Velour first came into use as a velvet-like fabric that exchanged silk for cotton and simultaneous double-layer weaving for simple pile knitting. Consequently, velour is less shiny and plush but more affordable than velvet. Velour’s price is lowered further by its use of more recently invented synthetic fibers like polyester and nylon. Yet, such a price cut tends to come with an environmental cost. So, we had to ask: How sustainable are velour fabrics?

The sustainability of velour fabrics depends on specific base fibers, from unsustainable (polyester, conventional cotton) to sustainable (recycled polyester, organic cotton). Manufacturing velour from virgin polyester—today’s common option —uses a great deal of energy and pollutes the environment. 

In this article, we’ll walk you through the life-cycle of velour fabrics used for clothes and household items. Then, we will evaluate its sustainability, potential, and shortfalls. And in the end, we’ll show you tips for buying sustainable products made with velour fabrics.

Here’s How We Assessed the Sustainability of Velour Fabrics

Velour is a pile-knitted fabric made with a specific base yarn. Though other fibers, such as rayon and nylon, are sometimes used, cotton and polyester are the most common starting point of velour fabrics. 

The sustainability of velour fabrics depends largely on the base fibers. Made-By Environmental Benchmark for Fibres provides a general order from the most sustainable —Class A—to the least sustainable—Class E—for various forms of cotton and polyester fibers that can be used to make velour fabrics. 

• Class A: recycled cotton, mechanically recycled polyester 
• Class B: organic cotton, chemically recycled polyester, in-conversion cotton
• Class D: virgin polyester 
• Class E: conventional cotton 

“Sustainable: The ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level | Avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance”

Oxford Dictionary

To understand the sustainability of velour fabrics, we must assess their life-cycle and each stage’s sustainability. This life-cycle assessment (LCA) is a method for evaluating the environmental impacts of products and materials. Over the years, companies have strategically used LCA to research and create more sustainable products. So, let’s have a look at the LCA of velour fabrics!

In this article, we’ll use the cradle-to-grave perspective of the LCA, examining the five stages of the life-cycle of clothing items and accessories made with velour fabrics. When applicable, we also look at cradle-to-gate assessments. 

Overall, we can say velour fabrics are on a spectrum from very sustainable to highly unsustainable. However, the actual environmental impact of a particular product, a dress or a curtain, depends on more specific factors, including: 

• the sourcing of the raw material
• the manufacturing process
• the distance and mode of transport

Let’s dive deeper into each life-cycle stage and find out how you can buy velour fabrics more sustainably. 

How Sustainable Is the Sourcing of Raw Materials for Velour Fabrics

Sourcing virgin polyester —the most common raw material for today’s velour fabrics—is unsustainable. Digging into the fossil fuel reserve to make polyester fibers leads to the depletion of nonrenewable resources, acceleration of climate change, and environmental pollution. 

However, the sourcing stage of velour fabrics can be sustainable when raw materials are recycled from waste, such as using discarded PET bottles to make recycled polyester or post-consumer cotton waste to produce recycled cotton. Other sustainable sources for velour’s raw materials are organic and in-transition cotton farming. 

What Raw Materials Are Used for Velour Fabrics

Velour was originally developed as a low-priced fabric with velvet-like attributes. The cost deduction was partly due to swapping silk yarn in velvet for cotton yarn to make velour. 

With the birth of synthetic fibers, more and more velour fabrics are made using artificial fibers—rayon, nylon, and, especially, polyester. However, cotton is still used to produce this material alone or blended with synthetic fibers. 

How Do the Raw Materials Sourced for Velour Fabrics Impact the Environment

In this section, we will examine separately the sourcing of cotton and polyester yarn as raw materials for velour fabrics and the sustainability of sourcing such materials: 

• Sourcing cotton yarn, including organic cotton, recycled cotton, and conventional cotton, as raw materials for velour fabrics 
• Sourcing polyester yarn, including virgin polyester and recycled polyester, as raw materials for velour fabrics 

How Does Sourcing Cotton Yarns for Velour Fabrics Impact the Environment

Sourcing cotton for velour fabrics is not sustainable. Conventional cotton production uses a lot of water, energy, and harmful toxic chemicals. Yet, opting for organic and/or recycled cotton yarn for velour fabrics is sustainable. 

