What’s the Difference between Modal and Micro Modal?

If you are familiar with Separatec, you may already notice that many of underwear are made of micro modal fabrics. Then what’s the difference between modal and micro modal? To find out the differences, we need to know what is modal first.

Here are the man features of modal:

1. Resilient colors with repeated wear

Modal will look new longer than other fabrics. Garments made from modal will have no worries of fading from either detergent or sun. Sun bleaching, color bleeding, and staining will never be a problem. Even with repeated washing, the plant fibers in modal will stay strong.

2. Anti-bacterial and hypoallergenic

Modal is made with natural pigments and chemical-free dyes. Colors stay bright and concentrated deep within the fibers while being gentle to your skin. No harsh chemical within the yarn that is harmful equals any rashes or irritation.

3. Shrink and wrinkle resistant

Modal fibers are strong and resilient, and will always maintain shape. With proper flat drying, modal will never shrink or need to be pulled to get back into shape. It is resistant to wrinkling even with multiple washes. Modal will not crease or need to be ironed.

Then what’s the difference between modal and micro modal?

Both modal and micro modal are made from beech tree pulp. Modal is famous for being silky to the touch and finely knit; the fabrics are opaque and feel soft like your second skin. Micro modal is more finely knit and uses a finer ground cellulosic fiber allowing for a denser concentration of fibers in a single garment without adding weight, and all that makes micro modal even sleeker than modal.

How to make modal and micro modal?

Modal is derived from in inner pulp of beech trees. All processing is done in accordance with strict environmental standards including chemical free spinning and dyeing, rainwater for growth, and produces no toxic discharge. Additionally, modal does not take away valuable land for growing food as it is a naturally occurring plant.

One kilogram of beech pulp makes approximately one kilogram of modal (a yield that is 10 times higher than raw cotton). The tree will grow naturally on less than perfect land and reproduce itself without any human interaction, meaning there is no replanting required. Comparatively to cotton, modal does not take away valuable land for growing food as it is a naturally occurring plant. The majority of our modal fibers is from the world's leading producer, Lenzing Modal®. The difference with Lenzing Modal® versus other Modal is that it's created from sustainably harvested forest in Austria, and neighboring countries.

Unlike fully synthetic fibers, modal is biodegradable. This means, any clothing made with modal will return to the earth in your lifetime (but not, of course during your wearing of the product), whereas synthetic products like Polyester take a couple of hundred years to break down.

When choosing modal or micro modal fabrics, it is easy to notice the softness over that of synthetic blends. Just like the difference between acetate and silk, same can be felt for modal and cotton fabrics. This has also made modal popular for uses in lingerie, sleep or loungewear, as well as baby clothing.