If you’re wondering how wood becomes a T-shirt, you’ve come to the right place. At first, most people have trouble imagining that it’s even possible to make clothing from wood. And if they can imagine it, many picture clothing that is stiff or extremely scratchy.
So let’s lift the veil on this mystery and take you behind the scenes. We’ll show you how and where this environmentally friendly and surprisingly soft fabric with its unique comfort is made.
Looking more closely at the clothing industry in recent years, it becomes clear that two raw materials form the basis of today’s textile production: polyester and cotton.
More than 60% of all fibers used worldwide for clothing are made from synthetic, petroleum-based raw materials. Around 25% of the fibers are made from cotton, with organic cotton accounting for only about 1% of that total. The remaining 15% of fibers consist of wool, cellulose-based fibers, and other natural fibers such as hemp and linen.
In the first step, the wood is processed into small chips and mixed with an organic solvent so that the cellulose dissolves. Because it mixes well with water, this solvent can be recycled again and again.
After this first step, you have a honey-like mass, which is then pressed through spinnerets to produce fine fibers. The fibers are subsequently dried and ultimately processed into the yarn that is knitted into your T-shirt fabric.
What we particularly like about this production step is that the entire process is a closed loop, which drastically reduces resource consumption and emissions.
Once the fabric is finished, it passes through various small workshops, where it is further processed by hand with great care and attention to detail.
The next step in the production process is cutting the fabric. This requires templates created according to our cutting specifications, which are now printed and arranged on the fabric as efficiently as possible so that fabric waste is kept to an absolute minimum.
In a small family-run workshop, the templates are placed on around 60 layers of fabric and then cut out precisely by hand (!). This step requires an incredible amount of experience and is carried out by two sisters who make it look so effortless that you can only marvel. They are specialists in their field, and it is wonderful to see how much joy they still take in their work after so many years.
They also go all out when it comes to hospitality: whenever we visit, we are always treated to excellent port wine, which certainly creates a risk of staying far too long…
In the first step, the wood is processed into small chips and mixed with an organic solvent so that the cellulose dissolves. Because it mixes well with water, this solvent can be recycled again and again.
After this first step, you have a honey-like mass, which is then pressed through spinnerets to produce fine fibers. The fibers are subsequently dried and ultimately processed into the yarn that is knitted into your T-shirt fabric.
What we particularly like about this production step is that the entire process is a closed loop, which drastically reduces resource consumption and emissions.
Once the fabric is finished, it passes through various small workshops, where it is further processed by hand with great care and attention to detail.
The next step in the production process is cutting the fabric. This requires templates created according to our cutting specifications, which are now printed and arranged on the fabric as efficiently as possible so that fabric waste is kept to an absolute minimum.
In a small family-run workshop, the templates are placed on around 60 layers of fabric and then cut out precisely by hand (!). This step requires an incredible amount of experience and is carried out by two sisters who make it look so effortless that you can only marvel. They are specialists in their field, and it is wonderful to see how much joy they still take in their work after so many years.
They also go all out when it comes to hospitality: whenever we visit, we are always treated to excellent port wine, which certainly creates a risk of staying far too long…
SUSTAINABLE SHIRTS WITHOUT ITCHY LABELS
Scratchy labels in our shirts can cause skin irritation and discomfort. They distract us from what really matters: the shirt’s comfort and style. At wijld, we do away with irritating and bothersome labels and print them directly onto the shirt instead.
This means you don’t have to go without any important information, while ensuring smooth, comfortable wear.
In addition to comfort, our sustainable shirts without scratchy labels are also environmentally friendly because we avoid using additional fabric. Minimalist and functional!
That means you’re not only dressed comfortably but also environmentally consciously.
CLOTHING MADE FROM WOOD WITH LOVE
For us, it’s not only fascinating to see how quickly and precisely the work is done, but above all, it’s wonderful to see HOW it is done. Every single step involves so much energy and attention to detail in creating our wooden clothing.
But what do you think of the result? Your opinion is, of course, extremely important to us! What do you think of our WoodShirts? Are you satisfied—or even thrilled—and have we succeeded in offering you a genuine, environmentally friendly, and fair alternative that you enjoy wearing or giving as a gift? We want to make you completely happy and, of course, appreciate every single recommendation to your friends and family! ;-)
