Eco-Friendly waterproof fabrics for the rainy season

Introduction

Eco-friendly waterproof fabrics create a unique way to stay dry and be eco-friendly.

Water-proof fabrics create a way for us to stay dry during the rainy season but few are eco-friendly. In this blog, we discuss somethings to look out for when shopping for a trench or raincoat during the rainy season. 

History of the rain coat

Although not all outerwear needs to be waterproof, up to the turn of the nineteenth century the majority of outerwear on the market could not repel water unless specifically treated with oil. There had been many attempts to waterproof fabric effectively in the early part of the nineteenth century, but the actual method discovered by Charles Macintosh in the early 1820s was in fact intended for use for tarpaulin. He described his patented material as “‘India rubber cloth,” whereby the texture of hemp, flax, wool, cotton, and silk, and also leather, paper, and other substances may be rendered impervious to water and air. It was made as a “sandwich” of two pieces of material surrounding a core of rubber softened by naptha. (lovetoknow,com)

As time went on, other companies entered the rain clothing business. Such as the company established by and named after John Barbour (1849 – 1918) in South Shields (north-east England) in 1894. Like Charles Macintosh or Sir James Syme, John Barbour was a Scotsman and was presumably fed up with all the rain in his home country. There is practically no other explanation for why he should have concentrated on the production of rain clothing too. 

Barbour waxed jackets are expensive and enjoy a good reputation all over the world – not only with hunters and anglers. The weatherproof waxed jackets are manufactured from cotton or blended cotton fabric that is impregnated with a mixture of wax and oil or exclusively with wax. (konline.com)

As you can see, the original way of waterproofing kept rubber between 2 sustainable materials without the use of microplastic.

Even the original trench coat was not waterproof and instead used functionality to move water away from the body during WWI.  

So how did we get to using microplastics to stay dry?

When plastic became king

From 1950’s when DuPont came up with the PVC fabric, raincoats switched from sustainable coatings (like wax) to this oil based material driving down cost and becoming popular among fisherman.

Although, previous renditions of the raincoat were more sustainable, it neglected certain factors including  movement and body heat. The wax coated rain coats cracked when the person moved and the rubber insolation made for a sweaty experience.

Sustainable Options

The best eco-friendly waterproof fabrics found on the market: Recycled Polyester, TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane), Waxed Canvas, Oil Cloth, Recycled Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), Recycled Nylon, and X-Pore.  

When buying recycled textiles, how do you know if the textile is recycled. By using the Global Recycled Standards (GRS) for textiles which remains a pretty good way to recognize recycled textiles globally. All data extracted from the Global Recycled Standards document. Source

B1 Labeling Products as GRS Certified

Products qualified for GRS labeling

B1.1a For a product sold with any reference to the standard, a Transaction Certificate must be issued for that specific product in the last B2B transaction.
B1.1b The product must contain at least 50% recycled content.
B1.1c Only Certified Organizations may label products with reference to the GRS.
B1.1d If products identifies as certified to the GRS, then the logo must be used, following the
design specifications of Section A3.
Use of the GRS logo is not mandatory unless the GRS is mentioned on the product.

02. TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane)

TPU, well biodegradable and eco-friendly material, is widely used for waterproof fabrics. Normally TPU’s durable material and recycle and biodegradable within 3-5 years.

TPU-coated waterproof fabrics contain these characteristics.
01. Lightweight and high strength
02. Abrasion resistant
03. Resistant to oil and solvents
04. UV resistant
05. More Sustainable

In the waterproof fabric industry, TPU applied as a shell coat in bi-layer membrane fabric. Therefore main fabric can be cotton or linen. Those are well biodegradable materials. Hence the main thing uses coating TPU which makes it a biodegradable material.

So when you buy any TPU-coated waterproof fabric, don’t worry it is fully eco-friendly.

03. Waxed Canvas

Wax canvas , really waterproof fabric, used for military rucksacks & backpacks, sails, tents, and outdoor gear. The layer of wax acts as a cover for the fabric hence it repels the water but waterproofness wears away overtime  due to the wax being damaging. So when you throw it away to the environment, do you know is it a biodegradable fabric?

Wax canvas uses paraffin as a coating. Some studies show that paraffin wax is biodegradable so we use the paraffin wax as a coat for cotton fabrics to produce wax canvas. So throwing away your wax canvas won’t damage the environment because its highly biodegradable. (stopwaterleaking.com)

04. Oil Cloth

Traditional oil cloth  made with linseed oil coating on the cotton or linen fabric creating highly waterproof renewable fabrics. Oilcloth used for outdoor gear such as tablecloths, table runners, aprons, placemats, shelf liners, totes, cosmetic bags, lunch bags. Bread baskets and so much more!

Conclusion

As always, when shopping sustainable, it remains necessary to shop in person since most of the time this information is not available online. Most brands omit the contents of their products online and in the store, contains of fabrics have moved from the neck to the side of the fabric.

For other options to keep dry or raincoats without hoods or to pair with your trench coat, check out our hats