That often requires us to think systemically—something that, unfortunately, forces us to question long-held beliefs and comfortable habits. Take fast food, for example: is it now guilt-free just because plastic packaging has been replaced with paper? If we consider the PFAS-coated pizza boxes, takeaway cups, burger wrappers, and straws, it quickly becomes clear that the real solution is to change our eating habits entirely, cutting out fast food, delivery services, and drinks “to go” altogether. Not to mention, our GP would probably be in full agreement.
This is just one example of how systemic thinking often leads to cognitive dissonance, that uncomfortable tension between what we believe and how we actually behave. And let’s be honest: we often deal with it by ignoring inconvenient facts or justifying things to ourselves with half-truths and wishful thinking. It’s all too easy to grab onto superficial “solutions” that make us feel better without actually requiring us to change anything about our behaviour or beliefs.
It’s Easy to Fool Our Eco-Conscience
With just a few mental shortcuts, it suddenly feels perfectly fine to drive an electric SUV to the shops every month for a wardrobe refresh—after all, those clothes are adorned with promising sustainability labels. On the way home, we might grab a Fairtrade-certified espresso and a bottle of San Pellegrino, confident that we’re making responsible choices.Only, fast fashion doesn’t magically become sustainable just because a garment contains a small percentage of recycled materials. Merino wool isn’t an ethical free pass simply because the sheep were spared the pain of mulesing. The real winner in Fairtrade coffee is often just the certification body, while the label itself says little about actual working conditions or environmental standards. And the ecological footprint of mineral water from the sunny south isn’t dramatically improved just because it comes in glass bottles that have been shipped across Europe. As for SUVs, a two-tonne vehicle driven by a single person doesn’t suddenly turn green just because it runs on electricity—especially if that electricity comes from conventional sources.
And What Does Any of This Have to Do with Acoustic Fabric?
We’re often asked whether we offer speaker fabric made from natural fibres. After all, all our acoustic fabrics are made from polyester (PES), a material that doesn’t have the best reputation these days. And not without reason. Polyester is a petrochemical product, meaning it doesn’t come from renewable resources. When washed, PES textiles shed microplastic fibres, contributing to environmental pollution. And despite recent price increases, polyester remains relatively inexpensive, making it a staple of the fast-fashion industry. All valid concerns. So wouldn’t it make sense to use more sustainable alternatives like wool for our speaker fabrics?Why, then, does a company like Akustikstoff.com, known for its expertise in sound transparent fabrics, not offer such a product?
The Uncomfortable Truth About Wool
Let’s start by looking at the fibre itself. While polyester is synthetic and derived from petroleum, wool is also deeply tied to fossil resources and is far less environmentally friendly than it might seem. Even in the early stages of wool production, petroleum plays a role, whether in the fuel for tractors or in the fertilisers used to grow animal feed.The real environmental burden, however, comes later, during wool processing. The fibre undergoes extensive pre-treatment, including washing, demineralisation, boiling, and bleaching. These steps require enormous amounts of water and involve a long list of often harsh chemicals: soda, hydrogen peroxide, amylases, acids, countless surfactants, dispersing agents, wetting agents, and complexing agents with intimidating names like diethylene triamine penta(methylene phosphonic acid). And that’s just the beginning.
Rural idyll and happy sheep: a romantic ideal that has little to do with modern wool production.
Pesticides are another major concern. The wool industry is a significant contributor to global biodiversity loss, as heavy pesticide use disrupts delicate ecosystems. Even in organic farming, many pesticides are permitted and widely used to protect sheep and goats from parasites. Conventional wool production goes even further, employing herbicides to clear pastures of unwanted vegetation.
Wool itself is often treated with a variety of synthetic chemicals before being turned into textiles. Some of these, like polyaminoamide resins, make the fabric machine-washable. But they, too, originate from petrochemicals. A test by the German consumer magazine Öko-Test found that almost all samples of sock yarn and pure new wool contained halogenated compounds, many of which are suspected carcinogens.
