12. What's the Deal with Natural Fibers in the Outdoor Industry? with John Gage

In episode 12 of the Outdoor Minimalist Podcast, we discuss the use, or lack thereof, of natural fibers in the outdoor industry.

What is the deal with natural fibers in the outdoor industry? 

Why don’t we use them more if they’re more sustainable? 

Why are they more expensive and harder to design? 

Are synthetics really that bad for the environment? 

Are certain natural fibers more eco-friendly than others?

So many questions!

To help me answer some of these questions and more, I’d like to introduce John Gage.

John Gage is the co-founder of Appalachian Gear Company, a brand that pioneered performance fabrics made from 100% alpaca fiber geared toward outdoor adventure activities. John has spent his career in textile manufacturing and is also a lifelong outdoor enthusiast.

Appalachian Gear Company was founded with a simple goal in mind: to create a performance product line using natural fibers that gives customers an eco-friendly alternative to polyester and nylon while bringing manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.

Since the time we recorded this podcast, Appalachian Gear Company has closed.

This transcript was edited to remove some filler words and phrases and is not verbatim according to what is spoken in the audio recording.

MEG: In this episode of the Outdoor Minimalist Podcast, we will be discussing the use—or lack thereof—of natural fibers in the outdoor industry. If you tuned in to Episode 3, then you’ll know that we discussed a bit about natural fibers versus synthetic fibers and their use depending on the application.

If you haven’t listened to that episode, it may be a good starting point as we tackle this topic. Since it’s impossible to cover all the issues and developments in the textile industry in one 45-minute episode, I’ll likely be discussing different aspects of textiles in future episodes as well.

If you have a specific question about textile materials or processes in the textile industry, especially within the outdoor sector, I’d love to hear them. I’m only one person, so knowing your ideas, questions, and insights is extremely helpful when I’m crafting upcoming content. I want to hear what you want to know, so please write a review, send me a DM on Instagram, or even send me an email. Just let me know, and I’ll do my best to address those questions in some way.

So, what’s the deal with natural fibers in the outdoor industry? Why don’t we use them more if they are a more sustainable option? Why are they more expensive and harder to design? Are synthetics really that bad for the environment? Are certain natural fibers more eco-friendly than others? There are so many questions I have when it comes to natural fibers and their application. To help me answer some of those questions, I’d like to introduce John Gage.

John Gage is the co-founder of the Appalachian Gear Company, a brand that pioneered performance fabrics made from 100% alpaca fiber geared toward outdoor adventure activities. John has spent his career in textile manufacturing and is also a lifelong outdoor enthusiast. Appalachian Gear Company was founded with a simple goal in mind: to create a performance product line using natural fibers that provides customers with an eco-friendly alternative to polyester and nylon while bringing manufacturing jobs back to the United States.

So, welcome to the Outdoor Minimalist Podcast, John! I’m stoked to have you on the show and to learn more about your experience in textiles and the Appalachian Gear Company.

But before we dive right in, I would love for you to share a bit more about your general experience in the outdoor industry, some outdoor sports you love, and how the Appalachian Gear Company got started.

JOHN: Thanks, Meg, for having me. My background in the outdoor industry is that I’ve always loved the outdoors. I’ve always been a camper and a backpacker, and I’ve played a lot of team sports too. But I’ve always been drawn to mountains and trails. I didn’t do much backpacking when I started having a family, so there were some years in my 20s and early 30s when I wasn’t doing much. I was working in the textile industry, but when I had two sons and they became early teens, we started backpacking together. We ended up doing a lot of backpacking over the years.

Professionally, my degree is in textiles, and I’ve spent my entire career in the textile industry, much of it dealing with some of the big brands that everyone has heard of—brands that make team sports products, outdoor sport products, and all types of leisure and fashion apparel. I’ve been lucky to see the manufacturing end of a lot of this for a long time.

I’ve got a partner, Mike Hawkins; we’ve been business partners for 30 years. What happened with Appalachian Gear Company, which specifically focuses on making outdoor apparel out of alpaca fiber, is that when I started backpacking again with my sons, we were wearing a lot of wool.

