How we score.
A simple score for real-life fabric decisions.
FabriqWise gives each garment a 1-to-5 fabric score built from five criteria: material composition, environmental impact, microplastic risk, animal welfare, and transparency. Together they say what a garment is made of, what tradeoffs come with it, and how much the product page actually tells you. Think of the score as a starting point, not a verdict.
What the 1-to-5 score means.
Strong material profile
Clear information, thoughtful materials, lower material-related concerns, and strong supporting details.
Good, with some tradeoffs
A generally positive material profile with some limitations, such as synthetic blends, limited certifications, or moderate impact concerns.
Mixed
A practical option with both strengths and drawbacks.
More tradeoffs than not
More material concerns, heavier reliance on higher-risk fibers, or limited supporting information.
Limited or unclear
Significant material concerns or not enough information to evaluate confidently.
The five scoring criteria.
Tap any criterion to see what it measures, what raises or lowers it, and why it matters.
Material composition
Understand the main fibers in the garment, how much of each is used, and how the blend may affect comfort, durability, stretch, and care.
What it measures
Material composition looks at what the garment is made of, including fiber types, percentages, and component-level details when available. This may include:
What can improve the score
- Clear fiber percentages
- Strong natural fibers such as cotton, linen, hemp, wool, or silk
- Lower-impact semi-synthetics such as lyocell or modal
- Thoughtful blends that improve comfort, durability, stretch, or performance
- Recycled or certified materials when disclosed
- Simpler blends that are easier to understand and care for
What can lower the score
- Heavy reliance on virgin synthetics
- High acrylic content
- Complex blends without a clear purpose
- Very low amounts of premium fibers used mainly for marketing
- Missing or vague fabric information
Why it matters
Fabric composition affects how clothing feels, breathes, stretches, washes, lasts, and wears over time. Cotton is breathable. Linen is cool but wrinkles easily. Wool is warm and resists odor. Elastane adds stretch. Polyester adds durability and weather resistance, but it is plastic-based.
Material composition helps you understand the starting point: what the garment is actually made of.
Environmental impact
See available signals around recycled content, sourcing, certifications, circularity, and other material-related environmental tradeoffs.
What it measures
Environmental impact looks at the broader material-related footprint of a garment when information is available. This includes the types of fibers used, whether materials are recycled or certified, how resource-intensive they may be to produce, and whether the garment shows signs of circularity, meaning it may be easier to keep in use, repair, resell, recycle, or responsibly handle at the end of its life.
This is not a full life-cycle assessment. Most product pages do not include enough detail for that. Instead, FabriqWise uses available fabric, sourcing, recycled content, certification, durability, and circularity signals to provide a practical guide.
What can improve the score
- Organic or certified natural fibers
- Recycled polyester, nylon, wool, cashmere, or cotton
- Lower-impact fibers such as lyocell or responsibly sourced modal
- Recognized certifications or sourcing standards
- Clear recycled content or sourcing details
- Durable materials that may extend the garment's life
- Simpler blends or mono-material designs that may be easier to recycle
- Repair, resale, take-back, or recycling programs when clearly disclosed
- Clear care instructions that help the garment last longer
What can lower the score
- High percentages of virgin petroleum-based synthetics
- Conventional cotton with no sourcing details
- Viscose or rayon without sourcing or processing information
- Acrylic-heavy blends
- Unsupported claims like "eco-friendly" or "sustainable"
- Complex blends that may be harder to recycle
- Limited information about durability, care, repairability, or end-of-life options
Why it matters
Fabric production can involve water use, land use, chemical processing, energy, waste, and emissions. A garment's impact also depends on how long it lasts and what happens to it after use.
No single fabric name tells the full story. Cotton, viscose, polyester, wool, recycled materials, and blended fabrics all have different strengths and tradeoffs. FabriqWise helps surface the material and circularity signals shoppers can reasonably evaluate from the product page.
Microplastic risk
Spot plastic-based fibers that may shed microfibers over time, especially during washing and wear.