Cotton is the traditional raw material sourced for velour fabrics, partly due to the lower price tag and the high availability. 

Manufacturing cotton yarn for velour fabrics uses natural cellulose fibers extracted from cotton seeds (or so-called cotton bolls). Once separated, cotton fibers can be woven into cotton threads in a (mostly) mechanical process.

The environmental impacts of sourcing virgin cotton yarn occur in the two following stages: 

• Cotton cultivation: growing cotton plants to harvest the fibers in their seeds 
• Producing cotton yarn from cotton fibers 

During the conventional farming stage (the 1^st stage mentioned above), major unsustainability issues are as followings: 

• Growing cotton plants has a very high water footprint.
• A disproportionate amount of chemical pesticides are often used in conventional cotton cultivation. 
• Growing cotton plants tends to require a lot of fertilizer due to soil degradation.

During the manufacturing stage (the 2^nd stage mentioned above), major unsustainability issues are as follows: 

• Producing cotton yarn for velour fabrics is energy-intensive.
• Producing conventional cotton yarn for velour fabrics uses toxic chemicals. 

Sourcing Sustainable Cotton Yarns for Velour Fabrics

It is important to note that cotton yarns are not all equally made. Though conventional cotton is ranked class E, the least sustainable fiber class, recycled cotton belongs to class A, which is the most sustainable fiber class.

Here are various forms of cotton fabrics in the general order from the most sustainable (at the top) to the least sustainable (at the bottom), with reference to the ranking by Made-By Environmental Benchmark for Fibres. 

1. Recycled cotton: mechanically recycled from pre- or post-consumer waste
2. Organic cotton: grown without synthetic fertilizer and pesticides
3. In-transition cotton: moving away from unsustainable practices to more sustainable ones. This group of cotton fabrics includes:
   1. In-conversion cotton
   2. Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) cotton
   3. Cleaner Cotton™
   4. Fairtrade cotton
   5. Naturally colored cotton
4. Conventional cotton 

Thus, sourcing recycled cotton or organic cotton for velour fabrics is sustainable. 

Where Are the Cotton Yarns for Velour Fabrics Usually Sourced From

There are cotton crops in over 80 countries, but the biggest producers of cotton fibers are India, China, Pakistan, Brazil, and Uzbekistan. 

The high water demand and excessive use of chemicals in cotton cultivation cause several environmental and social challenges in places where cotton cultivation dominates the land. Some specific challenges are as follows:

• Growing cotton causes water stress and water scarcity for other agricultural and social activities in cotton-growing regions. 
• Growing cotton causes water pollution in cotton-growing areas. 
• Biodiversity loss is associated with the widespread use of genetically modified cotton seeds. 

How Does Sourcing Polyester Yarns for Velour Fabrics Impact the Environment

Sourcing polyester for velour fabrics is not sustainable. Virgin polyester production depletes nonrenewable fossil reserves, accelerates the climate crisis, and pollutes the environment. 

Polyester is a popular alternative raw material sourced for velour fabrics, partly due to the lower price tag and the high availability. 

It is often the case that manufacturing polyester yarn for velour fabrics starts with derivatives from petroleum or natural gas to make ethylene. 

The environmental impacts of sourcing virgin polyester yarn occur in the two following stages: 

• Extract and refine fossil fuels to make ethylene—the raw materials for polyester. 
• Synthesize polyester yarn. 

During the extract-and-refine stage (the 1^st stage mentioned above), major unsustainability issues are as followings: 

• Making ethylene from fossil fuels depletes nonrenewable resources. 
• Making ethylene from fossil fuels requires significant amounts of energy. 
• Making ethylene from fossil fuels has a high carbon footprint, exacerbating the climate crisis. 
• Extracting and refining fossil fuels (for making ethylene) causes pollution and habitat destruction. 

