Over the last couple of years, I’ve converted about 95% of my wardrobe to natural fiber materials. That means almost all of the clothing I own is made from cotton, linen, hemp, leather, or wool.

I started this process when I left Austin, TX after living there for five years— I sold most of my belongings and donated most of my clothing, parsing my wardrobe down to just the essentials. Then I focused on only buying natural fiber clothing moving forward.

I initially did this for health reasons. Most clothing today is made using synthetic materials derived from plastic or petroleum. This clothing leaches chemicals and microplastics, especially when it’s in direct contact with your skin as you sweat. This can wreak havoc on your endocrine system, disrupt your hormones, and even impact your fertility. If you start doing some research, you’ll be amazed at just how bad this clothing is for your health. Lately I’ve seen more people in health circles start to switch to natural fibers, and I expect this to become a more mainstream trend. Eventually we’ll look back and be shocked at how much this problem was ignored.

Once I switched to wearing natural fibers, I realized that there were other benefits. Natural fiber clothing is more durable, more comfortable, naturally odor resistant, and just feels better. I much prefer it to the vast majority of overpriced “performance” activewear from brands like Lululemon and Vuori.

Swapping out your entire wardrobe might feel like a big task, but I do think it’s worth it, and it can be done slowly over time. I think the most important place to start is with underwear and athletic/gym clothing, since that’s what’s in direct contact with your body and what you use when you sweat. Below are some of my favorite brands that you can check out if you’re interested.

Ryker Clothing

• 100% cotton and wool athletic clothing for men.
• I love their shorts and their 100% merino wool underwear.

Sol Dept.

• 100% cotton athletic clothing for men and women.
• These are my favorite athletic shorts.

Jungmaven

• Casual clothing made from hemp and various other fibers like linen and cotton.
• I love their shirts, pants, hoodies, and sweaters.

Regenaissance

• 100% cotton clothing for men and women

Paka Apparel

• (Mostly) natural fiber clothing that includes great outerwear.
• Double check on specific items as some of it includes polyester.

Outerknown

• Kelly Slater’s clothing company. Produces a lot of great casual clothing made from mostly cotton.