I’m a believer in natural fibers, and I didn’t like wearing polyester or nylon shirts. I became aware of alpaca around 2007 or 2008 and started studying the fiber. It took a number of years before the light bulb went on, and I thought to myself, “Why can’t I make an alpaca T-shirt? Why can’t I make alpaca fleece?”

That idea wouldn’t leave my mind. Finally, I talked my partner into it. At that time, we weren’t in the textile industry; we had started another business. As everybody knows, the textile industry left the United States in the early 2000s, but we set a goal of trying to develop a process to make 100% alpaca fiber performance fabric, which had never been done before.

It’s a really in-depth discussion that might not be suitable for this podcast because it involves a lot of information. There weren’t any previous methods to make what we wanted, and it’s not the same process used for wool, even though alpaca and wool are similar fibers and both animal fibers.

So anyway, that’s kind of the genesis. My whole career has been in textiles. I’ve always been interested in textile manufacturing and manufacturing in general, and I’ve always loved the outdoors. That’s how everything came together with Appalachian Gear Company.

MEG: That’s awesome, and that’s part of the reason why I thought you’d be a good fit for this specific episode of the podcast. You have so much experience in textiles and can shed some light on different processes and materials, and why natural fibers aren’t necessarily the number one go-to for a lot of outdoors people.

I think that would be a good place to start—talking about why you, as an outdoors person and with the Appalachian Gear Company, shifted away from synthetics like polyester and nylon blends.

JOHN: Right, and spandex as well. Spandex is in a lot of products. Nylon and polyester, along with high-density polyethylenes like Dyneema and Spectra, have really inundated the market.

I don't want to get too far down a rabbit hole, but one thing I’d like to mention quickly is that nylon and polyester were both invented during the World War II era. I think nylon was introduced in the 30s as a replacement for silk in parachutes, while polyester was invented in the 1940s. It’s a relatively new invention.

What’s interesting is that the proliferation of synthetics in this industry has caused a lot of concern and created significant environmental issues. I often discuss natural fibers as a replacement for synthetics and have written about it.

One point I like to make is that I don’t believe synthetic fibers are inherently evil or bad to use. The issue lies in the fact that, in the last 20 to 25 years, we have had less and less choice when it comes to buying products made with natural fibers. The proliferation of synthetics has ramped up dramatically. As a matter of fact, worldwide, between 60 and 65 percent of all apparel is now synthetic. That’s a huge percentage, not just in the outdoor industry but also in fashion, medical, and more.

So, the question is, why can’t you just wear cotton? Most people experienced in any type of adventure activity understand that cotton is problematic because it lacks insulation properties, which can put you in dangerous situations. I spent many years affiliated with the Boy Scouts, taking scouts out camping multiple times a year. To this day, they laugh at me because I would always tell them they couldn’t bring their cotton hoodies when we were going up to Roan Mountain, where it’s going to be cold and wet. That became kind of an inside joke.

Interestingly, synthetic fibers have two properties that set them apart and are important to consumers: they’re strong and resilient, offering a lot of stretch and recovery. A third feature is that they’re cheap.

Consumers may or may not benefit from that because, as we all know, you can buy sleeping bags and jackets that are massively expensive. So, just because the fibers are inexpensive doesn’t translate into cheap products for consumers.

What natural fibers are good for the outdoors? It just so happens that animal fibers, which I call protein fibers because they’re made from protein, are excellent for outdoor use.

Merino wool took center stage in the 90s. Decades before that, it was hard to produce lightweight wool because it was itchy and shrunk easily. The technology wasn’t there to create the types of products we see today. Some advancements allowed wool companies to use fine-grade wool, like Merino, to make shirts, pullovers, underwear, and socks that wouldn’t shrink when washed.

Since the 90s, wool has been a high-performing product. I would say, head to head, wool and alpaca fibers may be weaker than polyester and nylon, but both have performance features that far exceed those synthetics.

In the backcountry, polyester and nylon do not insulate you at all. Forget about the environmental issues for now, but wool, alpaca, and other animal fibers possess excellent performance capabilities—they keep you warm when wet. That’s huge because we all know that in the mountains, you can encounter wet weather any month of the year, along with cool temperatures.

