If you’re looking into sustainable fabrics, you might have encountered the word, cupro. Cupro fabric is made from recycled plant-based fabrics. They are re-manufactured to create new fabrics. So, that old cotton T-shirt you’ve given away could’ve been what was used to make the cupro fabric.
The cupro fabric was first invented by the German manufacturer JP Bemberg in the 1900s. They called it bemberg. The fabric is also popularly known as cuprammonium rayon or ammonia silk.
Today, they’ve shortened it to cupro. But it’s also sometimes called cupra, which is a slang term for Chinese factory workers who mostly produce this textile.
What Is Cupro Fabric?
Cupro fabric is a semi-synthetic textile made from plant fibers. It became semi-synthetic because of the production process of the fabric.
Cupro fabrics are recycled textiles made from cotton fibers called linters. These recycled fibers are then treated with chemicals to form a new fabric. They called cupro fabric ‘cuprammonium’ because that’s the chemical solution they use to make the fabric.
This fabric is gaining popularity due to its softness, breathability, and durability. It has a luxurious feel, similar to silk, and is often used as a silk substitute.
Characteristics Of Cupro Fabric
Cupro fabric is soft to the touch and good for the skin. Sometimes, they would describe cupro as a silk-like fabric, calling it ‘vegan silk.’ Here are some of the most common characteristics of cupro.
Soft and drapes well
This fabric is soft, comfortable, and lightweight. It’s also thin and a bit elastic. Because of its sheerness, it gives a good drape. That’s why cupro fabric is a good choice for thin clothing and form-fitting cupro dresses.
Not that breathable
This fabric derives from cotton. So it also comes with the properties of cotton fiber. But because of the chemicals used, cupro fabric isn’t as breathable as cotton. It also can’t handle high temperatures.
If you expose this fabric to temperatures above 180 degrees, it’ll flame up. It will also leave a lot of copper residue.
Moisture-wicking and anti-bacterial
Cupro fabric absorbs moisture well. It’s also an anti-bacterial and hypoallergenic fabric.
It dries quickly. Because of that, it’s a good fabric for sportswear. Some of these include cupro T-shirts, sports bras, and tank tops.
Fair durability
Cupro isn’t as strong as its other rayon counterparts. But it’s still considered a durable fabric. It’s stronger than viscose and silk. And because of how expensive silk is, many would use cupro as a durable and elegant alternative to silk.
Somewhat easy to maintain
Cupro fabric can be placed in the washing machine as long as it’s on a gentle cycle. But you can’t use hot water because you might shrink the fabric. More formal clothing, like cupro pants and dresses, should be dry cleaned.
Production Process of Cupro Fabric
Because cupro is recycled, manufacturers would need to ‘treat’ this fabric so that it would be good enough for reusing. Here’s how Cupro is made. This is called the cuprammonium process.
Gathering of raw materials
To produce cupro, you first need to gather old cotton fabrics. These cotton fabrics will be transformed into small fiber pieces. These linters will be the base fiber used to make the fabric.
Exposing to solution
Since linters are too small, they’ll be dipped into a chemical solution instead. The fibers will be exposed to copper and ammonia. After that, they will all be mixed with caustic soda to form a new substance.
Transforming the fibers
The new substance will now be spun into a spinneret. This washes out the copper, ammonia, and caustic soda and neutralizes the fibers. After that, the fibers will be cooled down to make longer filaments.
Spinning, weaving, and finishing
The long filaments will be spun to create cupro yarn. The yarn is then ready to be woven into cupro fabric.
The fabric is then finished with washes and dyes, depending on how you want the fabric to look.
What Is Cupro Fabric Used For?
As of the moment, cupro fabric is predominantly used for fashion purposes. It can be used as apparel or accessories.
Formal apparel
Cupro fabric is much cheaper than silk. So, many people use this as an ‘affordable luxury.’ You may see a lot of formal dresses and men’s suit linings made from cupro on the market. Cupro slacks are common as well.
Sportswear
Today, most cupro fabrics you’ll see are mixed with other fibers. This fabric is commonly blended with elastane and spandex for additional stretch. This blended fabric lets you make cupro yoga pants, cupro sweatpants, and other types of stretchy athleisure wear.
Lingerie
Cupro is very sheer in nature. Clothing made from cupro is body-hugging. So you may also use cupro fabric to make intimate apparel. It’s also used in nightwear such as cupro pajamas, nightgowns, and dressing gowns.
Fashion accessories
This fabric can also be used to make fashion accessories like scarves and shawls. Fashion add-ons made from cupro are versatile.
Cupro scarves can be worn for daytime and nighttime or casual and formal occasions. This is because of the luxurious-like characteristics of the fabric and how comfortable it is when worn casually.
Advantages And Disadvantages Of Cupro Fabric
Like every fabric, cupro also has its pros and cons. But because of the numerous advantages of the fabric, many say that this fabric is still considered ‘good.’
Advantages
- Organic and eco-friendly: Cupro fabric is plant-based. And unlike silk (from silkworms), this fabric is a cruelty-free and vegan alternative.
- High-quality: This fabric is luxurious to the touch while still being durable.
- Easy to dye: You don’t need to use a lot of dyes to have a vibrant-colored fabric. The textile absorbs dyes well. So you’ll also use less water during the dyeing process.
Disadvantages
- Relatively unknown: This textile isn’t popular compared to other rayon fabrics. It’s also new to the market. So many people may not know the existence of this fabric.
- Wrinkles easily: This fabric isn’t the most travel-friendly fabric because it wrinkles easily. You also can’t iron it in high heat because it’s flammable.
Conclusion
Cupro fabric is labeled as a ‘sustainable’ fabric by many people. But many people are actually opposing this. Cupro fabrics may be 100% plant-based, but that doesn’t mean they’re already good for the environment.
Most cupro textile factories are exposed to the harsh chemicals used to make the ‘sustainable’ fabric. This isn’t good for the environment or for those who work there. And that defeats the meaning of being eco-friendly!
Still, many are trying to innovate with this fabric to have a greener cupro fabric in the future.
