Question from D. L.
I was shopping at Bed Bath & Beyond the other day and noticed they had a lot of bed and bath linens made from a fabric called Modal®. The label says it’s a natural fiber, but is it really?
Debra’s Answer
There are three general types of fabrics.
Synthetic fibers–such as acrylic and polyester–are manufactured from petrochemicals by turning crude oil into plastics and extruding the plastic into threads that are woven into fabric.
Natural fibers–cotton, linen, silk, wool, and ramie–are spun from fiberous materials found in nature. These fibers have been in use for millenneia and were spun by hand and with spinning wheels for centuries before industrialization.
Fibers such as rayon and Modal® fall in-between. They are made from natural cellulose, which occurs in all plants, but the process of turning the cellulose into fiber involves a lot of processing and chemicals. The finished product is not anything like the original cellulose as it was found in nature.
My personal preference is to stick with natural fibers. I haven’t been able to find out enough about the manufacture of manmade plant-based fibers to be able to determine their environmental safety or harm.
I don’t find rayon or Modal® to be particularly toxic, but I don’t consider them to be natural.
