Natural fibres

Extremely strong leaf-sheath fibre from the Philippine fibre banana Musa textilis — traditional for marine ropes, now also paper and bio-composites.

Fine, hollow fibre from the fleece of the South American alpaca — light, warming and lanolin-free.

Very fine, fluffy hair of the angora rabbit — extremely warm but ethically controversial.

Ultra-fine hollow fibre from the angora rabbit — just 11–13 μm, eight times warmer than sheep wool but ethically contested.

Fineness grades of alpaca fibre: royal alpaca (≤ 19 µm) and baby alpaca (≤ 22.5 µm) — the finest and softest classes.

Cellulose fibre made from bamboo — usually produced by the viscose process, more rarely as a mechanical bast fibre.

Branded ring-spun yarn by B&C with a particularly smooth surface for high-quality printing.

Ultra-fine down hair of the American bison — 12–29 µm, warmer per gram than merino, lanolin-free.

Ultra-fine down from the winter undercoat of the American bison — luxurious, hollow-cored and warmer than merino wool.

Short residual fibre from combing schappe silk — matte, nubby, a zero-waste by-product of silk production.

Cotton fabric whose surface has been mechanically raised — fluffy, soft and warming.

Dense, robust cotton fabric in plain weave — a classic for bags, workwear and sailcloth.

Cotton fabric made from differently dyed fibres that blend into a shifting, heathered colour effect.

Natural fibre from the seed pod of the cotton plant — the dominant raw material of the textile industry.

Fine noble-hair fibre from a cashmere × angora goat cross — a hand between cashmere and mohair, with a slight silky sheen.

Yarn spun from combed-out dog undercoat — up to 80 % warmer than sheep's wool and a keepsake from a beloved pet.

Sustainability standard for rain-fed smallholder cotton from sub-Saharan Africa.

Hemp fibre broken down mechanically or enzymatically to cotton staple length — spinnable on standard cotton ring-spinning machines.

Regenerated cellulose fibre made from cotton linters dissolved in Schweizer's reagent (cuprammonium hydroxide) — sold as silky lining under the Bemberg brand.

Cotton in which short fibres and impurities have been removed by additional combing — finer and longer-lasting.

Fine insulating undercoat of Bactrian camels from Central Asia — light, warm and with a characteristic honey tone.

Cotton whose fibres have been parallelised by carding — the standard preparatory step before spinning.

Extremely fine luxury fibre from the undercoat of the cashmere goat — light, soft and excellently warming.

Coarse, salt-water-resistant fibre from the coconut husk — classic for doormats, brushes, mattress cores and hard-wearing floor coverings.

Stiff natural fibre extracted from the husk of the coconut — biodegradable, salt-water resistant and traditionally used for mats, brushes, ropes and non-woven inserts in textiles.

Cotton knitted on circular knitting machines into a seamless tube — the basis for most T-shirt fabrics.

Cotton from certified organic farming — without synthetic pesticides or genetic engineering.

Bast fibre from the stem of stinging nettle — historically nettle cloth, today a niche eco fibre with linen-like character.

Elastic natural product from the sap of the rubber tree — the basis for stretch textile parts and rubber soles.

Bast fibre from the European stinging nettle Urtica dioica — linen-like, locally grown and very climate-friendly.

Warm, fluffy "wool silk" of the eri silkworm Samia ricini — Ahimsa principle: the moth leaves the cocoon, leaving only short fibres to spin.

Extra-long-staple premium cotton from the Nile Delta — renowned for softness, sheen and tensile strength.

Cotton grown within a regional fibre system following the Fibershed model — short supply chains, regenerative farming and explicitly climate-beneficial practices.

Non-woven textile formed by matting animal fibres together through moisture, heat and pressure.

Long, parallel-combed flax fibre (60-90 cm) for fine linen yarn and premium linen fabrics.

Line flax is pulled from the root rather than cut — only this preserves the full 60–90 cm fibre length needed for premium linen yarn.

Cotton with fibre lengths above approx. 28 mm — finer, softer and more durable than standard cotton.

Cotton with especially long individual fibres (staple length) — the basis for premium types such as Pima and Sea Island.

Bast fibre from the flax plant stem — cool, absorbent and extremely strong.

Cotton yarn is passed through open gas flames so that protruding fibre ends burn off — result: smoother, shinier yarn without fuzz.

GOTS has two organic grades: “organic” with at least 95 % certified organic natural fibre and “made with organic” with at least 70 %.

Wild South American camelid with a double-layer coat — the ancestor of the llama, fine down hair around 14 µm.

Cotton knit with pronounced longitudinal ribs — highly stretchy and shape-elastic, classic for cuffs.

Very strong bast fibre from the Chinese nettle Boehmeria nivea — linen-like with a silky sheen.