During the manufacturing stage (the 2^nd stage mentioned above), major unsustainability issues are as followings: 

• Producing polyester yarn for velour fabrics is energy-intensive.
• Producing polyester yarn for velour fabrics is highly polluting.
• Producing polyester yarn for velour fabrics has a high water footprint.

Sourcing Sustainable Polyester Yarns for Velour Fabrics 

It is important to note that polyester yarns are not all equally made. Though virgin polyester is ranked class D—the second least sustainable fiber class, mechanically recycled polyester belongs to class A—the most sustainable fiber class.

Thus, sourcing recycled polyester for velour fabrics is sustainable. 

There is also the option of bio-based polyester yarns, which sidestep fossil fuels as raw materials, reducing the overall environmental impacts. 

Where Are the Polyester Yarns for Velour Fabrics Usually Sourced From

Though it is always good to know the starting point of your clothes, this is no simple task when it comes to tracking down the origin of polyester yarn’s fossil-derived raw materials. 

There are two reasons for this: 

1. The supply chain of fossil derivatives is extremely complex. 
2. A certain type of plastic can be made in many factories using various ingredients depending on manufacturers and desired properties.

How Sustainable Is the Manufacturing of Velour Fabrics

Manufacturing velour fabrics is reasonably sustainable. The processes in velour manufacturing are fundamentally mechanical, regardless of which base textile is used. The type of process dyes and the associated environmental impacts vary depending on the base textile. 

How Sustainably Are Velour Fabrics Generally Manufactured

Here are the standard steps in manufacturing velour fabrics: 

1. Choose the base yarn(s): The traditional yarn used in velour fabrics is cotton, but nowadays, synthetic fibers or natural-synthetic fiber blends can be used as the base yarn for velour.
2. Pile knit the chosen yarn(s): The yarns are knitted into loops to make a pile weave, and then the small loops are cut off, which causes the fabric to lose its sheen—a distinct attribute from velvet. 
3. Dyeing and other finishing treatment: After velour fabric has been woven in the pile knit process, it may be exposed to a variety of post-production treatments.
   • Dyeing is one process that can be done at this point (or earlier on before pile knit weaving).
   • Flame-retardant treatment is another finishing process, particularly applied for stage curtains. 

Let’s now dive into a sustainable issue of this life-cycle stage: 

Dyes Used in Velour Manufacturing Vary Depending on the Base Yarn(s)

As we have discussed, velour fabrics can be made from cotton (natural fiber), polyester (synthetic fiber), or even rayon (semi-synthetic fibers). 

Though the manufacturing process of velour fabrics is basically the same regardless of the base material, this is not the case with the dyeing step. 

Cotton as a natural fiber can be dyed with natural dyes. These dyes are derivatives from minerals, plants, or animals instead of (being) synthesized in a lab. 

On the other hand, polyester as an artificial fiber can only be dyed with synthetic dyes. Synthetic dyes often require a lot of water to produce and contain heavy metals. 

Where Are Velour Fabrics Usually Manufactured

Velour production often depends on the base material used. However, like most types of textiles, the largest shares of the world’s velour fabrics are produced in China and India. 

One of the main sustainability issues with producing velour fabrics in China and India is the dependency on fossil fuels for energy generation. Only 9.31% of the primary energy in India comes from renewable sources. The renewable energy share in China is higher (14.95%), yet it is lower compared with, for example, Italy, where 18.36% of the primary energy comes from renewable resources. 

Using renewable energy (solar, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal, and biomass) reduces carbon emissions at this stage. 

How Sustainable Is the Transportation of Velour Fabrics

Transporting can be a carbon-intensive life-cycle stage for clothing items made with velour fabrics due to the distances covered and emissions associated with transporting vehicles. Velour fabrics typically travel from mines where fossil fuels are extracted or fields where cotton plants are grown to processing and finishing factories, sorting centers, shops, and consumer houses before going to recycling centers or landfills.

