Jersey was first produced during the medieval period, but it was Coco Chanel that revolutionized the fabric in 1916, introducing it into the women’s fashion industry. Jersey fabric was a stretchy, wool knit. Unfortunately, due to modern manufacturing techniques, it’s often made using cotton blended with synthetic fibers, like viscose. The advantages being that cotton jersey effectively brings down the material costs, and synthetic fibers made the fabric more durable. Jersey is also known as jersey knit as it’s made by a specific knitting technique, where the fibers are knitted instead of woven. This makes the fibers more durable, stretchier, and sometimes softer. The fabric’s topside is the smooth side, made with a rib-knit while the back of the knit is pilled with loops. This style of single knitting makes the fabric feel stretchy and lightweight, while double knitting is used to add to the fabric’s durability. Types of Jersey Fabric Having clarified that jersey isn’t a particular fiber but however is indeed different fibers made via a special knitting technique. The next question is: what types of jersey knit fabrics are currently on the market?
Wool: The original fiber used to make jersey fabric, it’s often used as a wool blend to make affordable wool jumpers. These blends can sometimes contain some sort of lycra or spandex or another type of synthetic fiber to make it stretchier and cheaper to produce.
Cotton: Jersey fabric is most often made from cotton or cotton blends. Often soft and breathable, cotton jersey is very often used to produce shirts, pants, dresses, and underwear. For leggings, it’s blended with spandex or another similar material.
Synthetic: Cheaper to produce, synthetic fibers like rayon or viscose are very soft and usually very stretchy. Viscose jersey knit is one of the most versatile fabrics, often seen in dresses, tops, and blouses. However, we must take into account the environmental drawbacks of using viscose.
Silk: Silk jersey knits are known for being extremely soft, and can sometimes appear translucent. The smoothness of this type is preferred in home textiles such as drapes, but also for garments such as dresses and lingerie.
Is it Sustainable? It’s important to do a background check upon finding the label “jersey”, as it will indicate which fibers the fabric is blended with. As aforementioned, jersey fabric merely refers to a knitting technique that is used for creating either a natural or synthetic fabric. Generally, synthetic fibers are the most unsustainable option. The earth is being poisoned beyond repair due to these fibers, with the textile industry being responsible for over 20% of global water pollution. The chemicals that are present in synthetic fibers are impossible to biodegrade naturally, meaning that the water and land are forever polluted. As plastics are a by-product of petroleum-based synthetic fibers, most of the earth’s waterways get damaged by these microplastics. Not to mention that many fish have been examined, with synthetic nylons being found in their intestinal tracts. Is it Ethical to Mix Materials? Mixed materials also have their disadvantages. Even if a garment is made mostly of cotton, the smallest addition of synthetic yarns means it's technically mixed. The issue with mixed materials is that blended garments are much more difficult to recycle after they’ve been worn. Separating mixed materials is labor-intensive and time-consuming. As a result, raw materials end up being used instead and the mixed fabrics end up in landfills. The most ethical and sustainable option would be to opt for jersey knit made from 100% organic cotton, preferably certified by the Global Organic Textile Standard, which also supports fair working conditions.