Which button-up shirts have no plastic in the buttons, the collar, the thread or the finish?
Short answer: we can't find a plastic-free button-up shirt we can verify. Every candidate we checked had a plastic part beyond a small seal, or one we could not confirm. The list below says which.
No button-up shirt is on this list yet. We checked American Trench's Natural-Dyed Carl Yak Shirt: 90% cotton and 10% yak wool, dyed with plants, with corozo nut buttons by the maker's word. It stays off because the maker never says what the sewing thread is, and most shirt thread is polyester. The collar interfacing and the mordant are unstated too.
Side by side
Every button-up shirt we checked, and what kept each one off the list. The full evidence for each is one click away.
| Rank | Photo | Materials | Packaging | Price seen | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Checked, not listed | |||||
 | American Trench Natural-Dyed Carl Yak Shirt Cannot tell | ||||
| 90% cotton, 10% yak wool | Not verified yet | Not linked | A major part is unverified | ||
Where plastic hides in button-up shirts
Cotton or linen cloth is only part of a shirt. The collar and cuffs are stiffened with fusible interfacing, a polyester or nylon fabric with a heat-activated glue on one side. Buttons are polyester resin, urea or melamine unless the page says shell, corozo, horn, wood or metal. Collar stays are nylon or polypropylene. The thread is polyester or poly-core, and the label is printed polyester. A shirt sold as non-iron or wrinkle-free has a resin finish cured into the cloth, and a stretch shirt weaves elastane into the fabric.
What to check before you buy
- Fabric: 100% cotton, linen or hemp, or a blend with polyester or elastane?
- Buttons: shell, corozo, horn, wood or metal, or resin?
- Collar and cuffs: sew-in interlining, or fusible polyester interfacing?
- Collar stays: brass or none, or plastic?
- Thread: 100% cotton, or polyester and poly-core?
- Finish: untreated, or non-iron, wrinkle-free or stain-resistant?
- Label: woven cotton, or printed polyester?
Know of one?
If you make or own a button-up shirts with no plastic in it, including the seal, tell us: chairman@amaterio.com. Send the maker's page and what the seal is made of. We vet every tip and publish the ones that hold up, with credit.
Checked and not listed
- American Trench Natural-Dyed Carl Yak Shirt
Cannot tellThe cloth is 90% cotton and 10% yak wool, dyed by hand with plants in Pennsylvania, and that part reads clean. The buttons are corozo, a nut, by the maker's word. The thread is the gap: American Trench never says what it is, and most shirt thread is polyester. Until the maker names it, the shirt stays off the list.