Sustainable fashion part 5- common way of producing thread in textile industry, and what does AnnaPS making different.

In this blogger we explain a common procedure in textile industry, to make the thread from raw material as cotton, wool, oil, silk, wood etc.

If you would like to make a different, welcome to test wonderful and beautiful underwear's from AnnaPS ®. There are underwear's with or without special pockets. Welcome to our webshop at http://www.annaps.com/en/

For AnnaPS ® it is important to limit the effect on the environment and we put a lot of effort to minimize the effect on the environment during the production of the thread.

Here you can read about a common way to produce thread, AnnaPS ® have made a lot of different choises make this in another way:

Common procedure in textile industry when making thread:

The process from raw material to fabric involves several steps. The raw material is sent from the producer of raw material (that can be a sheep farmer who produces the wool) to the next step which is to make the fibers of that are going to be spun a thread.

AnnaPS ® make the underwear’s from wood, we use an eco-viscose called Tencel. The trees come from FSC marked forests and are renewable. We like that.

It is quite common that the raw material is sent quite far to be processed in the next step and the environment is usually hot and humid. There are plenty of insects that like to eat the raw material and it can easily become moldy during transport. Here is when chemicals are used to “protect” the fabric from bugs.

AnnaPS ® has chosen to make the production in the EU because it does not require chemical treatment for transport. Shipment takes shorter time and the environment is cooler, which means that anti-mold control is redundant. This means we effect the environment less.

When the raw material comes to the next factory  these chemicals are washed out. Unfortunately, there are manufacturers who don’t take care of waste water in a good way, and chemicals are being released straight out which poisons the soil and water.

AnnaPS ® follows EU chemicals legislation REACH which regulates the use of toxic chemicals and handling of chemicals also. It’s a tough environmental legislation. This means we have highest requirements when using chemicals and there is no need risk to poison the water when washing the raw material.

When the fiber is spun into a thread, one will want the color faded down to white so it would  guarantees the right and even color when dyeing.

Now there is a white thread that is ready to be sent to factories for weaving or knitting.

AnnaPS is designed and made in Sweden - we care about our beautiful nature

SUSTAINABLE FASHION part 3 - natural or synthetic material

AnnaPS ® stands for sustainable fashion and has chosen a synthetic fiber in the garments. The fiber is cellulose which comes from trees that can be our spruce and pine trees in the forest. AnnaPS® has chosen wood that is guaranteed to be cultivated in a sustainable manner. The tree fiber is named Tencel® and are manufactured in a controlled way, to secure eco-friendly production, please read more about this fantastic fiber on the producer´s website: http://www.lenzing.com/en/fibers/tencel.html

And now more about sustainable fashion….what is natural and synthetic material? And what is sustainable and why?

To make clothes you need to start from a raw material such as trees, cotton, wool, hemp. The raw material is treated into a fiber so that it can be spun into a yarn which is then knitted or weaved to fabric.

There are two types of fiber, natural or synthetic. The natural fibers are, for example cotton, silk, hemp, flax, wool. These materials are designed so that it is possible to spin a thread directly from the fiber.

Synthetic fibers are for example viscose (made on the tree), polyamide (made from oil). What is common with these is that the raw material needs to be "cooked" and the fiber/thread is manufactured in a process similar to spaghetti. The fiber/thread become steadier compared with a natural fiber/thread.

This implies that both natural and synthetic fibers can be sustainable fashion. Natural fibers are always renewable resource which is sustainable fashion. However, they can be sprayed with chemicals so bad that they stop being sustainable fashion.

Synthetic fibers can be sustainable fashion or not. If they are made of renewable raw materials and manufactured in a fear way, then it is sustainable fashion.

AnnaPS has chosen Tencel to secure high quality, soft and wonderful material and produced in a sustainable way. Welcome to www.annaps.com, underwear´s with and without pockets to carry, insulin pump, pen, glucose meter etc.

Spider web is a natural fiber - excellent!

AnnaPS garments are made of  Tencel - green fashion, and wonderful material-here pocket for insulin pump in singlet.

Products with and without pockets

Here is AnnaPS collection. There are products with pockets to simple wear insulin pump. Or just products to enjoy life. Eco under wears in soft tencel, breathing and functional.

Welcome to AnnaPS webshop www.annaps.com

Collection at AnnaPS

SUSTAINABLE FASHION PART 2 - RENEWABLE RAW MATERIAL

(This text you can read in Swedish, please follow this link till blogginlägg på svenska)

For AnnaPS ® it is important to live sustainable fashion. We go on and write more about what sustainable fashion is. This is part 2 in the story about sustainable fashion....more will come.

First things first, producing the raw material for the fabric. A common term used in environmental friendly vocabularies is renewable resources. Sustainable fashion is the use of a raw material that grows or by other means possible to renew under relatively short time. Sustainable fashion can also be re-using raw materials, and then you can even use what is termed non-renewable resource.

Trees, cotton, hemp, are examples of renewable resources. It grows rapidly and it is possible to cultivate as much as we consume. Oil is an example of a raw material that is not classified as renewable. It takes thousands of years to form oil. We use more oil than it can re-create therefore we empty the earth's resources. Consequently it is classified as a non renewable resource. Lot of materials in underwear's and clothes are mainly made of polyamid and that is made of oil.

AnnaPS ® aims to use only renewable raw material. We mainly use Tencel that are made of wood, FSC certificated wood that means sustainable way of producing the trees. That is a renewable raw material!

Welcome to read about Tencel and our environmental work on our homepage http://www.annaps.com/en/about-anna-ps/production-environment-ethics/

AnnaPS products are made of renewable raw material and that is sustainable fashion

SUSTAINABLE FASHION PART 1 - WHY SO COMPLEX?

We at AnnaPS® are driven to reach Sustainable fashion for all our garments. Sustainable fashion are a big topic. You have no idea what there is to tell about sustainable fashion. If you are interested to learn more about this and follow, you can read our post under this headline. There is a lot to tell so we will take it in small sections and every now and then (the same text for this text in Swedish you can read here http://www.annaps.blogspot.se/2011/01/hallbart-mode-del-1.html)

This time we will explain why Sustainable fashion is so large and complex.

The environmental impact is high when making clothes, and it is because the manufacture of clothing is a long chain of various production steps, thus there are many elements that impact on the environment.

Most of the manufacturing steps take place at different suppliers, often in different parts of the world, resulting in many long journeys. To protect the clothes (fabric, fibers, etc.) during transportation between factories and shops, they are treated with chemicals and sometimes chemicals that are used are unsuitable for all living things.

Chemicals are used in most of the production steps. Everything from the spraying of crops when grown for dyeing fabric. Usually it is coloring the process (dying) where most heavy chemicals are used. How heavy chemicals are depends on what color will be dyed, dark blue requires the most toxic chemicals.

Unfortunately, too many manufacturers are missing a purification system so that large quantities of toxic chemicals are released straight into our nature. And that is not sustainable fashion.

Sustainability is important for AnnaPS ®. Choosing a manufacturer who does not use banned chemicals and ensures that waste is handled properly is important for AnnaPS ® too. For AnnaPS® garments we have chosen as short transports as possible and transportation are made by truck and boats in same climate as in Sweden. All garments are produced within an area of 500 km and no chemicals is needed to protect the clothes during transport. No harmful and forbidden chemicals are used in any steps in production. We are following REACH (Environmental law within EU). 

Welcome to read more about AnnaPS® production at our homepage http://www.annaps.com/sv/om-anna-ps/produktion-miljo-etik/.

Busy as a bee- a bee works continuously and does so much for us and the nature