Not all fibers ask the same things of the earth. This is something we return to often, because the question of what a fabric is made from is only the beginning of a longer set of questions:

where did the raw material come from, how was it processed, and what did each of those steps cost?

We do not have perfect answers. But we have a direction, and we try to be honest about both.

When Plant-Based Is Not Enough

In recent years, the fashion industry has moved toward plant-based and cellulosic fibers as alternatives to synthetic materials. On the surface, this is a reasonable shift. But plant-based does not automatically mean responsible, and this distinction matters.

Fabrics like conventional viscose, rayon, and modal are made from wood pulp. Each year, more than 300 million trees are cut down globally to supply the demand for these fibers, and a significant portion of that wood comes from ancient and endangered forests. These are ecosystems that have taken centuries to form, that store large amounts of carbon, and that support biodiversity in ways that replanted forests cannot replicate on any meaningful timescale.

The production process adds another layer of concern. Conventional viscose manufacturing uses carbon disulfide, a chemical associated with environmental pollution and health risks for workers. In many facilities, chemicals are not fully recovered, and residues enter water and air. What arrives as a soft, plant-derived fabric may have traveled through a process that is difficult to trace and harder to justify.

This is the gap between what a material appears to be and what its production actually involved. We think that gap is worth naming clearly.

Our Canopy Policy

Our response to this is a named commitment: the Canopy Policy. Canopy is an organization dedicated to protecting ancient and endangered forests, and through our commitment to their principles, we ensure that any wood-based fiber or paper we use comes from sources that do not contribute to the destruction of these ecosystems.

This applies in two directions. For paper and packaging, we ensure our sources meet responsible forestry standards. For cellulosic fibers, we commit to sourcing only from suppliers whose practices keep ancient and endangered forests out of our supply chain.

The Canopy Policy is not a certification we display and move on from. It is an ongoing commitment that requires us to keep asking questions of our suppliers and to stay informed as the fiber landscape changes. We hold it as a named accountability, something we can be asked about and should be able to answer for.

Why We Use TENCEL™ Lyocell

Within this commitment, TENCEL™ Lyocell is the wood-based cellulosic fiber we currently use. It is produced by Lenzing using eucalyptus and beech wood from forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. The production process uses a closed-loop solvent spinning system that recovers and recycles between 99.5% and 99.8% of the organic solvent used to break down the wood pulp. The small fraction that remains is treated before release.

This matters because the chemical process is one of the most significant variables in cellulosic fiber production. A closed-loop system is a meaningful difference from conventional viscose manufacturing, both for the environment surrounding the facility and for the workers inside it.

We use TENCEL™ because it currently represents a more traceable and responsible option within this fiber category. We hold Lenzing's claims to account by staying informed through Canopy's annual Hot Button Report, which independently assesses global cellulosic fiber producers on their forest sourcing and environmental performance. We do not treat a supplier's own claims as sufficient on their own.

The Broader Practice

Fiber sourcing sits within a larger question we keep returning to: what does it mean to make a responsible material decision? For us it means understanding the origin of a material, the conditions of its processing, and the footprint it leaves at each stage. It means preferring fibers that are grown or managed within systems we can trace. It means staying open to better options as they become available, including next-generation cellulosic fibers made from agricultural waste or post-consumer textile recycling rather than virgin wood pulp.

We also continue to develop our use of fibers that are genuinely local: ramie from Wonosobo, naturally brown cotton from Tuban, pineapple leaf fiber from South Sumatra. These materials reduce our dependence on global supply chains entirely and keep more of the material journey within reach and view.

No fiber decision is without cost. Our aim is to understand those costs as clearly as we can, reduce them where we are able, and stay honest about what we do not yet know.

Every day is Earth Day.