Fabrics 101

Or, Part Deux of "The Dog Ate My Post"...

Got something of an education today about fabrics and textiles, specifically viscose, the fiber from which Trader Joe's Super Amazing Reusable Kitchen Cloths are made. Here's a quick rundown of what I learned from the website of a Swiss company, SwicoFil AG:

• Viscose is another name for Rayon. Sometimes the names are used together, other times not. Seems like the use of the fiber determines what it's called on the label.
• Viscose rayon is a man-made fiber, but NOT a synthetic fiber. It is made from wood pulp and therefore behaves more like its natural cousins cotton and linen than its synthetic cousins polyester and nylon (the official industry terms are cellulosic and thermoplastic, respectively).
• Viscose rayon is used in apparel, household textiles, and even in industrial applications as reinforcement to such things are tires, hoses and belts.

Ok, Jazzy, we're asleep now. Can you just get to part where you tell us whether or not viscose makes a good cleaning cloth?

I think so? That's not very helpful, is it. Here's what I'm thinking. Viscose is made from a natural resource, but so is polyester (since oil is, technically, a natural resource). Without more insight into the processes by which viscose is made, or how it interacts with the environment, there's not a whole lotta judgment I can apply here. The same goes for nearly any fabric, since how much do any of use really know about how the fabrics of our homes and wardrobes are made?

Seems to me like we're about to go down a rabbit hole here to learn about textiles and their different environmental footprints. Right now it looks like a foggy, confusing landscape, and I'm sure as we learn more there will be surprises and disappointments just as we find in cosmetics and other personal products. But we can't unlearn anything, can we? 

Happy weekend,
Jazzy