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Then there is the matter of bleaching the wool to get it white, or dyeing it, but with a responsible eco-friendly manufacturer most of these issues can be overcome.
SOY SILK
Legend has it that Henry Ford wore a suit made of soy silk in the 1940s, but the US Government of the day decided to go with rayon instead. Here in the 21st century, though, it's soy silk that has the greater potential.
Soy silk is made from the by-products of the tofu-making process. The liquefied proteins are extruded into fibres which are then spun, and used like any other fibre (woven, knitted, etc.).
You can purchase skeins of soy silk yarn and test it out for yourself. The high protein content makes it receptive to natural dyes, so you can create your own colours.
INGEO™ CORN FIBER
It is undoubtedly too early to believe that Dow Chemicals (Cargill Dow) has turned over a new leaf, but it seems that they are interested in reaching out to new markets through the development of Ingeo™. Ingo is created by extracting the starch and then sugars from corn, and processing them to make a fibre, which can be spun into a yarn or woven into fabric.
BAMBOO
It's hard to see how this fabric qualifies as "environmentally-friendly" when the manufacturer's site contains the following sentence: "Firstly, bamboo pulp is refined from bamboo through a process of hydrolysis-alkalization and multi-phase bleaching."
Bamboo is a highly renewable grass, and it is probably this property that has resulted in its being classified as "eco-friendly". It also has natural antibacterial properties and the fabric "breathes". The resultant cloth is biodegradable.
FORTREL EcoSpun™
Recycled polyester fleece jackets made from recycled drinks bottles.
Even some hi-tech waterproofs can potentially be recycled - if facilities exist. These include water-based coatings (applied without harmful solvents) and membranes such as Sympatex, which is 100% polyester. Avoid PVC, laminates and polyurethane.
A polyester fibre made out of recycled plastic bottles which can be made into fleece. Manufacturing this fibre is preferable to creating new petroleum-based fibres, and a plus given the sheer amount of plastic bottles in existence.
The fleece that is created is prized by backpackers for its warmth and durability.
MILK SILK
If you aren't squeamish about the idea of tinkering with goats eggs by mixing in the genetic material from spiders to cause the females produce a special type of milk that contains silk fibres (originally produced for the US military, it must be concentrated to be used), then this might be the fabric for you. By and large, the resultant fibres are being used to create biodegradable sutures, bullet-proof material and research is being done to make artificial ligaments.
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