When Moths Come to Visit
Even after wool has been processed into textiles, its journey through the world of chemicals is far from over. During storage and transport, wool products are vulnerable to pests that see them as food or nesting material. One of the most notorious culprits is the clothes moth. To prevent infestations and minimise losses, wool is often treated with insecticides such as permethrin, a synthetic contact and ingestion poison also used to combat scabies and head lice.We’ve had our own experience with this issue. Despite our reservations, we once experimented with developing an acoustic fabric made from wool. The idea was to see if locally sourced, organically produced wool, processed with minimal chemicals, could be a viable option. A small roll of wool fabric found its way into our storage. Not long after, so did the clothes moth. Thrilled by the abundant food supply, they quickly feasted their way through the tightly wound layers of fabric. It’s safe to assume they’d find mounted speaker coverings just as appetising.
The last thing we want is to sell our customers fabric laced with insecticides or expose our entire warehouse—and ourselves—to regular fumigation. That’s why our experiments with wool-based acoustic fabric came to an abrupt end.
Moth damage in a prototype speaker cloth made from natural wool.
What Are the Advantages of Polyester?
So, we’re sticking with polyester. And for good reason. Compared to wool, this synthetic fibre is significantly more tear-resistant and shape-retaining. That’s a crucial factor for speaker fabrics, which need to be stretched evenly and remain taut for years without sagging—a challenge that wool can only meet with considerable (chemical) effort.From an acoustic perspective, polyester also has a clear advantage. Its fibres are longer than those of wool, meaning the yarn has fewer protruding fibre ends. If too many of these are present, they can interfere with acoustic transparency, affecting sound quality.
What About the Environmental Impact?
Of course, sustainability is an important consideration when it comes to textiles, and polyester doesn’t win any awards when judged solely on its raw material origins. But as with many things, a more holistic approach is needed—one that avoids comparing apples to oranges. One key factor is durability. A reusable container for cheese is a more sustainable option than single-use wax paper. Likewise, a speaker fabric that lasts for a decade or longer has a vastly different environmental footprint from a fast-fashion garment that ends up in a donation bin after just a few wears. In fact, when considering its full life cycle, acoustic fabric likely has a smaller footprint than any organic cotton T-shirt, simply because it isn’t washed and dried regularly. After all, how often do you wash your speaker covers? Exactly ;)This also means that concerns about microplastics are less relevant in this context. While synthetic textiles are a major contributor to microplastic pollution in our oceans, speaker fabric hardly plays a role, since it rarely, if ever, goes through a washing machine.
»plus« type speaker fabric from Akustikstoff.com is already made up of 80% recycled polyester.
Recycled polyester is another promising development. It eliminates the need for new petrochemical resources, requires around 50% less energy to produce, and can even be recycled again. That’s why our »plus« type speaker cloth is already made from 80% recycled materials, and we’re actively working on new products that incorporate even more recycled polyester.
Is Cotton a Viable Alternative?
Cotton accounts for about 20% of global fibre production and provides livelihoods for millions. However, its cultivation is plagued by issues such as monoculture farming, heavy pesticide use, and excessive water consumption. Because cotton is grown almost exclusively in monocultures, it is highly susceptible to pests. An estimated 50% of the global cotton harvest is lost to insects and diseases. To combat this, genetically modified (GM) cotton has been developed to resist pests, but even GM varieties are not immune. Consequently, cotton farming still consumes around a quarter of the world’s pesticides.
Conventional cotton production: monoculture, massive pesticide use (now even with drones), and a terrible environmental impact.
Beyond environmental damage and soil degradation, cotton production also contributes to geopolitical tensions over water resources. Reports of forced labour in regions like China’s Xinjiang province have further fuelled criticism of the industry.
Like wool—and, for that matter, linen and hemp—cotton requires extensive processing before it becomes a usable textile. Conventional processing involves a host of questionable chemicals and consumes vast amounts of water. So, conventional cotton isn’t a truly sustainable alternative either.
The Promise of Organic Cotton
Fortunately, there are now chemical processes and manufacturing methods that meet the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), allowing for more environmentally friendly production. That said, the number of processing steps required remains the same, making organic cotton inherently more expensive.Still, that doesn’t stop us from exploring this option. One of the key challenges is developing a cotton-based fabric that is strong, shape-retaining, and acoustically transparent. But our early results are promising, and we may soon be able to offer a speaker fabric made with organic cotton.