Cotton is one of our most common materials, a natural material made from small, downy bolls that grow on the cotton plant. The fibre is soft, hard-wearing and supple and often used for T-shirts, underwear, sweaters and socks etc.

For a sustainable, cyclic wardrobe, we recommend choosing organic cotton to avoid pesticides in the cotton fields and all the consequence related to this. Buy cotton garments that you are prepared to care for, take care of and use for a long time.

For a number of reasons, cotton is being scrutinized at the moment. Both politically, financially, accessibility- and quality-wise. There are already quality labelling to help guide you in making better, more aware choices. We specifically like GOTS certified cotton or recycled cotton. Cotton production requires huge quantities of water.

Just producing one T-shirt can use up to 2,700 litres of water and a pair of jeans as much as 11,000 litres.

How to care for your cotton garments:

Make your cotton garments last longer, care and refresh with our Fabric Spray Teawood No. 502, Fresh Linen No. 503 or Wild Lavender No.504 which are gentle on both your clothes and the environment. You don’t have to wash your clothes as often as you think. Cotton can withstand higher temperatures in the washing machine, so we recommend you use our Detergent Cotton & Linen No. 204, which works at 40-90°C.

40°C is hot enough for lightly soiled clothes, whereas bed linen ought to be laundered in 60°C. Follow the instructions on the care label.

Love your cotton garment, care for it and extend its lifespan!

Viscose is a natural material, but the manufacturing process is somewhat contrived. The fabric is made out of cellulose, which has been treated as a fibre, spun and woven to make a textile.

The finished material feels soft, cool and pleasant on your skin. A fabric that hangs beautifully and hardly creases at all. Simple to care for and can be washed lukewarm or cool water. Viscose tends to shrink a little when washed and the advice is, therefore, to stretch the garment gently when wet, especially around the seams. Iron if needed.

Other names or types of viscose include modal, lyocel, tencel and rayon. Cupro is a variant made out of cotton waste.

How to care for your viscose garments:

For viscose, we recommend our Detergent Delicate wash No. 203. Wash by hand or in the washing machine. Fabric spray Teawood No. 502, Fresh Linen No. 503 or Wild Lavender No. 504 can be used when you just want to refresh and revitalize your clothes and stains are most effectively removed with Stain Away No. 72.

Good luck with your viscose garment!

Polyester is a synthetic fabric that is commonly found on the market. Often it is mixed with other types of materials as it contributes to wear resistance.

Polyester as a fabric:

Polyester is made of crude oil in long chains (poly), just like different types of plastics are. That is why garments made of 100% polyester resemble plastic when it comes to touch and feel. It can often be sticky and sweaty in warm weather and when the weather is a bit cooler, the fabric can feel chilly. Polyester fabric doesn’t breathe, hence you will need to wash clothes made out of this material more or less every time you have used them. The garments can turn static when there is friction, but this can be remedied quickly and easily by using our functional freshener Fresh Linen No. 503.

Polyester releases tiny fibres in the laundry waste water every time it’s put through a wash and these eventually end up in the environment as microplastics. Seeing that polyester is a non-renewable resource, it isn’t the really best material from an environmental perspective, but as garments of polyester and polyester blends are likely to exist in most wardrobe, we feel it is still important to know how to care for the fabric in the best possible way.

How to launder synthetics and mixed materials:

Polyester can also go under the name of fleece, nylon, elastane, spandex, lycra, acrylics or polyamide. In our product descriptions and data sheets, we refer to these variants as synthetics and mixed materials and they often have a few percent of polyester mixed in to make them more durable and hard-wearing. If possible, please wash these fabrics by hand to minimize the release of microplastics into the environment. Washing by hand is almost always more gentle than a washing machine, but regardless of how you choose to wash your polyester clothes, we recommend you use our Detergent – Delicate wash  No. 203 as this is specially designed for washing programs at lower temperatures and washing by hand.

You probably can’t avoid polyester altogether. Socks and swimwear are more or less impossible to manufacture without synthetic materials. But you can avoid cheap throwaway garments. Don’t be tempted by the cheap blankets in pretty colours that are sold for just a pound or two, skip the fleece jacket and put your money on a beautifully knitted, woolly sweater that will last you a lifetime. Be more aware, read the label carefully before you buy and commit to a more sustainable wardrobe!