We’re often asked, “Why would you wear Merino wool in July?” Well, go out to the Wind River Range or to Vermont's Green Mountains in July, and you’ll see why you need something like wool or alpaca. You can make garments from these natural fibers that provide better performance than polyester and nylon.

Where we are today is that polyester and nylon are so cheap to produce, and the vast majority of these products are made in the Far East, often in facilities that churn out millions of pounds.

The bottom line is that it’s easy for these big brands to produce and push these products to the public. It’s much harder and more expensive to create interesting products from natural fibers that actually perform well outdoors.

MEG: Are wool and alpaca the best natural fibers for outdoor use, in your opinion?

JOHN: I would say so. Merino wool likely has the largest volume position worldwide and probably always will, simply because there are so many more Merino sheep being raised. But yes, I would say wool and alpaca are among the highest-performing natural fibers. We can also touch on cotton, hemp, and some cellulose fibers like Tencel or rayon.

It’s interesting—wool and alpaca have been used for millennia for clothing. Alpaca fiber, particularly in South America, has been around for thousands of years, and their economies were tied to alpaca. You can still find alpaca clothing today in archaeological digs that are over a thousand years old. Animal fibers are very durable and high-performing.

MEG: When I was in South America, I noticed a lot of alpaca-based clothing, which I found interesting because it’s not something you see often in the United States.

Merino wool seems to have a longer history, so it has a more widespread following, whereas performance alpaca material is still more niche. However, it could grow into larger industry usage because it is comparable to wool.

JOHN: We are already seeing more companies offering alpaca products, although most of what we see are alpaca blends with polyester or nylon.

MEG: I see this frequently with many natural fibers. Back in 2010, there was a significant issue with rayon being marketed strictly as bamboo when it was actually a blend. Many companies still advertise blends as natural materials, even if they contain just a small percentage of synthetic fibers. This undermines the concept of it being a natural material, and it likely affects how it can be processed at the end of its life cycle.

JOHN: Yes, it’s frustrating. I see more and more advertisements that say “alpaca” or “Merino wool,” and because of my background, I always dig into the fiber blend. Some wool products marketed as Merino wool are actually only 38 or 40 percent wool, making them really more synthetic products with some wool added in. Most alpaca products I see on social media and the web typically have anywhere from 50 percent to 65 percent alpaca. There’s a reason for that.

In the alpaca industry, it has primarily focused on handmade products and crafts, like hand-knitted gloves, hats, shawls, and sweaters. Many people are familiar with alpaca yarns that have that fluffy look, but that type of fabric isn’t suitable for outdoor activities.

We were told early on when we started reaching out to contacts in the industry that you couldn’t produce alpaca the way we wanted. It turns out alpaca is a challenging fiber to work with.

The bottom line is that the types of industrialized processes we use to produce higher volumes of fabrics with performance features like durability and stretch just hadn’t been developed yet for alpaca.

With Merino wool, there’s a different story. Europe has had a wool market for hundreds of years, so there’s a lot more industrial experience in dealing with it—think of worsted wool suits, wool socks, and classic wool sweaters. The industrial processes built around wool have been established for much longer than those for alpaca.

One of the things I did in the formative stages of this company was a ton of research. There was literally nothing written about how to produce the products I wanted to create, so we had to develop it all from scratch. It was frustrating but also really rewarding. It’s like going on a backpacking trip with no map and no set endpoints—you just have to start down the path and figure it out. It was almost like going back to school all over again. We learn new things every day, and we still do, which is really interesting.

MEG: I guess one question I have about the alpaca material is: why did you choose to use that over a wool product in the first place?

JOHN: Well, it was a challenge, and it had never been done. From a business standpoint, I really wanted to—my business partner Mike and I felt like there was unfinished business when the entire apparel industry left the United States.

I’ve told people in the past that I would literally dream about walking back into our operation. Before we designed and built a dye house in the early 90s, we had between 50 and 90 employees, depending on the year. It all went away because our customers went overseas, and that feeling never went away.

So, the answer is twofold. First, we never gave up on the idea that you can actually have a competitive American-made apparel company. We couldn’t go to the end of our careers without giving this another try.

