Sustainable Textiles

Sustainable Textiles @ Urban Creative

Sustainable fabrics or textiles refer to fabrics that use raw materials, cultivation methods, manufacturing processes, maintenance and end of life disposal that are both earth and people friendly.

These can be textiles made from natural plant based fibers (cotton, hemp, jute or linen), recycled synthetic fibers or cellulose pulp based fabrics such as lyocell that use closed loop manufacturing processes.

Fair wages and safe working environments for farmers and workers, Non polluting and low carbon footprint manufacturing process, durability, ease of use and care and end of life biodegradability all need to be accounted for before we call a fabric sustainable.

At Urban Creative we have chosen to work with natural plant fiber based textiles that are truly sustainable. The three primary fabrics that we work with are cotton (GOTS certified as far as we can) , indigenous Kala cotton and Hemp. The textiles we use are dyed with natural plant based dyes or AZO free dyes only that have minimal negative impacts on water and soil.

To know more about our sustainable textiles , dyes and printing processes read our FAQ section below.

Frequently Asked Questions

GOTS certified organic cotton

What is the difference between organic cotton and conventional cotton ?
While conventional cotton is grown mostly using genetically modified cotton seed varieties ( such as BT cotton ), Organic cotton is grown with non genetically modified seeds, using indigenous seed varieties.
Modern day cotton grown conventionally is one of most resource intensive crops consuming large quantities of water, fertilisers, pesticides and energy.
Organic cotton is grown from locally-adapted varieties which are tolerant of pests using legume-based crop diversification, crop rotations, and intercropping to maintain soil health with use of organic sources of fertilizer and pesticides. Water consumption is also significantly lesses than conventional cotton
What is GOTS certification for cotton fabric ?
GOTS is the worldwide leading textile processing standard for organic fibres, including ecological and social criteria, backed up by independent certification of the entire textile supply chain. GOTS certified final products may include fibre products, yarns, fabrics, clothes, home textiles, mattresses, personal hygiene products, as well as food contact textiles and more. ( Source : https://global-standard.org/the-standard)
Which of the Urban Creative products use GOTS certified organic cotton ?
Our Madhu Wrap beeswax food wraps, cotton aprons and tea towels are made using GOTS certified organic cotton which we procure from certified and verified vendors. The dyes that are used for our organic cotton are all natural dyes. Read our section on natural dyes to know more about them.

Kala Cotton

What is Kala Cotton ?
Kala cotton is an old-world indigenous cotton variety from Kachchh, Gujarat, India and is by nature sustainable and organic, being cultivated without the use of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. It is a purely rain fed crop that has a high tolerance for both disease and pests.
Known originally as Wagad cotton it was branded as Kala Cotton in 2010-11.
The name ‘kala’ means cotton pod — the core of the cotton.
Which of the Urban Creative products use Kala cotton ?
Our range of bento bags, travel cutlery wraps and a selection of our kitchen towels are made from Kala cotton.

Hemp

What is Hemp fabric ?
Hemp is one of the oldest fabrics used by humankind, having been around for more than 5000 years and is now slowly making a comeback.
Hemp fabric is made using fibers from the stalks of the Cannabis sativa plant.
What is the advantage of hemp fabric over other natural textile fabrics like cotton ?
Hemp fabric is 4 times more absorbent than cotton and has 3 times the tensile strength.
Hemp is one of the most sustainable fabrics available today. The hemp crop is fast growing and extremely resilient, requiring no pesticides and very little land and water for cultivation. It not only renews the soil but also prevents soil erosion. The production of hemp is also carbon neutral to carbon negative which means that it absorbs more carbon from the atmosphere during its growth than is emitted by the equipment used to harvest, process and transport it !
Extremely breathable, these are also naturally antimicrobial and anti fungal making them an ideal choice for kitchen linens.
Which of the Urban Creative products uses Hemp fabric ?
A selection of our range of aprons and kitchen towels are made from 100 % hemp fabric which is naturally anti-microbial and anti-fungal. The texture of the hemp fabric we useis very similar to flax linen fabric.

Natural Dyes

AZO free dyes

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