How natural are different fabrics?

Distribute a set of inspiration cards with Textile types to each pair or group.

With the Put in Order, students place the textiles on a line from most to least natural, without giving them any information. They do so based on their own interpretation of ‘natural’.

Tell students about 3 factors that help determine whether one textile is more natural than another. The factors act as 3 clues, given one at a time:

1. Material origin: Do the fibers come directly from nature (e.g. cotton, linen, wool) or are they chemically manufactured (e.g. polyester, acrylic)?
2. Processing and chemical treatment: Some natural fibers undergo intensive processing (e.g. bamboo, which is often converted into textiles via chemicals).
3. Degradability: Natural fibers (e.g. wool and cotton) degrade more easily in nature, while synthetic fibers (e.g. polyester) can pollute in the form of microplastics.

With the Educated Guess, students change the order after each clue. Agree with students if they can search on the internet between each clue, or they will guess on their own.

The groups hang their final textile lines on the wall, whiteboard or share it digitally. They look at each other to see if they agree.

Discuss with the class:

• What does it mean that something is natural/unnatural?
• Is natural always the most sustainable? Why/why not?
• How can production processes change the naturalness of a material?