Viscose Sure Sounds Like a Bad Fabric
Breaking down whether you should be worried about wearing viscose, rayon, lyocell, and modal.
Years ago, when I visited a Reformation store in LA, I saw a label crowing about a “natural” and “biodegradable” fiber that was “woven in a mill free of harmful substances such as heavy metals, dyes, and formaldehyde.”
It was talking about viscose, alternatively known as rayon, a soft and silky fabric that you’ll find in skirts, dresses, jackets, and linings.
Weird, right? After all, just last night I did a radio interview in which the interviewer said she would never wear, “polyester, nylon, acrylic, or viscose.”
Yeah, it’s confusing. It sounds like a manmade fiber, because it is. But it’s also natural? It’s a semisynthetic material made using harsh chemicals. You should stay away, right?
Well, it’s, um, complicated. Or, as we like to say in the wordsmith business, nuanced.
There are four ways to look at this fiber, and they don’t all fall on the bad or good side:
What they’re made from.
How they’re made.
How they affect your health.
What happens to them when you’re done.
And some of these fibers are betters than others. Today I’ll break it all down for my EcoCult members (thank you for your support!) in detail, and tell you how to choose the fabric that is right for you.