Fibre encyclopedia
Acetate
Also called acetate · asetat · CA · triacetate · triasetat · CTA
Cellulose that has been chemically altered rather than only dissolved, so it is no longer cellulose in the way viscose is. Common as lining.
Class
Regenerated
Comes from
From dissolved plant pulp
Where it comes from
Acetate is made by acetylating cellulose. The labelling rules split the family by how far that goes: acetate when at least 74 and less than 92 per cent of the hydroxyl groups are acetylated, triacetate at 92 per cent or more. That is a chemistry threshold, and it is the only thing separating two names that feel identical in the hand.
How it feels to wear
Air
Some air moves through the fibre
Water
Takes in a little water
Heat
Neither holds nor sheds heat
Stretch
No stretch of its own
Wear
Wears down sooner under rubbing
Acetate is smooth and falls in soft folds, which is why it went into linings and formal wear. It absorbs less than viscose, it is weak when wet, and it softens at low heat. Acetone dissolves it, so nail polish remover takes a hole out of an acetate cloth rather than a stain.
Care
- Dry clean, or hand wash cool if the label allows it.
- Keep acetone away from it.
- Iron on the lowest setting, on the reverse.
Most acetate reaches people as a lining, so it is cleaned according to the garment around it rather than on its own terms.
End of life
Recycling route
No route running at scale
Acetate is not cellulose in the form the dissolving route needs, and it is not a thermoplastic in the form the melting route needs, so it has no volume route of its own.
In a blend
A lining is stitched into a shell of a different fibre, and a garment is sorted by its shell.
Skin notes
Mechanical
Smooth filament with no mechanical prickle route. A lining sits directly on the skin more often than the outer cloth does.
Chemical
Acetate is dyed with disperse dyes, the same class used on polyester, and the label does not state it.
If your skin reacts to a garment, a dermatologist and patch testing are what can answer it. A label cannot, and neither can this page.
What the label cannot tell you
The label says acetate. It does not say whether it is acetate or triacetate, which is a chemistry threshold rather than a marketing distinction, and it does not name the dye.
Sources
- Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 on textile fibre names and related labelling, Annex I. Checked 22 August 2026
- ISO 2076:2021, Textiles, man-made fibres, generic names. Checked 22 August 2026
- Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (REACH), Annex XVII entry 72, substances in textile articles in contact with skin, applying from 1 November 2020. Checked 22 August 2026
Written from primary sources and in our own words. Where a figure could not be traced to a source anyone can open, it is not printed here.
Read the label you are holding
The scan surface reads one care label and names which questions it answers and which it leaves out. A passport says for one specific piece what a label cannot: the composition with its percentages, where the cloth came from, who worked on it, how to repair it and where it goes next.