For example, in the life-cycle of polyester-based velour clothing items, transportation typically occurs as follows: 

• from petroleum and natural gas mines where raw materials are extracted to the manufacturing locations where polyester yarns and velour fabrics are made, 
• from the velour fabric and clothing manufacturing location to sorting centers and/or physical shops, 
• from sorting centers and/or physical shops to the consumer’s home, and
• from the consumer’s home to the centers for recycling and/or disposal.

Traveling Distances of Velour Fabrics Vary Depending on the Supply Chain

It is not uncommon for velour fabrics to have their supply chain spreading globally, meaning that mining or farming, yarn processing, and velour fabric finishing might happen in various towns, countries, or even continents. 

Here are some example scenarios for transporting polyester-based velour fabrics: 

• Ethylene manufacturers source petroleum and/or gas mined in the Congo Basin and produce the molecule in South Korea before selling it to polyester manufacturers to be turned into velour fabrics in India. Polyester-based velour clothing items are shipped to the US to sell to consumers.
• Fossil fuels are mined in Alberta, Canada. Ethylene is made in the Netherlands and sold to companies in China to be turned into polyester-based velour fabrics and garments. These garments are then sold worldwide. 

You can reduce the transporting carbon footprint by choosing velour fabrics that travel shorter distances.

The Carbon Footprint of Transporting Velour Fabrics Depends Largely on the Vehicle of Transportation 

During its life-cycle, a piece of velour clothing can be transported using various types of vehicles, including: 

• large container ships 
• planes 
• freight trains 
• long-distance trucks 
• short-distance delivering vans 

And these various types of transportation vehicles have different carbon footprint impacts: 

• Large container ships are generally the most carbon-efficient option for the international transportation of goods, while planes are the heaviest carbon emitter.
  Large container ships emit, per unit of weight and distance, half as much carbon dioxide as a train and one-fifth and one-fiftieth as much as a truck and a plane (respectively).
• Deliveries made by planes—for example, to fulfill fast shipping options for clothing—are the mode of transportation with the highest carbon footprint. 

As a consumer, you can choose not to pick the fast delivery option when ordering velour clothing items and accessories to reduce the carbon footprint of your order. 

How Sustainable Is the Usage of Velour Fabrics

The sustainability of using velour fabrics depends on the yarn(s) used in manufacturing. Using velour fabrics made with plastic-based yarns like petroleum-derived polyester or nylon is unsustainable. These materials release microplastics into marine environments. This doesn’t happen with bio-based yarns, leading to a more sustainable usage stage for cotton-based velour fabrics. 

A major sustainability issue with using plastic-based velour fabrics is the microplastics released into the environment due to washing the material. 

Plastic-based textiles, including polyester, nylon, acrylic, and others, are responsible for around half a million tons of plastic microfibers shed into the oceans annually as these fabrics are washed. At sea or in other bodies of water, these microplastics cause harm to fishes that ingest them and numerous animals (including us humans) further up the food chain. 

It is important to note that stage curtains, a popular application for velour fabric, are not subject to frequent washing. This reduces the negative impact of using polyester or other plastic-based yarns. 

On the other hand, cotton-based velour fabrics don’t shed microplastics at all into the environment while being used and washed.

How Sustainable Is the End-of-Life of Velour Fabrics

The sustainability of velour fabrics’ end-of-life stage depends on the yarn(s) used in manufacturing. 

The end-of-life of velour fabrics made with plastic-based synthetic yarns like petroleum-derived polyester is unsustainable. These materials are not biodegradable. 

The end-of-life of cotton-based velour fabrics is generally sustainable. Because of cotton’s biodegradability, these materials can be disposed of by composting, incinerating, and landfilling. 

Let’s look at two main base materials for velour fabrics: polyester and cotton. 

Traditional fossil-based polyester is not biodegradable: this material could take up to 300 years to degrade completely. Conversely, cotton is fully biodegradable: it typically takes one week to five months to decompose. 

Cotton can also be composted to return nutrition to the soil, which is not the case with polyester. 

How Circular Are Products Made of Velour Fabrics

In the textile industry, a circular economy is designed to keep products and materials in use for as long as possible, especially through reusing and recycling. It also covers regenerating natural systems that support the industry and reducing polluted waste released into such systems.

