CO Data

What Are Our Clothes Made From?

Clothes today are made from a wide range of different materials. Traditional materials such as cotton, linen and leather are still sourced from plants and animals. But most clothes are more likely to be made of materials and chemicals derived from fossil fuel-based crude oil.

There are nine major types of raw materials commonly used in clothing today.

Synthetic materials

The source of synthetic fibres and fabrics is the fossil fuel crude oil. It is estimated that 62% of all fibres used in t…

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