Materials

 

ABLESIA is also a brand that is committed to ethical standards and to people who care about Nature and the Environment.

We purchase surpluses and deadstock materials from local factories in Portugal. This avoids fabrics to be needlessly disposed of and ending up in landfills. We make sure we give them a longer life by using them into the clothing we make.

Lyocell, viscose, organic cotton and cupro are some of the fabrics that we use for our garments. These materials that are more environment friendly and use less energy to make than others. 

 

 

Lyocell 

This is a fiber that is known for is exceptional natural comfort and at the same time is good for the Planet.

It is normally called a semi-synthetic fabric that is created from wood pulp cellulose and processed with synthetic substances.  It is a plant-based material and it is also referred to as a regenerated fiber. 

Lyocell is also made in a “closed loop” process and that means that all the chemicals use during production are not discharged into the environment. The  solvent spinning process used in creating this fiber, recycles process water and reuses the solvent at a recovery rate of more than 99%.  These bio-based fibers are manufactured using an environmentally responsible production process. The fibers are certified as compostable and bio-degradable and thus can be fully reverted back to nature. Compared to the production of other cellulose fibers, lyocell is substantially less toxic and wasteful.

Advantages:

• Breathable
• Durable
• Absorbs moisture
• Strong
• Silky texture gentle for your skin.
• Anti-bacterial
• Smooth texture
• Made from natural fibers
• It is biodegradable if not mixed with other fibers

 Disadvantages

• If is mixed with other fibers is not compostable.
• You could only use cold water to wash and no dryer.

Our Lyocell supplier is Troficolor.

To know more about them click here.

 

 

Denim

Denim was first produced in the city of Nîmes in France, and was originally called the serge de Nîmes. The word denim is an English colloquialism of the French term: “de nim.”

Denim is a strong and very resistant fabric made using a twill weave that creates a subtle diagonal ribbing pattern.

The cotton twill fabric is warp-facing, meaning that the weft threads go under two or more warp threads, and the warp yarns are more prominent on the right side.

Advantages:

• Natural fabric
• Highly strong
• Durable
• Resistant
• Does not shrink

Disadvantages:

• If is made with 100% cotton Denim, the fabric doe not have a lot of elasticity.
• Color can bleed into laundry
• Stretches over time
• If not organic it is water intensive crop

Our Lyocell supplier is Troficolor.

To know more about them click here.

 

 

Surpluses

Surpluses, deadstock, or leftovers are the common designation for fabrics that are left behind from the producers due to small damages to the fabric, wrong colour produced or mistake with printing etc. These are some of the reasons  that producers discard tons of fabric per year around the world.

Fabric can be left in storage for years and years or is sent to the landfill. ABLESIA rescues surplus fabrics and creates beautiful garments from them.

Advantages:

• Positive environmental contribution, avoiding unnecessary new production of fabric
• Reduces textile waste
• Great way to offer an exclusive range of limited-edition pieces

Disadvantages:

• More time is needed to deal with damaged and imperfect fabrics
• The fabrics need to be tested to know if there is shrinkage and evaluate   their behavior
• If not labelled, tracing the origin of the fabrics can be difficult in some cases

Our Cupro supplier came from surpluses from Portuguese producers located in the north of the country.

 

 

Viscose

Viscose is frequently described as an alternative to silk that is created from cellulose (in particular wood pulp from trees such as eucalyptus, pine, or even bamboo). That pulp is dissolved in a chemical solution and be transformed into fibers that will make the viscose fabric.

As a plant-based fibre, viscose is not inherently toxic or polluting. However, because of the fast fashion industry, much of the viscose on the market today is manufactured cheaply using energy, water and chemically-intensive processes that have devastating impacts on workers, local communities and the environment. 

The issue is that the pulp should be from renewable wood sources and controlled ways of production, but a lot of it is not. 

As an alternative to the traditional way of producing viscose we choose to acquire viscose from our supplier Rio Pele that has all the eco-responsible standards that the certificate “EcoVero” and “Lenzing” can guarantee.

Advantages:

Has a silk soft touch and a luxurious look

Is breathable

Holds the color well

Dries quickly

Strong and long-lasting

 

Disadvantages:

Absorbs moisture, oils, and water and all of them could result in spots

The traditional way of production could be very toxic and harmful to the environment

Wrinkles easily

Shrinks when washed in hot water 

 

Our viscose supplier is Riopele.

To know more about them click here.

 

 

Cupro

Cupro is a “regenerated cellulose” fabric that is created from cotton waste.

The process to make cupro, is based on dissolving really small particles of cotton fibers commonly named "linter" which are extracted from the cottonseed (that are too small to use in cotton production fabric and normally goes to waste) with a mix of chemicals processed to produce the fabric.

Advantage:

• Plant-Based material
• Vegan
• It is very soft
• Produced in a closed loop where chemicals used can be extracted so the water can be re-used
• Cooling sensation
• Biodegradable

Disadvantages:

• Uses toxic chemicals in the production process
• More expensive than cotton and other fibers
• Could not be tumble dried and must be cold water washed
• Wrinkles easily

Our Cupro supplier came from surpluses from Portuguese producers located in the north of the country.

 

 

Cotton

Our cotton comes from two sources. The first is from surpluses from Portuguese factories and the other from the Rio Pele Factory.

The surpluses are difficult to trace but we have the insurance that is produced locally in Portugal.

The Rio Pele factory has certificates that guarantee both environmental and ethical best standards of production.

Advantages:

Plant-Based material

Vegan

Breathable

Absorbent

Very resistant

Biodegradable

 

Disadvantages:

Uses a lot of energy to be produced

Uses pesticides and damage the soil

Uses a lot of water in fiber production

 

Our cotton supplier is Rio Pele.

To know more about them click here.

 

 

Organic Cotton 

The difference between traditional cotton and organic cotton is based on the way it is produced.

Organic cotton is produced and certified to organic agricultural standards and means that the health of soils, ecosystems, and people around them are protected because they use natural procedures rather than toxic ones. Organic cotton production does not allow the use of toxic chemicals or GMOs (genetically modified organisms). The idea behind the organic culture is to use tradition, innovation, and science to promote a good quality of life for the environment and all around it. 

Organic cotton is better for the environment as it takes less energy and water to create. Organic cotton uses no pesticides or harmful chemicals.

Advantages:

• Natural
• Reduces environmental footprint - less energy and water usage
• Breathable
• Absorbent
• Better for your skin because don’t use toxic chemicals in the production

Disadvantages:

• Still uses a lot of water for production (but less than the traditional cotton)
• More expensive compared to traditional cotton

Our organic cotton came from surpluses from Portuguese factories.

 

 

Linen

Linen is made from the fax plant. The fibers are extracted from the plan, spun into warn, and at the end woven, turned into fabric.

Recognized to be strong, durable, and absorbent fabric, linen is soft, comfortable and it dries faster than cotton.

The amazing thing about linen is that it requires much less water and pesticides to cultivate, comparing to other fabric cultivation. Linen also is also one of fabrics with the smallest carbon footprint. It takes a lot less energy and water to create than cotton. 

Advantages:

• Natural and hypoallergenic
• Thermoregulator
• One of the most sustainable fabrics that you could use
• Very strong
• Absorbent moisture without holding bacteria
• Easy to cultivate

Disadvantages:

• Uses a heavy bleaching process to turn into white color
• Needs to be washed in cold water and it is best if you dried flat.
• Wrinkles very easily

Our Linen supplier is RCS, Linhos, S.A. 

To know more about them click here.