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Comment by ninininino | Hacker News Reader

It's extremely practical. We have cotton, linen, and wool as great amazing fabrics. Drawstrings replace elastic.

In my opinion, no natural fabric is as comfortable as synthetics. But I have cotton bedding and curtains. I think these are higher priority: bedding is used while you're lying close to it and easily able to inhale any dust, and curtains are exposed to sunlight that can weaken the fabric and make it break down more easily. They're also both large, meaning there's more plastic to be released. Carpet also seems a high priority, although that's more expensive and difficult to change.

It doesn't need to be comfortable, it needs to not lay waste to the planet and shrink your balls.

I do hate fast fashion, but I can think of many exceptions where natural fibers won't cut it. There is no natural fabric product on the market that can properly replace lightweight, waterproof clothing. Waxed cotton is waterproof but heavy. Rubber is not breathable. Technical synthetics like Goretex have its issues (low durability, high cost, coated with PFAS), but it sure beats getting hypothermia.

It's a rare exception that natural fibers won't serve. Alaska, Arctic circle, Antarctica, disaster prep.

You don't need lightweight waterproof clothing, you just like it. Getting a little sweaty under a non-breathable fabric or getting wet but staying insulated with wool will be just fine. Umbrellas are great as well.

What beats lightweight breathable fabric is not desecrating the planet.

People will make all kinds of excuses as to not impose any minor inconvenience to themselves, even if it means making species go extinct and killing the planet.

Nothing is replacing nylon where it is best used anytime soon.

We can replace Nylon with get this, poorer alternatives, if we gave a shit about the environment. I know it's unthinkable to switch to a worse product or user experience, but imagine caring more about the health of the planet.

This feels naive. For things like parachutes or airbags, I question whether you would actually have benefits from using something like cotton. In particular, they almost certainly do not perform at the same level. As such, you run the real risk of losing gains from other material to losses to maintenance.

Some people would just prefer that more people die from lack of effective parachutes or worse airbags if it means reducing the environmental devastation we wreak on the planet. Not sure if that is something you've considered.

Might be time to scale up spider silk synthesis, then?

Or maybe (high strength successors to) Rayon, which as I understand should decompose like regular cotton.

So, materiel that doesn't really exist?

And rayon doesn't exactly have a good history.

I'm all for looking for better things. Will be hard to replace some stuff, though.

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