Natural fibre clothes and equipment for the outdoors

The vast majority of clothing and equipment for the outdoors uses synthetic fibre textiles. For a few decades now, outdoor enthusiasts and professionals have shirked natural fibres, considering them to be impractical, troublesome and archaic. They say synthetics give us products that enable more people to experience the outdoors. A minority of others say these products have compromised our integrity and culture, polluting our environment and impacting our health.

Cotton, linen, hemp, wool, silk, leather and hides, and the natural treatments to proof and preserve them, are celebrated for their comfort, heritage and proven performance, but they are heavy, bulky, water absorbing and require maintenance - problems that can be turned to their advantage in fact. Polyester, nylon, lycra, acrylic and their chemical treatments are much more readily available, durable and light weight, but they are less comfortable, disabling and now believed to be bad for our health and environment. These problems cannot be turned to their advantage.

Cost, performance, health, pollution, ethics, aesthetics, culture, sustainability, values… the discussions around synthetic and natural fibres touch on many issues. My work in Peak Oil Company is looking into these topics. In previous articles I’ve written about the ethics of production in terms of living wages, and considered the impact that mass produced retail is having on our culture. Most recently I have made a submission to the Australian Senate Inquiry on PFAS Chemicals. Now I want to look at the costs and availability of synthetic and natural materials and challenge notions of performance in the context of living and being in the outdoors. 

Cost

Why are synthetic fibre textiles like polyester, nylon or lycra found in almost every item of clothing or equipment made for the outdoors? I would’ve thought the pervasiveness of synthetics is because they are cheaper, or they perform better, but that’s not the case. In my own experience, I have found that the cost is about the same. A mid weight cotton canvas is about the same as a mid weight polyester canvas for example.

Determining the full cost of a textile is difficult. We know that not everything is adequately accounted for in terms of money. There is the concept of “embodied energy” that tries to account for everything involved in making a thing. One way to measure embodied energy is through a unit of measure called kilojoules. To my knowledge, using this unit to measure the full cost of a thing was first proposed by Ivan Illich in his 1973 book, Energy and Equity.

According to ChatGPT (and through the references it can cite) it currently takes 90000 - 110000 kJ of energy to extrude, weave, and manage the waste generated from making 1kg of medium weight polyester canvas. To put that in perspective, 45000 kJs of energy is equivalent to 1kg of crude oil. So it takes 2 - 2.5kg of crude oil to make 1kg of polyester canvas. Round that down to 2kg of oil for 1kg of poly, 2:1. For comparison, it takes 28000 - 65000 kJ to produce one kilogram of cotton canvas, including dyeing and finishing. So it takes 0.6-1.5 kg of crude oil to make 1kg of cotton canvas. Round that to 1.1kg of oil for 1kg of cotton, 1.1:1.

Another perspective is that it takes 1.4 kg of raw cotton to produce 1kg of cotton canvas. 2 kg of hemp to produce 1. 3 Linen for 1. 2 Polyester for 1. So, polyester is right up there with high energy needs and high wastage.

The production of synthetic fibre textiles involves very high set up and run costs. This is offset by an abundance of cheap raw material from petroleum production. Once up and running, there is the capacity to produce a massive quantity of synthetic fibre textiles in very controlled conditions. Natural fibre textiles on the other hand, have a relatively low set up and run cost, but the raw materials are relatively expensive and affected by many things outside the control of the textile producer. The potential production capacity of natural fibre textiles is limited, compared to  synthetic fibre textiles.

In the end, the finished materials cost about the same to buy at the market, there is much more synthetic textile produced and available for use, but the true costs in terms of energy and waste are very different. 

Weight, Bulk, and Innovation in Design

The perceived advantage of synthetic fabrics is in being lightweight and compact, essential for outdoor gear. To challenge this orthodoxy, I recently experimented with a chair-frame-pack loaded for a multi-day winter hike, everything in that pack being all-natural materials. To my surprise, the weight and bulk of the pack were comparable to that of a pack containing gear made from synthetic materials. In that video I demonstrate how my pack loaded with clothing, bedding, shelter and even a chair, weighed in at 18-20kg. Adding a cooker and food for a week brought it up to 28-30kg. With more development of the designs, the weight could drop about 5kg without using synthetic fabrics.