The second reason is that, as a small business, there’s already a lot of Merino wool out there. Do people really need one more choice of Merino wool T-shirt or pullover? We figured if we were going to make a go of being a brand, we had to stick out. We needed a unique product that really worked and was different from everything else out there.

We’re not rich people, and a lot of times, if you have the money to market something, you can overcome a lot of issues. But for us, we decided to go all in—we were going to start a textile company and have a unique product, or else we weren’t doing it at all. It’s really that simple.

MEG: From a business standpoint, that makes a lot of sense. I’ve seen that with other small brands that are emerging; their approach is much different from what consumers are used to, which helps them stand out when you’re considering replacing a shirt or getting new materials.

Without getting too deep into how alpaca materials are made, I want to discuss some of the other natural fibers you mentioned, how they compare to synthetics, and the differences between plant fibers and protein fibers.

JOHN: Right. Let’s start with cotton. Cotton is a great fiber, and I wear a lot of cotton; everyone loves cotton T-shirts. The problem with cotton is that it can absorb 100 percent of its weight in moisture before it drips. I won’t belabor that point, but everyone knows that cotton is problematic in outdoor scenarios. Cotton can mildew and doesn’t dry quickly. It’s decently strong; we all know that cotton duck fabric or canvas is durable.

Moving on to other cellulosic fibers: rayon is a cellulosic fiber. Any fiber made from plant material is called a cellulosic fiber because cellulose is the base material. All animal fibers are protein fibers because protein is the base material.

Rayon is actually a sustainable material; it comes from trees that are turned into pulp. Various constituents, like lignin, are removed, and then the cellulose is reconstituted into a fiber.

Rayon has some issues; it’s a nice fashion fiber, but it gets weaker when wet. There’s another fiber similar to rayon called Tencel (T-E-N-C-E-L), made by a company called Lenzing Fibers. Tencel is also made from wood cellulose and is produced in a closed-loop process, making it more environmentally friendly than rayon, which is not the most eco-friendly process. Both of those fibers are sustainable.

Tencel has some interesting properties; it gets a little stronger when wet and is very lustrous and silky-soft. It has decent strength; in fact, Tencel fibers and possibly even cotton fibers might be a little stronger than alpaca and wool, believe it or not. Tencel absorbs water and breathes well, but it doesn’t hold water the way cotton does, which gives it potential uses in our market.

Now, you also hear about bamboo. The tricky thing here is that bamboo is often made using the rayon process. Bamboo is chemically broken down—if I can put it that way—and then the cellulose is reconstituted. They’re not simply taking bamboo and beating it to extract the fibers. So, a lot of times, if you feel a bamboo shirt and a rayon shirt, they feel almost the same. Chemically, they’re exactly the same, and the processes are often identical.

MEG: Yeah, from my understanding of rayon, which is pretty surface level, it’s not the most environmentally friendly material because the processing releases a lot of toxins.

JOHN: That's correct. The difference between rayon and Tencel, aside from some fiber differences, is that Tencel is produced in a closed-loop process, which is significantly more environmentally friendly. It doesn’t have the effluent issues that rayon does.

A closed-loop process means they are reusing many of their production constituents. Rayon, on the other hand, has a significant amount of liquid effluent that has been problematic for streams and lakes in the past.

They use some pretty powerful chemicals to break down the wood, and the results of those chemicals create COD, which stands for chemical oxygen demand, and BOD, which stands for biological oxygen demand.

Those technical terms simply mean that when you put these non-natural substances into streams and lakes, they consume the oxygen that living organisms need to survive. It’s not always that these constituents are poisoning; sometimes they are, depending on what the substance is.

I’m not saying that rayon puts poisons in, but generally speaking, biological oxygen demand refers to substances that take oxygen from organisms that normally need it to break down natural or organic materials.

Chemical oxygen demand means that there is a chemical in the water that binds up oxygen through a chemical process, and that oxygen is not available for natural organisms in the streams and lakes. That’s why rayon is more problematic.

MEG: Is it somewhat similar to the way we see ocean dead zones or toxic algae blooms that remove oxygen from those areas?

