Plastic-Free Materials Glossary
Every fiber, one honest question: is it actually plastic-free? Written by the people who build plastic-free fabric, not a content mill.
This glossary answers one question per fiber: is it actually plastic-free? Natural fibers like organic cotton, linen, hemp, and merino wool are plastic-free. Regenerated cellulosics like lyocell and modal are plastic-free with an asterisk. Polyester, nylon, elastane, and recycled polyester are plastic and shed microplastics. Every entry gives the chemistry, the performance trade-off, and a plain verdict, from a manufacturer that builds plastic-free fabric.
The plastic-free verdict on every common fiber
Most fiber glossaries dodge the plastic question or get the cellulosics wrong. This one answers it directly for each material, then links to a full page with the chemistry, the performance trade-offs, and the honest verdict.
| Fiber | Plastic-free? | Fiber type | Microplastic-free? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Organic Cotton | Plastic-free | Natural, cellulose (plant) | No |
| Linen (Flax) | Plastic-free | Natural, bast cellulose (plant) | No |
| Hemp | Plastic-free | Natural, bast cellulose (plant) | No |
| Tencel Lyocell | Qualified | Regenerated cellulose (semi-synthetic, plant) | No |
| Modal | Qualified | Regenerated cellulose (semi-synthetic, plant) | No |
| Merino Wool | Plastic-free | Natural, protein (animal) | No |
| Polyester | It is plastic | Synthetic thermoplastic (petroleum) | Yes |
| Nylon (Polyamide) | It is plastic | Synthetic thermoplastic (petroleum) | Yes |
| Elastane (Spandex) | It is plastic | Synthetic elastomer (petroleum) | Yes |
| Recycled Polyester (rPET) | It is plastic | Synthetic thermoplastic (recycled petroleum) | Yes |
Browse the glossary
Organic cotton is plastic-free.
Linen is plastic-free.
Hemp is plastic-free.
Lyocell is plastic-free in the way that matters: it is regenerated cellulose made from wood pulp, not a petroleum plastic, and it biodegrades.
Modal is plastic-free with an asterisk.
Merino wool is plastic-free.
Polyester is plastic.
Nylon is plastic.
Elastane is plastic.
Recycled polyester is still plastic.
How we define plastic-free
A fiber is plastic if its polymer is a petroleum-derived thermoplastic: polyester, nylon, elastane, acrylic, and recycled polyester all qualify, and they all shed microplastics. A fiber is plastic-free if it is a plant or animal polymer that biodegrades: cotton, linen, hemp, and wool. Regenerated cellulosics like lyocell and modal sit in between: manufactured, but built from wood cellulose rather than oil, so they are plastic-free with an asterisk and do not shed microplastics.
The practical catch for brands is the blend. A cotton tee with 5 percent elastane is not plastic-free, and a wool base layer cut with nylon is not either. Being plastic-free is a property of the whole garment, not just the headline fiber. That is the problem OHZEHN-TEX™ is built to solve: a 99.5 percent plant-derived platform using castor-oil polyamide and corn-derived stretch, so a fabric can hit athletic stretch and recovery without adding petroleum plastic. The full material logic is in our plastic-free performance guide.