That viscose shirt is harming the planet

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Let’s say you are shopping for clothes and a T-shirt catches your attention. It’s in a lovely bright teal but the tag reads “100% polyester".

That’s plastic, you remind yourself. There’s a yellow cotton blouse on another shelf but you don’t want to wear something that took thousands of litres of water to make. Then you come across a black polka-dot dress.

You are sold, more so because it’s made from soft-silky viscose, a fabric often marketed as “eco-friendly" as it is made using natural materials. That’s actually a big problem. Viscose is produced using the wood pulp of trees, often sourced from ancient forests.

“About 300 million trees are logged every year worldwide to make viscose. Forests, which are essential in the fight against global warming, are cleared for wood pulp, which is then chemically treated to make those silky clothes," says Nicole Rycroft, an Ashoka fellow and founder-executive director of Vancouver-based non-profit Canopy. Founded in 1999, Canopy works towards raising awareness about the impact of the supply chain—the network of people and companies involved in turning raw materials into finished products and getting them to your doorstep—on forests, how viscose production decimates forests, and to promote forest-friendly alternatives.

They promote alternative solutions for paper, paper packaging and fashion, among other sectors. Over the years, the non-profit has worked with companies like Inditex (Zara is a subsidiary), Flipkart, H&M, LVMH, Uniqlo and Anita Dongre to suggest ways to reduce dependence on old-growth trees. “People understand the link between forests and paper, but not forests and clothes," says Rycroft.