Today’s post comes from Summer Edwards of Tortoise & Lady Grey, a wonderful blog dedicated to ethical living and slow fashion. Her posts are always incredibly helpful and thorough, but it was this post on modal that made me want to share. In the ethical fashion world we’re inundated with new fabrics and methods all the time, it can be hard to determine what’s actually sustainable and what’s just another greenwashing case. But here, Summer breaks it down and makes it easy to understand. In fact, she’s also written an entire Guide to Sustainable Textiles, which I highly recommend you get your hands on to understand more.

Below are her words…

Modal is soft man-made fibre that is made from natural materials and is completely biodegradable. It is soft and strong. and is commonly used as an alternative to cotton jersey (t-shirt fabric). It is used for t-shirts, soft dresses and cardigans and just like cotton when used in this way, modal is easy to care for. It doesn’t wrinkle and it holds the quality of it’s surface well. It is also resistant to shrinkage and, for this reason, it is often seen as a much better choice than cotton.

Modal is often touted as a sustainable textile. But as we learn time and time again, the story is much more complicated.

Modal is manufactured from cellulose using chemical processing, just as are bamboo, rayon (viscose) and lyocell. In the case of modal, the cellulose comes from softwood trees.  The manufacturing process is closed loop, which means that the chemicals used in processing are captured and reused. The small amount of discharged is considered non-hazardous. The finished textile is biodegradable and also takes well to natural dyes, eliminating the need for more harmful chemical dyes. Although in most cases modal is still dyed with conventional chemical dyes.

Modal is manufactured from a renewable crop, so the raw material is considered carbon neutral if it is taken from a responsibly managed source. However, the modal supply chain is known to utilise woodstock that is grown in areas of rainforest that have been clear-felled to make way for mono-crop timber plantations, as well as using the ancient woodstock. This contribution of fashion to deforestation is so significant that the Rainforest Action Network run a global campaign- Out of Fashion– to pressure brands away from their use of unsustainable modal (along with rayon/viscose). Some modal in the supply chain is therefore a significant contributor to climate change because Indonesia’s largest contribution to climate change is the deforestation of its vital rainforests.

I faced some push back on the earlier version of this article, from a designer in the sustainable fashion space who uses modal, and who asserted that only beechwood could be used to produce modal. This led me to do some additional digging  on the issue, and I spoke directly with the Briannala Morgan,  of the Rainforest Action Network for her clarification on the issue.

‘Destructive plantations in Indonesia produce dissolving pulp, which is manufactured into all wood -based fabrics, including modal. You mention that only beechwood is used to produce modal — this is not accurate — rainforest pulp is also used. It’s impossible to separate modal from rayon and viscose when discussing it’s environmental and social impacts.’

I heard the same from Canopy, another global NGO that campaigns on forest protection. They also run a certification process that audits textile producer supply chains and ranks them for their commitment to eliminating unsustainable woodstock from their supply chain.

Each year over 120 million trees are cut for fabrics including rayon, viscose, modal and other trademarked textiles.That number is projected to double by 2025

So is modal another case of greenwashing? I wouldn’t got so far as to describe it that way. In many cases the brands who use modal, and the people that buy and wear it, genuinely want to minimise their environmental impact. In fact, I own few garments made from modal, which I purchased when my options have been limited, and from when I mistakenly believed that modal was more sustainable than it seems to be. In some cases modal may well be the most sustainable choice, even if not ideal. A biodegradable textile is better than a synthetic one that is made from virgin petrochemicals.

However, as I rule I do try to avoid modal when I have alternatives, and would recommend that you consider this too. The lack of transparency in the supply chain makes it difficult to ensure that the modal you are wearing is not implicated in deforestation. But if you are looking for something very specific- such as nursing bras- and you can’t access a better option, the occasional unsustainable modal is better than resorting to synthetic textiles. But in most cases you can modal by choosing a different textile entirely.

If you’d like to know more about other fabrics, remember to check out Summer’s Guide to Sustainable Textiles. This thoroughly researched guide takes you through all the ethical and sustainability considerations in textiles to enable you to make purchase decisions that are in line with your ethics and commitment to sustainability. The 60 page guide covers all the major textiles, including leather and vegan leather alternatives, as well as a run down on textile certification systems which demonstrate sustainable processes. It’s an amazing resource and at only $9 is crazy affordable and accessible too, definitely a worthy investment.

Until next time, stay magic y’all.