What it measures
Microplastic risk looks at whether a garment contains plastic-based synthetic fibers that may release tiny fibers during washing and wear. Common examples include:
What can improve the score
- Little or no synthetic fiber
- Mostly natural or cellulose-based materials
- Small synthetic percentages used for stretch or durability
- Clear care guidance that may help reduce shedding
What can lower the score
- High synthetic content
- Acrylic-heavy knits
- Fleece, faux fur, or brushed synthetic textures
- Synthetic shell, lining, fill, and trim
- Missing synthetic fiber percentages
Why it matters
Synthetic fibers can be useful for stretch, durability, performance, weather resistance, and affordability. They are also plastic-based. FabriqWise highlights microplastic risk so you can understand where synthetic fibers appear and decide how that fits your priorities.
Animal welfare
See when animal-derived materials appear and whether the brand shares sourcing or welfare standards.
What it measures
Animal welfare applies when a garment includes animal-derived materials. Common examples include:
What can improve the score
- Responsible Wool Standard
- Responsible Down Standard
- Good Cashmere Standard
- Recycled wool, cashmere, or down
- Traceable sourcing
- Clear non-mulesed wool disclosure
- Brand-level animal welfare policies
What can lower the score
- Animal-derived fibers with no sourcing information
- Vague claims like "responsibly sourced" without support
- High-concern animal fibers without traceability
- Unclear disclosure of animal-derived materials
Why it matters
Animal-derived fibers can be warm, breathable, durable, and long-lasting. But sourcing practices vary. FabriqWise looks for signs that brands explain where animal-derived materials come from and whether responsible sourcing standards are disclosed.
Animal-free materials can also have tradeoffs. Some alternatives are plastic-based, so the best choice depends on the full material picture.
Transparency
Understand how much useful material information the brand actually provides, from percentages and components to certifications and care details.
What it measures
Transparency looks at how clearly the brand explains what the garment is made of. This criterion scores the quality of the information provided, not just the fabric itself.
What can improve the score
- Full fiber percentages
- Component-level breakdowns
- Clear distinction between shell, lining, fill, and trim
- Certifications or standards
- Recycled content percentages
- Care instructions
- Sourcing details
- Clear explanation of branded fibers
What can lower the score
- No fabric composition
- Missing percentages
- Vague terms like "premium fabric" or "eco blend"
- No component breakdown
- Unsupported material or sustainability claims
- Conflicting material information
Why it matters
Clear information helps shoppers make better comparisons. A product with a cotton shell, polyester lining, and elastane trim tells a different story than a product listed only as "cotton blend." FabriqWise rewards brands that provide specific, useful material details.
Not everyone weighs these the same way. In the extension, you can change how much each criterion counts, so someone buying activewear can accept more synthetics for performance and someone comparing sweaters can put animal welfare first. FabriqWise shows the tradeoffs; you decide what fits.
Other factors we consider.
Garment category
The same material can make sense in one product and less sense in another. Polyester is practical in a rain jacket. Linen is ideal for summer. Elastane is useful in leggings. Wool is excellent for sweaters and coats.
Fiber percentage
A "cashmere blend" could mean 5% cashmere or 95% cashmere. FabriqWise considers percentages whenever they are available.
Component placement
Where a fiber appears matters. A cotton shell with polyester lining is different from a polyester shell with cotton lining.
Branded and alternate fiber names
FabriqWise recognizes common naming differences, including:
- Elastane, spandex, and Lycra®
- Nylon and polyamide
- Rayon and viscose
- Lyocell and TENCEL™
- Modal and TENCEL™ Modal
Fabric 101 explains what each of these fibers is.
Care and longevity
A garment's impact also depends on how long it lasts and how easy it is to care for. Durable, wearable clothing often matters more than chasing a perfect material on paper.
What the score is, and isn't.
FabriqWise scores clothing and home textiles, including hats, gloves, and scarves, but not footwear, bags, jewelry, or watches. Those are built from many materials with no single fabric to read.
FabriqWise focuses on what can reasonably be evaluated from fabric composition, material disclosure, certifications, and care information.
It is not a full sustainability score. True sustainability also depends on farming, factories, dyeing, finishing, transportation, labor, packaging, washing, repairs, and end-of-life, information that is often not available on product pages.
And it doesn't decide for you. A parent buying affordable kids' basics will weigh things differently than someone investing in a winter coat to last a decade. Worried about microplastics? You might lean toward fewer synthetics. All valid.
Better fabric context for real-life decisions.