This example challenges the assumption that natural materials must be bulky and heavy. It’s a reminder that innovation doesn’t always require new materials—it often involves reimagining traditional designs and techniques.With thoughtful design and multifunctional gear, natural fibers could match or even exceed the performance of synthetics. With that, let’s look at notions of performance.

Waterproof and Breathable: The Synthetic Myth

The claims of waterproofness and breathability by synthetic outdoor gear manufacturers, especially those using Gore-Tex and similar technologies, have been called into question. In the 90s, Gore-Tex revolutionized the outdoor industry with its marketing, promising a fabric that was both waterproof and breathable. However, the reality is that the Gore-Tex membrane is glued between synthetic fabrics, with fluorocarbon treatment given to the outer layer.

Several YouTubers, like MyLifeOutdoors and Fortnine, have debunked the claims of Gore-Tex and others, exposing the flaws in real world performance and the shedding of PFAS chemicals. They’ve also highlighted the irony of the outdoor industry’s reliance on highly technical materials that often fail to deliver on their promises and pollute the very environments being appreciated. I’ve found that more natural fibres, such as waxed cotton, perform better without requiring toxic treatments, keep reading...

As time goes on, I will keep adding to this playlist of videos that investigate the claims and issues with light weight gear. 

Flammability: In Reality

Wind blown sparks, spilt fuel ignited, hot surfaces, friction, dropped candles, stoking a campfire, sleeping near a campfire, evading a bushfire, chemical burns, all scenarios to be prepared for when in the outdoors. Any of these situations can cause minor nuisances to major concerns, but when I try to research the flammability of fabrics, I get results that don’t reflect my experience with that fabric.

Cotton is often described as being highly flammable, yet a cotton tea towel is the only thing that saved me in a nylon tent fire when everything else was burning and melting. Wind blown sparks have instantly put holes in my nylon jackets, sleeping bags, tents and mats, but cotton, hemp, linen canvas, wool knit, weave or fleece, waxed canvas, and leather and hides have deflected them with barely any notice. Woolen or leather gloves can handle hot pots and tending an open fire. Most people know all this, and can at least perceive the likely scenarios when camping in the outdoors, but are still convinced to turn a blinded eye to it, and take synthetics into those scenarios nonetheless. 

While both synthetic and natural fabrics can be treated with flame-retardant chemicals, natural fibres tend to offer inherent resistance to fire. In fact, untreated wool can handle high heat and can even be used to suppress a fire or protect against it. Meanwhile, the flame-retardant chemicals often added to synthetic fabrics have been linked to health issues and environmental pollution.

Comfort and Health: The Skin Connection

One of the most overlooked aspects of fabric choice is how different materials affect our comfort, health and bodily response to atmospheric conditions. Our bodies react to fibres and fabrics on a molecular sensory level, and the materials we wear can influence our microbiome and dermal health - even the way our bodies respond to environmental signals. Natural fibres absorb and conduct moisture and vapor, and convey important environmental signals. In contrast, synthetics from petrochemicals repel vapor and moisture, and insulate us from important environmental signals.

We all know what synthetic socks feel like. We all know what synthetic clothes smell like after a few days. Some of us have experienced sitting in nylon swimwear all day, or what nylon sleeping bags or pads feel like on a warm night. Beyond the textural feeling of the fabric and its chemical coatings, the performance has a lot to do with vapor and moisture absorption and conductivity.

This is how I try to explain it with clothing: 

Absorb: hemp/cotton knit base layer

For my base layer of clothing I wear hemp/cotton knits. The fibre is mostly absorbent and only slightly insulative, and the knitted fabric is flexible and unrestrictive. This material remains comfortable in hot weather, and reasonably warm in cold. It does not restrict my body in any way, protects my skin, absorbs moisture, and feels pleasant to touch. 

