Ethical, Vegan Sportswear: Healthy Body, Healthy Mind, Healthy Environment

Ethical sportswear is rising in popularity as more and more of us take the decision to take individual responsibility for the environment and the wider world we live in. No longer content with simply making our clothing choices based on price and fashion alone, we now expect more, both from our wardrobes and from the clothing manufacturers that fill them.

There’s a new drive towards ethical gym wear, and that’s coming from consumers. To stay ahead of the game and to improve their own environmental credentials, manufacturers must keep up with that demand. And perhaps surprisingly, ethical doesn’t have to mean suffering increased discomfort or restricted performance.

Why Ethical Sportswear Also Increases Comfort And Performance

If you do your research and choose your ethical gym wear in an informed way, you’ll find there are some fabrics that by far out-perform traditional materials like polyester and cotton. One of the very latest discoveries in the clothing world is Tencel. Produced from the ultimate sustainable natural raw material, wood, Tencel is not just environmentally friendly. It also offers better breathability than polyester, from which a lot of activewear has been previously typically been made. More than that, Tencel is far better for your skin when exercising than cotton. It has the ability to absorb 50% more moisture, preventing sweaty fitness sessions and uncomfortable chafing. Whether you’re enjoying a game of paintball with equipment from Planet Eclipse or you’re hitting the cross trainer in the gym, this matters.

How Is Vegan Gym Wear Produced And Why Is It More Beneficial Than The Alternatives?

Above, we mentioned one of the new breed of fabrics, Tencel. This is fast becoming a big name in ethical clothing and can make strong claims to be one of the better fabrics used for manufacturing vegan gym wear. It’s extremely light, it’s versatile and it’s a strong contender when it comes to being used for casual wear worldwide. Tencel (which is a brand name for a particular kind of material called lyocell) is a fiber that’s composed of cellulose, a natural plant product. It’s made with dissolved wood pulp and so is ultimately biodegradable when its useful life is completed. Moreover, it’s much less energy-intensive to produce than other natural materials such as cotton, and far less water is used in production too, so Tencel is kinder to the planet in that respect.

What’s more, the manufacturers of Tencel take steps to source the wood pulp from sustainably managed sources; in other words, from plantations that are certified and responsibly managed. So there’s no doubt that it’s better for the environment than many other alternatives.

But what about its use for vegan gym clothes? Here, again, Tencel excels. It’s a breathable material that also absorbs 50% more moisture than options like cotton, so when you’re working out in the gym, you won’t suffer from overheating or the uncomfortable side effects of excess perspiration. And because it is a more breathable fabric, it also helps prevent unpleasant odors and the build-up of bacteria too.

Feature photo credit