Knitwear with synthetic material: how bad is it, doctor?

Cover photo: NN07

You like beautiful clothes and beautiful materials (that's good, we do too). Looking for a knit, you come across a beautiful model, within your budget.

You look at its characteristics a little more closely and discover its composition: 80% wool, 20% polyamide.

It's a cold shower.

You know that we recommend favoring natural materials ( especially for a sweater ) and avoiding synthetic materials such as acrylic, polyester, polyamide.

However, you like this one: so what should you do?

We can already answer the question for plain sweaters, with a smooth appearance : these are models that are easily found, at all prices. In this case, there is no reason to take one with synthetic.

Where the question arises is for sweaters with a stronger visual identity : with a particular knitting stitch, thickness, collar, pattern (or even all at once).

These are sweaters for which it is not easy to find an alternative , because of their more original appearance.

Here are three examples to illustrate my thinking:

1. UNIVERSAL WORKS CARDIGAN

I know several people who own this cardigan and I'm pretty keen on getting one too. Jordan featured it in the Panache episode about the cardigan .

It is quite special: rather thick in a fleece-type material, with 4 pockets on the front and a buttoning that goes up quite high. This is really a cardigan that stands out from the crowd.

Composition: 65% wool, 35% polyester.

Price: £115 (on sale for £85 at the time of writing.)

2. PULL NN07

This sweater is quite thick, with a beautiful turtleneck, in ecru color.

Having it personally, the sweater is quite thick but the knit is quite airy and the touch is very soft.

Composition: 75% wool, 25% polyamide

Price: €189 (on sale for €113 at the time of writing.)

3. HARTFORD SWEATER

This sweater is speckled, with raglan sleeves and a funnel neck.

Three combined criteria that make this sweater very unique.

Composition: 65% wool, 30% polyester, 5% alpaca

Price: €185 (on sale for €111 at the time of writing.)

1. DO NOT BUY THIS SWEATER...

This is an opportunity to ask the following question: why do we advise against synthetics in sweaters?

First of all for thermal reasons : polyamide, acrylic or polyester are not fibres as insulating and breathable as natural materials, particularly wool.

Concretely, a sweater with synthetic material will tend to keep you too warm indoors (feeling of suffocation in your clothing) and not warm enough outdoors.

Too hot, too cold... not ideal.

Then for ecological reasons : derived from the petrochemical industry, clothing containing synthetics tends to release microparticles of plastic when washed, which pollute the oceans and endanger the integrity of marine fauna.

For this purpose, there is a washing bag, the Guppyfriend, whose role is to limit the leakage of microfibers on clothes containing synthetics.

Mixed materials are also more difficult to recycle than single-material clothing. This topic is very well covered in this article from TheGoodGoods blog.

2. …OR CRACK DOWN IN SPITE OF EVERYTHING

The obvious reason why you want to buy the piece is... because it's beautiful , plain and simple.

You already have the basics you need , you want to go a little further. And it turns out that this sweater you've spotted would bring new blood to your wardrobe. It would be your first speckled sweater, with raglan sleeves, with a funnel neck: it's pretty exciting.

This sweater has the potential to give your style a boost.

Here's an example of what you can do with the Universal Works cardigan (and which you might have trouble reproducing with another):

To put it simply, we could distinguish two very different approaches to choosing a sweater:

• One is based on its technical characteristics. The composition and the quality/price ratio are the first criteria. We will look for the lowest price for the best possible composition +
• The other is based on aesthetics. We don't say to ourselves "there is so much wool for such a price". The search for beauty comes first.

Ideally, you want both: you want it to be beautiful AND with an optimal composition. But in reality, that doesn't always happen.

So we have to choose a side.

1. THE TECHNICAL APPROACH

If composition and thermal performance are more important to you, then you should set a fairly low tolerance for synthetics.

I would say a maximum of 20% , and potentially even less (10, 15%).

In return for this good composition, you agree to leave out some pieces that could perfectly match your style, but which contain a little too much synthetic.

With this mindset, the three sweaters shown at the beginning of the article would be eliminated.

2. THE AESTHETIC APPROACH

If you lean towards the other side, that you are more in search of style, the tolerance to synthetic can be greater.

But if you still like beautiful materials, you shouldn't accept too many either.

I would say in this case that we can go up to around 30% .

In return for having a garment with a good style, which you like, you accept having lower thermal performance, compared to a similar garment but in 100% natural materials.

With this mindset, the three sweaters shown at the beginning of the article would be acceptable, but the Hartford sweater and the Universal Works cardigan would be borderline acceptable.

I said at the beginning of the article that it was difficult to find alternatives to sweaters with a stronger identity.

Of course, you still have to dig a little and see if you find an equivalent elsewhere .

That being said, you may encounter one of these three cases:

1. YOU CAN'T FIND AN ALTERNATIVE

Here, we could take the example of the Universal Works cardigan shown at the beginning of the article.

We have already been asked where to find an equivalent with less synthetic. I searched but did not find it.

2. THE ALTERNATIVE YOU FIND DOESN'T QUITE MATCH THE BASIC MODEL

The similar sweater you find from another brand loses some of the features you liked about the original sweater.

In this case, it's up to you to see if the second choice appeals to you enough to make the purchase, or if the loss of style is too great, if the alternative no longer corresponds enough to what you wanted.

Below is a Paris Yorker sweater which in terms of color and thickness is similar to the NN07 model seen above:

Its composition is 90% wool, 10% cashmere. Its price is lower than the NN07 model.

On the other hand, it doesn't have a funnel neck . And that's a big loss because that's the main visual element of the N07 sweater, that's what gives it its uniqueness.

We could extend the reflection and look for an ecru turtleneck with a good thickness. It could be found, but we would still be on something a little different.

3. THE ALTERNATIVE YOU FIND IS MORE EXPENSIVE

In this case, you need to see if your budget is still within your reach, if you can make an effort or if it is really too expensive.

Below is an alternative to the Hartford sweater seen above. This one comes from Mr.P :

You have the speckling, the raglan shoulder, the funnel neck. The composition is excellent: 65% wool, 20% alpaca, 15% silk. All the boxes are checked.

The price? €350 . Twice as much as the full-price Hartford sweater. Three times as much as its sale price. That’s a hell of a difference.

THE FINAL WORD

I said at the beginning of the article that I own the NN07 ecru turtleneck sweater, with 75% wool and 25% polyamide. Here is my feedback on it.

Outside, there are no problems: it is quite thick, composed mainly of wool. I am not too cold.

In a heated interior, I feel that it keeps me a little warm, there is a slight oven effect . I feel a difference with my 100% wool sweaters of the same thickness.

I bought this sweater knowingly: I knew that thermally it would not be the best, but it remains acceptable. In exchange, I get a sweater with a unique look, the color is right, the touch is very pleasant and with an imposing collar.

It's a piece of clothing that I like and that also appeals to those around me. I've been asked several times: "Your sweater is really nice, where is it from?"

As Benoît would say, it’s a garment with a pretty strong X-Factor .

This is the choice I made. What will yours be?