Cotton mechanically recovered from production waste and post-consumer textiles — saves water, CO₂ and farmland, mostly used in blends with virgin cotton or rPET.

Wool made from shredded old textiles — the Prato tradition goes back to 1813 (inventor: Benjamin Law).

Cotton spun on a ring frame into a particularly fine, smooth yarn.

Cotton mechanically reclaimed from worn garments — saves water and pesticides and is usually blended with virgin fibres.

Intermediate stage between carded and combed cotton — a compromise between quality and price.

Animal natural fibre from sheep fleece — warm, elastic and moisture-regulating.

Historically the finest ELS cotton, originally grown on the Sea Islands off South Carolina, Georgia and Florida; today only in tiny amounts in the Caribbean.

Fine, lustrous continuous filament from the cocoon of the silkworm — the epitome of luxury textiles.

Fine mulberry silk yarn with crêpe twist — the basis for the flowing crêpe de Chine fabric.

Silk spun from the short-staple combings of the schappe process — matt, nubby with visible slubs and a rustic hand.

Stiff hard fibre from the leaves of the sisal agave — a classic rope and carpet material with high tensile strength.

Regenerated protein fibre obtained from soybean oil press cake — cashmere-soft hand, biodegradable, originally developed by Henry Ford in the 1930s.

Protected trademark of the Supima Association for 100 % American Pima cotton — covers less than 1 % of world production.

Brand and cultivar variants of long-staple Pima cotton grown under the protected Supima label in the USA.

Rare alpaca breed with lock-like rather than crimped fleece — dreadlock-style strands with high sheen.

Bast fibre from the stem of industrial hemp — extremely strong, robust and ecologically undemanding.

Bast fibre from the stem of Cannabis sativa — stronger than cotton, grows without pesticides and sequesters 10–15 t CO₂ per hectare.

Blended fabric combining hemp with a softer fibre (usually cotton) — pairs high strength and UV protection with a comfortable hand.

Cotton fabric with a high area weight from approx. 180 gsm — durable, hard-wearing and opaque.

Leaf fibre of Agave fourcroydes from the Yucatán peninsula — coarser than sisal, traditionally used for ropes, sacks and rustic bags.

Crimped, sheep-like alpaca wool of the Huacaya breed — with 90 % of the population it is the standard alpaca fibre for knitwear.

German term equivalent to heavyweight — cotton fabrics with high area weight and robust hand.

Coarse bast fibre from tropical Corchorus species — standard material for sacks, carpets and packaging.

Extremely light hollow fibre from the seed pods of the kapok tree — a natural alternative to down.

Ultra-light hollow fibre from the ceiba tree — wild-harvested, pesticide-free, and with 80 % air content the lightest natural fibre.

German standard for wool from organic animal husbandry — organic feed, no pesticide dips and animal-welfare-compliant shearing.

Fast-growing bast fibre from the African hibiscus Hibiscus cannabinus — jute-like, CO₂-efficient, for coarse textiles and composites.

Cotton treated with caustic soda to gain lustre, higher tensile strength and deeper colour uptake.

Especially fine wool from the Merino sheep — soft, non-scratchy and ideal for sport and functional wear.

Classification of extra-fine merino wool: 15–18.5 µm fibre diameter — non-scratchy, skin-friendly, ideal for base layers and business knitwear.

Regenerated protein fibre from milk casein — silky hand, thermoregulating, can be made from non-food surplus milk.

Glossy, curly hair of the angora goat — Kid Mohair from young animals is particularly fine and valuable.

Golden-yellow wild silk from India's Assam state — spun by the Muga silkworm Antheraea assamensis, with protected Geographical Indication (GI).

The classic cultivated silk from the mulberry moth Bombyx mori — the finest, longest continuous filament in the silk world.

Wool from sheep that have not undergone mulesing (skin removal without anaesthesia) — a core animal-welfare criterion.

Silk in which the moths are allowed to emerge before the cocoon is processed into fibre.

Extra-long staple (ELS) cotton of the Gossypium barbadense species; grown mainly in Peru and the southwestern USA.

Leather alternative made from pineapple leaf fibres — presented in 2015 by Carmen Hijosa, produced by Ananas Anam.

Ultra-fine undercoat of the muskox — softer than cashmere, warmer than sheep's wool, does not felt.

Ultra-light undercoat of the Arctic musk ox — eight times warmer than sheep's wool and softer than cashmere.

Framework of the non-profit Textile Exchange that classifies fibres and materials with demonstrably lower environmental and social impact as “preferred”.

Wild silk from the tussah moth (Antheraea) — golden-brown, coarser and livelier than mulberry silk.

The finest natural fibre in the world (12 µm) from the wild vicuña of the Andes — shorn only every two years.

Fine down of the yak (Bos grunniens) from the Himalayas — comparable to cashmere but warmer.