“The circular economy is a systems solution framework that tackles global challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution.”

Ellen MacArthur Foundation

As a whole, the textile industry is almost linear: 97% of the input is new resource.

Velour fabrics can also be made with recycled yarns, such as recycled cotton and recycled polyester. This practice helps save resources to produce virgin yarns and reduce waste materials. 

How Can You Buy Velour Fabrics More Sustainably

The key to sustainably buying velour fabric products is to check on relevant environmental and original certifications. 

Certifications for velour fabrics made with cotton yarns: 

• USDA ORGANIC: This certificate is applied to growing the crop (raw material), ensuring natural agricultural products are produced that can be certified as “organic.” 
• Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS): A globally-recognized certification system that ensures a certain threshold of organic content has been met. It covers manufacturing, packaging, labeling, transportation, and distribution (but not what happens in the fields where crops are grown). 
• USDA Certified Biobased Product: The USDA BioPreferred® Certification is a voluntary certification offered by the United States Department of Agriculture. The certificate identifies products made from plants or other renewable materials.
• Better Cotton Initiative (BCI ) Cotton: BCI certifies cotton according to The Better Cotton Standard System, a holistic approach to sustainable cotton production that covers all three pillars of sustainability: environmental, social, and economic. 
• Cleaner Cotton™: Cleaner Cotton™ eliminates the 13 most toxic chemicals used in conventional cotton cultivation in California, reducing toxicity in our air, soil, and watersheds. 
• Fairtrade International: A Fairtrade certification includes social, economic, and environmental standards that apply to the full supply chain from the farmers and workers to the traders and companies bringing the final product to market. 
• Fair for Life: Fair for Life certifies every step of production instead of the finished product. It prioritizes transparency in business at all levels.

Certifications for velour fabrics made with recycled yarns:

• Recycled Claim Standard (RCS): The Textile Exchange RCS was originally developed as an international, voluntary standard that sets requirements for third-party certification of Recycled input and chain of custody. 
• The Global Recycled Standard (GRS): The Global Recycled Standard (GRS) is an international, voluntary, full product standard that sets requirements for third-party certification of Recycled Content, chain of custody, social and environmental practices, and chemical restrictions. It can be used for any product with more than 20% recycled material. 

Certifications for generic velour fabrics:

• OEKO-TEX^®: OEKO-TEX^® labels aim to ensure that products pose no risk to human health (i.e. containing banned chemicals). 
• STeP by OEKO-TEX^®: STeP by OEKO-TEX^® is an independent certification system for brands, retailers, and manufacturers from the textile and leather industry. It communicates organizational environmental measures, including reducing carbon footprint and water usage.

Some certifications are signaling brands’ efforts toward lowered environmental impacts and a circular economy are: 

• B Corp Certification: The label B Corp is a certification reserved for for-profit companies. Certified holders are assessed on their social and environmental impacts. 
• Cradle2Cradle certification: Cradle2Cradle provides a standardized approach to material circularity. It assesses whether products have been suitably designed and made with the circular economy in mind covering five critical categories: material health, material reuse, renewable energy and carbon management, water stewardship, and social fairness.

Where to Buy Sustainable Velour Fabrics 

We have established throughout the life-cycle assessment that velour fabrics are on a spectrum from very sustainable to highly unsustainable. If you want to look for velour fabrics on the upper end of the sustainability ladder, here are some pointers: 

• velvet fabrics made with organic cotton
• velvet fabrics made with recycled materials, such as recycled polyester and recycled cotton
• velvet fabrics made in locations with high shares of renewable energy

As a consumer, you can look for these indicators when buying clothing and household items made with velour fabrics.

Why Is It Important to Buy Products Made of More Sustainable Fabrics

It is important to buy products made of more sustainable fabrics because a sustainable textile industry has a lower carbon footprint, helps save natural resources, and is better for forests, animals, and humans. 

Buying Sustainable Fabrics Reduces Your Carbon Footprint 

The production of clothing and footwear is estimated to contribute 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions—more than all international flights and shipping combined. If the fashion industry were a country, it would be the fourth largest emitter of carbon dioxide. 

