Outdoor Clothing Made From Cashmere, Merino, and Other Wool vs. Synthetics

When I started sewing my own outdoor clothing gear in the mid-1990's, I was fortunate to live near The Rain Shed in Corvallis, Oregon. That retail store sold all of the fabric, patterns, and notions to create my own clothing that made the 9-month rainy season of October through June more comfortable, and was practical for hiking and skiing. Polartec 100, 200, 300, 1000 Windblock, WindPro, and Powerstretch jackets, 3/4 zip sweatshirts, pants, hats, mittens, and socks. PowerDry wicking base layers. Woven Supplex nylon hiking pants. Supplex knit leggings, tops, camisoles, and sports bras. As a poor college student with little money to spend, it was cheaper to buy these fabrics and sew the items myself instead of buying read-to-wear, and I have always enjoyed sewing. After moving to New York State in 2003, mail-order through The Rain Shed was still my primary source for these supplies, excepting an occasional score of a fabric bolt labeled "unknown content" in the clearance fabric section of Joann's or the rare Walmart that still sold fabric- I knew how to recognize the good stuff by look and feel. For years I sewed what I thought was ideal clothing suited to outdoor activities, and I sewed many fleece mittens, hats, and pullovers as gifts for others.

A couple of years ago, my outdoor clothing sewing screeched to a halt after learning about microfiber plastic (yes, synthetic fibers are just plastic) pollution from synthetic fleece and other fibers. Thankfully, forward-thinking companies like Patagonia are working on strategies to reduce the microfiber problem. Here are a few articles if you are unfamiliar with this topic:

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/02/06/511843443/are-we-eating-our-fleece-jackets-microfibers-are-migrating-into-field-and-food

https://www.outsideonline.com/2091876/patagonias-new-study-finds-fleece-jackets-are-serious-pollutant

https://www.patagonia.com/stories/an-update-on-microfiber-pollution/story-31370.html

https://www.earth.com/earthpedia-articles/fleece-microfibers-plastic-pollution/

https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/fight-against-plastic-pollution-targets-hidden-source-our-clothes-ncna1000961

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jun/20/microfibers-plastic-pollution-oceans-patagonia-synthetic-clothes-microbeads


So, what to do about reducing the environmental impact of outdoor clothing? I have mostly switched to wearing natural fibers- merino and cashmere tops and sweaters for base layers and insulating layers for hiking, skiing, and snowshoeing. Cashmere is especially cozy in cold weather and is very lightweight. But wait, aren't those expensive to buy? No, because I find mine used at thrift stores such as Goodwill and ARC, and occassionally a random yard sale. The sweaters are typically no more than $8 each. Long sleeves are easily cut off and hemmed to short sleeves, to make a layering system. Dense, thick wool sweaters are sometimes naturally water repellant and may make a good outer layer. Woven wool vests, blazers, and coats evoke an old-school outdoor gear look and usually provide good wind protection though are heavier than the high-tech fabrics we are all used to. I moved back to Colorado in 2019 and so far have kept a couple of the Polartec Windblock items I sewed, for higher altitude hiking, but they will not be worn frequently.

What about base and outer layers for pants? High-quality merino base layer pants are likely impossible to find at thrift stores and most of us wouldn't want to wear that garment used anyway. Treat yourself to one or two pairs of high-quality merino baselayer pants such as the Minus 33 brand that are easily available at stores in the United States. They are worth the price. Silk knit base layer pants work for milder cold weather. Am still working on how to replace my nylon hiking pants.

Tips for shopping for clothes at thrift stores:

1. Machine wash and machine dry everything before bringing it into your household. You do not know what microscopic moth eggs or other critters might be in the sweaters. You don't need to try on the sweaters before cleaning them. Plan ahead and have quarters and laundry detergent with you, then stop by a laundromat after the thrift store. I always wash with hot water.

2. Buy the sweaters as big as possible, to allow for shrinkage during washing and drying. Each sweater will shrink at different rates. Tiny shrunken sweaters may be sewn into hats and mittens (my jam), or pieced together to create new sweaters. Too-small sweaters may be upsized by cutting up the side and under-sleeve seams and sewing in a long strip of fabric to each side. Too-short sweaters may be lengthened by adding the bottom portion of another sweater. You get the idea.

3. Sometimes fiber fluff from one sweater will stick to another sweater during laundering. To avoid those fibers from felting into each other, wash and dry bright/dark colors and light colors separately.

4. Holes in the garments that were not apparent pre-laundering may be visible after laundering. This is because insects sometimes eat just some of the fibers, leaving others intact until laundering further weakens that area. Patch a hole with a cute applique cut from another sweater scrap and embroidery thread. Or add a pocket to cover a hole.

5. Simple-shaped hoods may be cut and sewn from sweaters and sewn onto the neckline of others. Get creative with color-blocking.

6. Most cashmere sweaters have dry-clean only labels. Dry-cleaning is not necessary, and the chemicals are terrible for the environment and you. After the first machine washing and drying, they may be hand-washed (I prefer to hand-wash mine in shampoo with cold water) or a very gentle, short  machine cycle each in it's own mesh lingerie bag. Keep your sweaters in critter-proof storage when not being worn. I keep mine in durable plastic bins. Always make sure the garments are clean before storing for the off-season.