Insulate: wool knits and weaves mid layer

In cooler temperatures I wear a mid layer possum/merino/silk sweater over the hemp/cotton knit base. If it's cold enough, I put on melton wool weave, high rise trousers. The sweater and the trousers go over my hemp/cotton knit base, and I wear hemp knit socks with heavier wool knit socks over them. The knitted wool sweater, and loose baggy trousers do not restrict my body or movement either. They are a mid-outer layer that further absorbs vapor and moisture while giving a suitable amount of insulation over the base layers to ensure a colder outside atmosphere does not reach my body. If the outside atmosphere is more cold again, I wear a melton wool weave coat over everything, and keep a sheepskin vest and waxed canvas anorak and over pants at the ready. 

Absorb, insulate, vent, shield

With these layers a balance is maintained across my whole body. I wear the layers evenly, so that my circulatory system flows through a consistent temperature in my arms to my legs. The base layer absorbs vapor and moisture from the body and conducts it to an insulating mid layer, helping to avoid condensation. This mid layer absorbs the vapor and conducts it to the outer layer where it vents before condensing, while also shielding out cold wind, rain and snow. The fibres in the layers absorb and conduct vapor outwards, venting from the garments while remaining insulated from sudden surface and temperature changes, always avoiding condensation.

Shield: sheepskin and waxed canvas outer layer

In more extreme cold, where the outside climate threatens to affect the balance struck in the layers of clothing so far, I wear a sheepskin vest to increase insulation and absorbency as well as shield against wind chill, and/or waxed canvas outer layers, including a wool lined waxed canvas poncho, to shield from wind driven elements. At any time my physical exertion generates too much heat, vapor or sweat, the design of my clothing is such that I can quickly ventilate my clothes through sufficiently large enough openings in protected areas, while remaining conscious of how much moisture I’m generating. This is why my outer shell layers are designed with maximum ventilation features, and why I always keep a spare set of base layer clothes dry and packed. 

Bedding and shelter too

A very similar description can be given for bedding and shelter, where the vapor from our bodies in a bed, or from our cooking or washing in a tent, should be absorbed into an absorbent inner layer or surface that is insulated by a mid layer to prevent surface temperature changes that cause condensation. That layer conducts the vapor through air gaps toward an outer shell layer where it can ventilate passively, or with the assistance of designed openings. 

This general principle of layering for absorbency, insulation and ventilation works for clothing, bedding and shelter. It consistently works better with natural materials, chiefly because natural materials are naturally absorbent of vapor and moisture. Outer shell layers, where absorbancy needs to be reduced so as to repel water and shield against wind, wax and oil treatments to the outside surface can be added and maintained.

Synthetic fibre textiles, along with their treatments, are generally repellant to moisture and unable to absorb vapor in the same way as naturals. This means that condensation occurs sooner, right down at base layers and every layer thereafter. This is that clammy feeling we describe. Without significant opportunities to vent, this humidity will build, creating warm moist environments conducive to supporting bacteria and fungal growth. These growths can be discouraged with chemical additives, but along with water phobic and fire retarding chemicals, we begin to suspect over all negative outcomes on our health and environment. 

Conclusion

Natural fibre textiles are a viable alternative to synthetics in our clothing and equipment for the outdoors. We can innovate on heritage designs to achieve lighter loads, such as through multifunctional product design, and we can promote user awareness and techniques that improve the material’s performance, including for safety and comfort, such as by understanding layering for absorption, insulation, ventilation and shielding. But we can’t take natural fibre textiles into the massive scale production currently seen with synthetics. There simply may not be enough capacity in natural fibre production to meet such increases in demand. We most likely don’t have the production capacity.

More likely is that natural fibre textiles will remain a relatively niche, luxury item, or a unique approach for “traditionalists” or “naturalists”, and to these groups it may prove to be better for health and environment, or for traditions and culture, or more sustainable. Hopefully a cultural change will occur over all, that sees better design of products and processes that radically reduce waste and promote a more fair and equitable exchange. At the same time we can promote changes in consumer values and habits that better support such necessary changes. 

Until that time, I want to thank the small but loyal network of people who support my work in Peak Oil Company and who help sustain my efforts to research, develop and demonstrate ideas and techniques toward this change. 

At this point, I would like to take a break and introduce a beautiful movie by Akira Kurosawa, made in 1975: Dersu Uzala. It features a group of people trekking the Russian wilderness in the mid 20th century. It’s a fascinating glimpse into the gear and techniques they use for moving through wilderness in those times, and a classic tale so typical of Kurosawa’s makings.