Sustainable Materials and Custom Patches

As a result of the challenges posed by climate change and concerns about plastics and other waste in the environment, consumers are calling for more sustainable products every day. The world of custom patches is no exception.

Fortunately, in recent years, many advances in materials and production technologies have made it easier than ever to create attractive, durable custom patches that have a lower environmental footprint. We’ll review some of those advancements below.

Why Sustainability is Important Now

The fashion industry is regrettably one of the biggest polluters on the planet. The industry – including textiles produced for patches – produces an estimated 10% of all the world’s carbon emissions. It’s also the second-largest consumer of fresh water in the world.

Why? One major factor is the growing of cotton, which is extremely water-intensive. The World Economic Forum estimates that producing a single pair of jeans requires about 2,000 gallons of water.

Demand Has Increased, But So Have Discards

Rising demand is also a factor. In recent years, consumers have bought more clothes than ever before. According to the WEF, buyers, on average, bought 60% more garments in 2014 than in 2000.

Many of those additional garments are what’s known as “fast fashion.” Cheaply made, they’re affordable, but not durable. Consumers consider them disposable, and up to 85% of all textiles end up in the garbage each year. According to the WEF, “the equivalent of one garbage truck full of clothes is burned or dumped in a landfill every second.”

Awareness Increases Responsibility

Fortunately, increased awareness of the problems of textile production, particularly for fast fashion, has led to greater use of alternative materials. Organic production, recycling and alternative materials all help reduce the environmental costs of clothing production, including custom patch production.

Potential alternatives to standard patch materials such as cotton twill and polyester are becoming more popular. Let’s consider some of them.

Organic Cotton

Organic cotton is grown without synthetic chemicals such as pesticides and herbicides. But it has several drawbacks. It’s both more expensive and less durable than cotton that’s grown conventionally.

In addition, organic cotton can actually result in greater greenhouse gas production. For those reasons, other alternative materials are likely better choices for sustainable custom patches.

Recycled Polyester

Polyester is always a popular choice for both garments and custom patches. Made from petroleum products, it’s a significant contributor to greenhouse gases. It’s also a major part of the waste stream.

Recycling polyester into new fibers helps with both problems. It reduces the need for additional petroleum-based processing, and keeps many discarded plastic items out of landfills.

Recycled polyester, known as rPET, is becoming a major factor in textile production, and is likely to eventually replace most virgin polyester in the industry.

Deadstock

Deadstock is a term that refers to leftover material not otherwise used for production. It can be salvaged and used for patches and garments, reducing waste inventory and landfill scrap.

Hemp 

Hemp has also become increasingly popular in recent years as a sustainable alternative to cotton. It’s fast growing, and needs less water and pesticides than cotton. Its durability makes it an excellent choice for patch backings.

Bamboo Fiber

Bamboo is a fast growing plant that, unlike cotton, required minimal water and no pesticides to grow. Patches made from the fiber are antibacterial and biodegradable, offering a truly “green” option.

Reclaimed Leather

Leather patches offer a high end look. New patches offer the opportunity to use reclaimed or recycled leather, reducing the environmental impact of both new leather and disposal of existing leather products that would otherwise be sent to landfills. If you want the classic look and feel of real leather, this can be a viable option for custom patches.

Leather Alternatives

In the past, if you wanted the look of leather without animal products, few choices existed other than plastic or vinyl derivatives. While they weren’t made from animals, they were made from petroleum, and thus contributed to climate change and chemical waste.

Today, plant-based alternatives are a viable option for many applications. So-called “vegan” leather can be made from substances such as apples, mushrooms and even pineapple leaves. Many of them mimic the look of real leather well.

Not Just Backing – Sustainable Thread Too

It’s not just a matter of the patch backing material. The thread used for embroidered or woven patches is often made of the same cotton or polyester as the twill. That contributes to the same environmental issues noted earlier.

Alternative threads made from materials such as rPET mentioned above are gaining in popularity as well. New materials and blends are more biodegradable, to help reduce the environmental impact of patches.

Even the dyes used in the threads and fabrics are becoming more environmentally sound. The history of dyes has long been one of potentially toxic substances, such as the “Scheele’s Green” of the 1800s, featured in garments and even wallpaper. The pigment that produced the color contained arsenic.

Fortunately, we’ve moved far past those types of dyes today. Now, many producers are creating organic dyes and ways to dye fabric and thread using far less water and chemicals than traditional methods.

Modern threads are often made of forms of common fibers, such as polyester, that are biodegradable and reduce the environmental footprint of discarded patches.

More Choices than Ever Before.

In the past, it wasn’t easy to find suitable alternative materials for either garments or patches. Synthetic materials helped make textiles of all kinds widely available,  and mass production made them affordable. But as in many other aspects of modern production, we sometimes failed to factor in the environmental costs of such products.

Today, there are many more options for producing patches and garments that have a smaller environmental footprint. Yet there will also always be a place for traditional patch materials as well.

Increasingly innovative production methods will help reduce their impact on the environment and keep both patches and garments sustainable in a world that is finally taking climate change seriously. Current alternative materials are just in their beginning stages, but are sure take over more of the market in the next few years.