JOHN: Yes, and a lot of times those effluents aren’t just from textiles; they come from urban areas and massive manufacturing plants, too.

MEG: It seems like there are a lot of natural fiber options for clothing, especially Tencel, which I’ve seen pop up more in outdoor clothing, and then Merino wool, which I’ve used for a long time—even though I am vegan, so that’s a different conversation. But using those animal fibers sometimes seems to outweigh other sustainability factors.

Why do you think we aren’t using more natural fibers in the outdoor industry, and why are we using so many blends instead of strictly that fiber itself?

JOHN: Those are two very good questions. I have a question for you, though. I’m interested in your statement about Merino wool and being vegan. Obviously, as you know, Merino wool is a sheared product, so there is a direct contact with the animal. I’m curious for my own benefit because I talk to all kinds of people about this.

MEG: That concept depends on how people define veganism, as there are many interpretations. A lot of times, it boils down to the animals you consume.

But if you are an ethical vegan, which I would say I am, then you avoid using any type of animal materials in your life. This includes things like beeswax, leather, and wool.

However, much of the Merino wool I have is secondhand, and I don’t buy it retail. That’s how I justify it, but I know there are many vegans who wouldn’t agree with that.

JOHN: That’s a great answer, and I appreciate your perspective. I actually hadn’t considered it that way before, so thank you for sharing. If you and I were to debate this, I would encourage you to consider one important point.

If you wear all synthetic fibers, those fibers ultimately come from the oil and gas industry. Oil and gas production results in chemicals that are crucial for making most polymers you’ve heard of, like polyethylene, which is also known as PET, or polyester. These polymers start with ethylene units, which come from ethylene oxide.

As a vegan, I assume you also care about animal welfare. The more plastic fibers we consume, the more animals are affected globally, primarily due to ocean pollution. We’re reading about microfiber pollution now; microplastics wash off of clothes and wear off over time.

Research shows that many of us have microfibers in our bloodstream and in the ecosystem. Then we see distressing things happen, like aquatic organisms, such as fish and turtles, getting caught in six-pack rings.

With animal fibers, you’re not reliant on the oil and gas industry. The byproduct of animal and cellulosic fibers is 100 percent biodegradable, whereas nylon and polyester can take anywhere from a couple of decades to 200 or 300 years to degrade.

That brings up another frustrating issue: we’re now seeing some products marketed as biodegradable polyester,

MEG: Which isn’t even a valid statement.

JOHN: It’s frustrating. There are some polyesters out there that are compostable, but when marketing claims something is biodegradable, the average person might think, “Okay, great! The microfibers will just decompose naturally.” But that’s not the case. Those products only decompose in a composting situation or in a landfill without the presence of oxygen, so it requires an anaerobic breakdown.

Again, there’s a lot of misrepresented marketing in our industry these days, and it’s frustrating for me because I spend a lot of time at festivals talking to people about textiles. Since the industry has been gone for so long, people don’t really understand what’s happening, and they don’t grasp these terms.

You also asked why people blend synthetics into animal fibers, and that’s mostly about Merino, since that’s where the volume is. On the alpaca side, there just aren’t that many companies producing alpaca products, and all of them except for us are using blends.

In my opinion, you might find textile engineers or researchers who disagree, but based on my experience, when you get Merino wool products down to around 180 grams per square meter or lighter, you start encountering durability issues. It becomes difficult to knit those fabrics and finish them because they can easily develop holes. Some of these fabrics go as low as 130 or 150 grams per square meter because they’re so lightweight.

What happens is that companies blend nylon or polyester to process these fabrics more easily and efficiently, ensuring durability in the finished product. Our design philosophy from the start was to avoid using synthetics altogether. Our entire design process was centered around that, and we haven’t had any problems making our products without them.

Plus, we have a patent-pending process, so we approached it a bit differently. Ultimately, blending is primarily for strength—that’s why people incorporate synthetics into animal fibers.

MEG: It sounds like there’s a strong focus on durability and moving away from straight-up synthetics.

As a final question, I wonder if it’s possible to shift textiles back to being made in the United States, particularly towards natural fibers, whether they’re animal or plant-based.

