Pretty ProgressiveNot all fabrics are good for the environment. If you want a natural, sustainable fabric for your furniture, try one of the five natural fabrics you can use for upholstery below.
Linen
Linen is one of the most ancient natural fabrics, and its use dates back tens of thousands of years. It comes from the flax plant. The benefits of linen fabric include its durability and cleanliness. It’s one of the strongest and longest-lasting fabrics for upholstered furniture. Furthermore, it’s highly resistant to bacteria and odor.
Cotton
This is a soft, fluffy fiber that people have used as a fabric material for ages. Cotton is a plant that grows in bolls. After harvesting, the usable part gets separated from the stem, cleaned, and spun into yarn. Cotton has plenty of pros. It’s soft and warm, low maintenance, and hypoallergenic. Also, purchasing it helps support hard-working cotton farmers.
Wool
Wool is a fiber shorn from sheep and other fluffy animals like goats and rabbits. When people do it correctly, the harvesting of wool isn’t harmful to the animal. In fact, for many of our woolly friends, shearing is necessary. It prevents their wool from becoming overgrown and matted and keeps them cool in the heat of summer. In addition to helping animals, wool is extremely breathable, resistant to water and odor, and has a soft-to-the-touch feel.
Silk
Another natural fabric you can use for upholstery is silk. Silk comes from the cocoons of silkworms. While not all silk is cruelty-free, Ahimsa silk is, and no silkworms come to harm in the harvesting process. Silk is luxurious, long-lasting, and very clean, and it’s a wonderfully shiny and stand-out material you can use to glam up your home.
Hemp
Hemp is a plant that people can refine into fibers. Many associate hemp with the drug, but it’s also an incredibly sustainable material that can make paper, rope, textiles, and even animal feed. It’s one of the fastest-growing plants on Earth and requires much less land and water than other fiber plants. Hemp isn’t just sustainable; it’s also much more durable than other natural fibers, absorbent, and resistant to bacterial growth.