One way to reduce the carbon footprint of the clothes you buy is to opt for sustainable fabrics. Sustainable fabrics, which are often made with natural or recycled fibers, have relatively low carbon footprints compared to petroleum-based fabrics. For example, organic cotton made in the US has a carbon footprint of 2.35 kg CO₂ (per ton of spun fiber)—a quarter of polyester’s carbon footprint.

Buying Sustainable Fabrics Reduces Demand for Natural Resources and Waste Management

The textile industry uses water and land to grow cotton and other fibers. It is estimated that 79 billion cubic meters of water were used for the sector worldwide in 2015. For example, producing a single cotton t-shirt requires as much water as one person drinks for 2.5 years (2,700 liters of fresh water).

Worse yet, the textile economy is vastly more linear than circular: the largest amount of resources used in clothes ended up in landfill (instead of being recycled to remake clothes). According to a report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation,

• Less than 3% of materials used in the textile economy in 2015 came from recycled sources.
• In other words, more than 97% of resources used in making clothes are newly extracted. 

When clothing items are disposed of within a short period of time—under a year in the case of half of the fast fashion clothes—the natural systems that provide raw materials for fabrics don’t have enough time to recover and regenerate, which could lead to ecological breakdown. 

Sustainable fabrics are made with less water and emissions while lasting longer:

• Because they are durable, you don’t need to buy new clothes too often. 
• Thus, you help reduce the pressure to extract more resources for making new items. 

Similarly, making and consuming sustainable fabrics made with recycled materials reduces the demand for virgin materials while helping tackle waste management. 

Buying Sustainable Fabrics Encourages Sustainable Management of Forests

Sustainable plant-based fabrics are made with raw materials from forests and plantations that are sustainably managed, such as complying with FSC standards. 

When you buy sustainable plant-based fabrics, you discourage unsustainable forestry practices like illegal logging. You can help reduce deforestation, biodiversity loss, and the effect of climate change. 

Buying Sustainable Fabrics Encourages Fairer Treatment of Animals 

The fashion industry is rife with animal mistreatment when it comes to making animal-based fabrics like silk or silk. Every year, billions of animals suffer and die for clothing and accessories.

Buying sustainable vegan alternatives can help to reduce the pressure on raising more and more animals to meet the demand for animal-based fabrics while sacrificing their well-being and lives. 

Suppose you have to buy fabrics made with, for example, silk or silk; make sure you only choose brands committed to cruelty-free products. In that case, you help advocate better treatments for animals raised within the textile industry. 

Using Sustainable Fabrics Encourages Fairer Treatment of Textile Workers 

Recent statistics from UNICEF estimated as many as 170 million child laborers worldwide, many of whom were engaged in some form of work in the textile industry. They don’t get paid minimum wages and often work long hours. 

When you buy sustainable fabrics from brands transparent about the working conditions at their factories, you discourage the use of child labor and help promote better working conditions for textile workers.

Final Thoughts

Conventional velour fabrics are generally not very sustainable, even though they are made with natural cellulose fibers from cotton plants—a renewable resource. Cultivating cotton requires a lot of water. Also, synthetic chemicals in conventional cotton farming harm the environment, workers, and users. However, recycled and organic cotton are sustainable materials for making more environmentally friendly velour fabrics. The environmental impacts of some in-transition cotton are also significantly less than those of conventional cotton. 

Velour fabrics made with virgin polyester are not sustainable because polyester generally comes from fossil fuels. Fossil-based plastic production is energy-intensive and high-polluting. Washing clothes made with plastic materials contributes to microplastic problems in marine environments. Also, conventional fossil-based plastics aren’t biodegradable. That being said, using recycled polyester to make velour fabrics is sustainable. 

To make it more sustainable when buying velour fabrics, follow these steps: 

1. Buy second-hand when possible.
2. While using velour products, maximize the number of wear between washes, and keep the items as long as possible.
3. At the end of velour products, upcycle the material to extend its usage and arrange for it to be recycled or properly disposed of. 

Stay impactful,

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