JOHN: Yes, absolutely! In fact, we’re starting to explore research and development with other natural fibers. I’m really interested in hemp and Tencel—not to augment our current products, but as a small company, we need to continually reinvent ourselves. Just look at our hoodie; it became really popular and sells out quickly. It surprises me every day!

But the bottom line is that we have to keep developing more products. I’m convinced that I can create blends with alpaca and other natural fibers for specific products. The blend can create what’s often called “synergy,” where two things combined yield something better than either alone.

I’m really high on hemp—maybe that’s a pun intended! Hemp is such an awesome fiber, but we’ve fallen behind because it was illegal here for so long. Some other countries are growing hemp that yields finer fibers.

In the U.S., the medicinal and recreational cannabis markets are different from hemp grown specifically for fiber. If you focus on flowering, you won’t get good fiber, and vice versa.

MEG: So sourcing hemp materials in the U.S. might be an issue right now?

JOHN: Yes, that’s the case, but I’m optimistic. My research shows there are hemp strains that yield finer fibers suitable for what I’d call top weights—like shirts. Hemp is incredibly strong and abrasion-resistant. Historically, they used it for ship ropes. I think it would make a great substitute for nylon in lightweight wool fabrics.

Tencel is another promising option. I believe the folks at Lenzing are looking to break into new markets. It’s primarily been a fashion fiber, but it has great properties and could fit well in the outdoor industry. In some cases, it could outperform cotton, especially when blended for synergy.

I only started hearing about microplastics when we began producing alpaca products. Initially, I focused on polyester and nylon as oil and gas derivatives. But then I started reading articles on microplastics, and it’s alarming. Studies have shown they’re even found in precipitation in Colorado.

MEG: That’s concerning. What about recycled polyester?

JOHN: That’s a huge topic on its own, and we could always revisit it in another episode. While I think recycling is a step forward, it’s not the complete answer. I have significant issues with it.

MEG: To wrap things up, I’ve heard you’re considering manufacturing in the United States. Is that correct?

JOHN: Oh, we already do! From the very beginning, our goal was to bring textile manufacturing back to the U.S. Our company started in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The only thing we import is alpaca fiber because we can’t yet source the grade of fiber we need domestically. The U.S. market is still too much of a home craft market, not industrialized enough for our requirements.

We bring in the yarn, manufacture our own fabric, and the big news is that we’re gearing up to be completely vertically integrated. We start with raw material (the yarn), produce it into fabric in our own facility, and then, as a final step, we’ll sew our own garments. Currently, we outsource the sewing, but we’re working with other companies in North Carolina. No part of our manufacturing process is outsourced to other countries.

I believe we’ll be the only apparel brand in the outdoor industry that is vertically integrated. Other brands have their products made for them; their vendors might be vertically integrated, but we control every piece of our process. It’s huge for us, especially since it hasn’t been done for decades. We’re a small company, but we have the skills and knowledge to do it.

It’s a source of pride for us, and we’re teaching new skills to our employees. Since we don’t have commercial customers, we’re not under pressure to meet large orders. We work on a reasonable schedule, provide insurance, and pay well. We’re hoping to keep this model going!

MEG: Yeah, those sustainable and ethical practices are exactly what we need to see more of in local businesses.

JOHN: Absolutely! I’d like to point out to listeners who may not have heard of us before that we don’t use any plastic in our fulfillment process. We roll all of our products in craft paper and ship them in recycled craft boxes.

The boxes and paper we use are also recycled. We transport our fabric on cardboard tubes, and we recycle all of our tubes. In fact, we haven’t bought a single tube in four years. We go around to other fabric and cut-and-sew companies and pick up the tubes they’ve thrown away—we literally dumpster dive for cardboard tubes!

Another thing we do is recycle about 90 percent of our water in our process. We do have to wash the alpaca, but the chemicals we use are very environmentally friendly. We wash off knitting oils with a soap that’s no different from Dawn dish soap, and we use a little bit of softener as a lubricant. It’s all very simple.

We have no air emissions or problematic effluent; everything is non-toxic and environmentally friendly, and we plan to keep it that way. Those practices were built in from the start.

Since this episode aired, Appalachian Gear Company has closed.