MATERIALS
THE MATERIALS OF ECOLOGICAL TEXTILES: ORGANIC COTTON, HEMP, LINEN, WOOL, SILK, TENCEL
The ECOLOGICAL TEXTILES website is mainly built around (natural) materials. We think that the beauty of natural textiles is unsurpassed and can't be equalled by synthetic textiles. In addition, in our view natural textiles are more comfortable to wear and are always produced more sustainably than synthetic materials. The products we offer are made from (organic) cotton, (organic) linen, hemp, (organic) silk and (organic) wool.
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organic cotton
Cotton is the most commonly used natural fibre for clothing textiles. Organic cotton represents only roughly one percent of the cotton market. All our cotton fabrics are GOTS-certified. This means the cotton was not only grown in organic agriculture but also that the processing is done sustainably and according to high social standards.
All our organic cotton fabrics, yarns and tapes comes from Turkey. This so called Aegean organic cotton is known for its beautiful colour and high quality and is guaranteed to be GMO free.
hemp
Hemp is considered to be one of the most sustainable natural fibres for textiles. The plant doesn't need much irrigation, has almost no natural enemies and needs no treatment with pesticides or herbicides. It is also a champion in CO2 storage.
In textiles hemp is perfect because it's strong and feels nice on the skin. Hemp fabrics always feel cool, a distinct advantage for summer clothing. Also, hemp has a unique look and feel.
Ecological Textiles offers hemp fabrics, hemp ribbons, yarns, non wovens and raw fibres.
linen
Linen is made from the flax plant and is one of the oldest fibres used for textiles. Flax doesn't require much irrigation and even when it's grown conventionally it needs little or no treatment with herbicides or pesticides. Linen is well supported when worn directly on the skin, even though it is less soft and less supple than e.g. cotton. Linen has relatively poor insulating properties, that's why linen fabrics feel fresh and cool: linen clothing will keep you cool during the summer. It is also great for making e.g. bedding.
Ecological Textiles offers both organic and conventional linen fabrics, as well as ribbons and yarns.
silk
Silk is famous for its natural lustre, high quality, softness. Ecological Textiles offers organic silk, that is produced without the use of chemicals as insecticides or pesticides, as well as several blends with organic cotton.
tencel
Tencel is a brand name for lyocell, a viscose that was developed by the Austrian company Lenzing AG. Tencel is made from wood pulp, mostly eucalyptus. The solvents that are used for making the wood pulp are chemical, however the closed loop system in which the pulping takes place means that harmful waste is very limited. According to Lenzing the solvent recovery rate is 99 percent.
Tencel fabrics are light, smooth, soft and silky. They have a somewhat more technical appearance than natural materials. Because tencel is essentially a man made fibre it can not be certified by GOTS.
Ecological Textiles offers woven and knitted tencel fabrics.
wool
Wool is a natural proteine fibre that resembles human hair but is much thinner. In many ways wool is a very sustainable fibre. It is 100% biodegradable, dirt repelling and anti bacterial. Wool regenerates itself by airing and doesn't have to be washed very often. After washing is doesn't need to be ironed, or only on low temperatures.
Besides this, wool offers an exceptional wearing comfort. It is highly breathable and easy to maintain. It is a well known fact that clothing made from wool has a longer life span than from most other clothing.
Ecological Textiles offers fabrics (woven and knitted) as well as yarns and raw fibres.
Materials from Ecological Textiles
The ECOLOGICAL TEXTILES website is mainly built around (natural) materials. We think that the beauty of natural textiles is unsurpassed and can't be equalled by synthetic textiles. In addition, natural textiles are more comfortable to wear and are always produced more sustainably than synthetic materials.
Natural materials all have their specific properties. ORGANIC COTTON differs from, for example, LINEN or HEMP in its elasticity, softness, tensile strength, moisture absorption capacity and insulating properties. All materials therefore have their own applications. At ECOLOGICAL TEXTILES, we have selected the traditional main groups of natural materials, (organic) COTTON, (organic) LINEN, HEMP, (organic) SILK and (organic) WOOL.
We do not consider viscose to be a natural material, as its production process distances it too far from its vegetable origin. In addition, this production is notorious for its high environmental impact. An exception to this is tencel, which is also a viscose, but has a considerably lower environmental impact.
We are against the use of recycled polyester, which is why it is not included in the ECOLOGICAL TEXTILES collection. This is firstly because polyester is not a natural fibre and secondly because, in our opinion, the aim should be to reduce the use of synthetic materials (plastics). The recycled polyester (rPET) does not usually come from clothing because it is still almost impossible to effectively separate the different types of material used in clothing. Therefore, the polyester usually comes from recycled PET bottles. Recycling PET bottles is great... but only to recycle them as bottles, not for processing them into clothing. The more so because, once used in clothing it is a challenge to recycle polyester again.
Natural fibres and natural textile materials are therefore the main focus at ECOLOGICAL TEXTILES. We offer raw fibres, yarns, trimmings and natural fabrics from the above mentioned materials. In the fabric collection, these materials are divided according to the techniques used: for example, woven or knitted organic cotton. Next, they are divided according to the various fabric types such as satin, gabardine, poplin etc. in the woven fabrics and rib, single jersey and interlock in the knitted fabrics.
If you are familiar with the fabric names, quicker access is possible under the FABRICS heading in the menu bar.
At ECOLOGICAL TEXTILES we keep looking for innovations. Some of these are technical, such as water repellent finishes and plasma technology, others are a bridge between craftsmanship and industry, e.g. our Tinctorial Textiles collection which offers a colour range of organic wool fabrics that are industrially dyed with natural dyes. We also use locally produced hemp fibres and wool from sheep that graze in the heathlands near our office. In collaboration with a farmer we grow indigenous dyeing plants and started the extraction and production of natural dyes.
ECOLOGICAL TEXTILES is a GOTS-certified company since 2015. All our cotton and most of the other textiles are GOTS-certified.
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CONTACT
Please contact us when you have a question or want to know more about our fibres, dyes, yarns and fabrics. Just drop an email or give us a call.
SAMPLES
The webshop offers the possibility of buying seperate samples and sample sets. It's possible to order small quantities, from one meter.