as sodium hydroxide and carbon disulfide that can harm human health and the environment. The use of bamboo has dropped dramatically. In 2008, 0.1% of U.S. garments incorporated bamboo, compared with 0.04% today. On the other hand, hemp, an industrial, non-psychoactive plant that is part of the cannabis family, has been growing in popularity among clothing makers in recent years. Stella McCartney, Calvin Klein and a host of lesser-known labels now use the fiber, which, like bamboo and flax, requires far less water and fewer pesticides to grow than cotton. Hemp, however, is not legal to grow in the U.S., so most of the material used by American clothing designers is imported from China. As a result, just 0.003% of U.S. garments incorporate hemp. Tencel, a textile made from the pulp of eucalyptus trees imported, for the most part, from South Africa, is rising in popularity due to its rayon-like feel and sustainable origins.

Like bamboo and flax, eucalyptus requires fewer pesticides and far less acreage and water to grow than cotton. Most of the wood pulp is Forest Stewardship Council-certified, and Tencel's use has doubled in the last three years, from 0.2% in 2008 to 0.4% today. A competitor to viscose, Tencel is made by combining wood pulp with the nontoxic solvent amine oxide, 99% of which is recovered and reused, in a process known as closed-loop manufacturing. Patagonia, Banana Republic and L.L. Bean are among the manufacturers that use Tencel in their garments. Best Cat Food For Firm Stool Seizure Led to FloJo's DeathHis 104 scores make his caseRestaurant review: South Beverly GrillBrutal Murder by Teen-Age Girls Adds to Britons' ShockComaneci Confirms Suicide Attempt, Magazine SaysT Shirt Black Marché Fais 13 Attention

Cotton Tencel Perfect Shirt 77% Cotton, 23% Lyocell Sophisticated point collar with a button-front placket Buttoned pockets at chest A shirttail hem is rounded for a soft finish Long sleeves with buttoned cuffs and roll tabs Free Shipping on All US Ground Orders! 2 Day Express: $20* *2 business days if ordered by 12pm EST *Overnight if ordered by 12pm EST *Rates and delivery times for the 48 continuous United StatesApollo Tyres Price List Truck Tyres Returns must be made within 90 days of delivery for a refund of the purchase price, minus the shipping, handling, gift box fee and other additional charges.Homes For Sale Bay O Vista San Leandro Ca Read more about our return policy

The label of a coat containing Tencel Mattress with lyocell as cover material Lyocell is a form of rayon which consists of cellulose fibre made from dissolving pulp (bleached wood pulp) using dry jet-wet spinning. It was developed beginning in 1972 by a team at the now defunct American Enka fibers facility at Enka, North Carolina. This development was recognised by the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) in 2003 by the awarding of their Henry E. Millson Award for Invention. The operating name for the fibre inside the Enka Organization was "Newcell", and the development was carried through pilot plant scale before the work was halted. The fibre was developed further as Tencel in the 1980s by Courtaulds Fibres in Coventry, UK and at the Grimsby, UK pilot plant.[1] The process was first commercialised at Courtaulds rayon factories at Mobile, Alabama (1990) and at the Grimsby plant (1998). In 1998 Courtaulds was acquired by Akzo Nobel, who combined the Tencel division with other fibre divisions under the Acordis banner, prior to selling them off to private equity (CVC Partners).

In 2004 CVC sold the Tencel division to Lenzing AG, who combined it with their "Lenzing Lyocell" business but maintained the brand name Tencel. As of 2013, Lenzing's Tencel brand is perhaps the most widely known lyocell fiber producer throughout the world. The US Federal Trade Commission defines Lyocell as a fibre "composed of cellulose precipitated from an organic solution in which no substitution of the hydroxyl groups takes place and no chemical intermediates are formed". It classifies the fibre as a sub-category of rayon.[3] The fibre is used to make textiles for clothing and other purposes. As of 2010, Lyocell is more expensive to produce than cotton or viscose rayon. It is used in many everyday fabrics. Staple fibres are used in clothes such as denim, chino, underwear, casual wear, and towels. Filament fibres are used in items that have a silkier appearance such as women’s clothing and men’s dress shirts. Lyocell can be blended with a variety of other fibres such as silk, cotton, rayon, polyester, linen, nylon, and wool.

Lyocell is also used in conveyor belts, specialty papers, and medical dressings. Lyocell shares many properties with other cellulosic fibres such as cotton, linen, ramie and viscose rayon. Some main characteristics of lyocell fibres are that they are soft, absorbent, very strong when wet or dry, and resistant to wrinkles. Lyocell fabric can be machine washed or drycleaned, it drapes well, and it can be dyed many colors, and can simulate a variety of textures such as suede, leather, and silk. Hardwood logs are chipped into squares about the size of postage stamps. The chips are digested chemically, to remove the lignin and to soften them enough to be mechanically milled to a wet pulp. This pulp may be bleached. Then it is dried into a continuous sheet and rolled onto spools. At this stage, it has the consistency of thick posterboard paper. The roll of cellulose weighs some 500 lb (227 kg). The waste liquor may be reworked to produce tall oil, used to make alkyd resins. At the Lyocell mill, rolls of pulp are broken into one-inch squares and dissolved in N-methylmorpholine N-oxide, giving a solution called "dope."

The filtered cellulose solution is then pumped through spinnerets, devices used with a variety of manmade fibres . The spinneret is pierced with small holes rather like a showerhead; when the solution is forced through it, continuous strands of filament come out. The fibres are drawn in air to align the cellulose molecules, giving the Lyocell fibres its characteristic high strength. The fibres are then immersed in another solution of amine oxide, diluted this time, which sets the fibre strands. Then they are washed with de-mineralised water. The Lyocell fibre next passes to a drying area, where the water is evaporated from it. The strands then pass to a finishing area, where a lubricant, which may be a soap or silicone or other agent depending on the future use of the fibre, is applied. This step is basically a detangler, prior to carding and spinning into yarn. The dried, finished fibres are at this stage in a form called tow, a large untwisted bundle of continuous lengths of filament.

The bundles of tow are taken to a crimper, a machine that compresses the fibre, giving it texture and bulk. The crimped fibre is carded by mechanical carders, which perform an action like combing, to separate and order the strands. The carded strands are cut and baled for shipment to a fabric mill. The entire manufacturing process, from unrolling the raw cellulose to baling the fibre, takes about two hours. After this, the Lyocell may be processed in many ways. It may be spun with another fibre, such as cotton or wool. The resulting yarn can be woven or knitted like any other fabric, and may be given a variety of finishes, from soft and suede-like to silky. The amine oxide used to dissolve the cellulose and set the fibre after spinning is recycled. 98% of the amine oxide is typically recovered. Since there is little waste product, this process is relatively eco-friendly. However, it uses a substantial amount of energy, and uses an organic solvent of petrochemical origin. ^ Introducing Tencel lyocell