What Fabrics Are Used in Activewear?

Because activewear was originally intended to be worn while playing sports, exercising, or spending bona fide clothes time outdoors, the fabrics that are used to make it must be comfortable, flexible enough to allow for a wide range of motion, and durable. Materials used in activewear should meet at least these three criteria at a minimum, but many fabrics go above and beyond.

For example, workout clothes that are made to sweat in are often made from fabrics that are naturally moisture-wicking, meaning they pull sweat and moisture away from the body to help keep you cool. Other best seller fabrics feature anti-odor properties that prevent the smell of sweat from lingering in your clothes long after you’ve washed them. Activewear fabrics are ideally highly breathable, since the point is that you’ll be sweating in them and want to stay comfortable, and they’re lightweight.

Although most activewear clothing has historically been made from synthetic fabrics like polyester blends, a new wave of natural fabrics has taken the industry by storm. Activewear and loungewear clothing made from bamboo is not only comfortable, flexible, and highly durable, it is also naturally moisture-wicking, breathable, has anti-odor properties to keep smells at bay, offers UPF 50+ sun protection, and it’s lightweight.

The best part is that unlike synthetic fabrics that need to be treated with chemical finishes in order to obtain all of these qualities, bamboo fabrics possess them naturally. If you’re an active guy or girl with sensitive skin, you’re likely to find that activewear made from bamboo is less likely to irritate your skin due to the lack of dyes and chemical finishes that are found in so many other brands.

Is Activewear sustainable?
While we’d love to tell you that all activewear is sustainably produced, the reality is that it’s simply not true. There are natural fabrics, including bamboo and merino wool, that are used to produce activewear clothing, but the vast majority, especially from the big-name brands, is made from 100 percent synthetic materials – specifically, petrochemicals, or materials, like plastic, made from oil.

If wearing clothing made of plastic doesn’t sound very environmentally friendly or sustainable, that’s because it isn’t. To add insult to injury, the synthetic materials are then sprayed with finishes to provide qualities like moisture-wicking, sun protection, and anti-odor properties.

However, activewear that’s made from natural materials like bamboo or merino wool can be produced sustainably. Bamboo technology is especially impressive on the environmental front, as it doesn’t require harsh dyes or synthetic chemical finishes to obtain the properties that make it such a great fit for an active lifestyle. Bamboo is also the fastest growing plant on the planet and it can be harvested once a year without having to be replanted, so it doesn’t contribute further to habitat loss and deforestation.