A natural product is a substance made by living things and found in nature. In the widest sense, natural products include any substance created by living organisms. These products can also be made in laboratories through chemical processes, such as partial or complete chemical creation.
Weleda is a company that operates in many countries and makes beauty products and natural medicines. Both types of products are created using anthroposophic principles, which is a type of alternative medicine that focuses on natural healing methods. The company’s name comes from the German version of the name of Veleda, a spiritual leader from the Bructeri tribe who lived in the first century.
Repair Café is an organization that sets up places where people can fix everyday items, such as electronics, mechanical devices, computers, bicycles, and clothing. These events usually take place in community areas like churches, libraries, and college campuses, where tools are available and volunteers help people repair their broken items. Repair Café is part of a community-based movement that works to reduce waste, stop overusing products, and address the problem of items being made to break down quickly.
Slow fashion is an important idea in the movement for sustainable clothing and is seen as the opposite of fast fashion. It is part of the “slow movement,” which supports a system of making clothes that is fair to people, the environment, and animals. Unlike fast fashion, which uses large factories, slow fashion works with local craftspeople and uses materials that are safe for the environment.
Organic wool yarn comes from sheep that have not been given any chemicals, such as pesticides. The Organic Wool Factsheet, saved on November 20, 2014, by the Wayback Machine, from the Organic Trade Association (OTA) explains what makes wool organic and what does not. The “O’Mama Report” from the OTA lists “land management, livestock management, scouring processes, spinning processes, and dyeing processes” as important factors that help decide if a wool product can be called organic.
Bamboo textile refers to any fabric, thread, or clothing made from bamboo fibers. In the past, bamboo was mainly used for structural parts, like the stiff parts of corsets. However, recent technological advances have made it possible to create viscose rayon from bamboo, which is used in many textile and fashion products.
Lyocell is a partly man-made fiber used to create fabrics for clothing and other uses. It is made by dissolving wood pulp and using a special spinning method called dry jet-wet spinning. Unlike rayon, which uses a different method called viscose, Lyocell does not use carbon disulfide, a harmful chemical for workers and the environment.
Cork is a waterproof and floating material. It comes from the phellem layer of bark, which is mainly taken from the cork oak tree (Quercus suber). This tree grows in southwest Europe and northwest Africa.
Artificial leather, also called synthetic leather, is a material made to replace real leather. It is used in items like furniture, clothing, shoes, and other products where a leather-like appearance is wanted but real leather is too expensive or not suitable for practical or ethical reasons. Artificial leather is also called by other names, such as leatherette, imitation leather, faux leather, vegan leather, PU leather (polyurethane), and pleather.
The fashion industry, especially the making and use of clothing and shoes, causes a lot of environmental harm. This includes greenhouse gas emissions, pollution, high water use, and large amounts of textile waste. In the 19th century, industrialization led to the large-scale production of textiles, which worsened environmental damage.