Here information is brought together about each of the fibres/materials used to make the garments which feature in Documented garment exemplars. It includes their spectra (we regret that some are awaited and will be added in due course), their inventors (when this is known), when they were manufactured in commercial quantities, a selection of the most common trade names, commonly used starting materials, their material characteristics, uses, environmental impact, care and signs of degradation, recyclability, biodegradability, and potential narratives related to them.
The materials are arranged in alphabetical order based on their most used generic name. Other common names are listed on the following line. The trade names are not arranged in any order. It is very difficult to find accurate dates for their introduction and we decided to omit them to avoid misleading inaccuracies.