Article: Your Care Guide for Linen & 100% Turkish Cotton
Your Care Guide for Linen & 100% Turkish Cotton
Caring for your clothes is one of the best things you can do to help the environment.
Not only does it extend the wearable life of your clothes, but it also reduces consumption of new clothing and subsequently reduces fashions' carbon footprint and worldwide waste in landfills.
It’s also an act of self care. The clothes we choose to wear is an artistic form of self-expression, and by taking good care of our clothes, we take pride in who we are.
Here’s our tips for how to care for your Turkish cotton, organic cotton & linen clothes.
Turkish Towels
Believe it or not, but our Turkish Towels are pretty durable when it comes to maintaining their softness (thanks to their 100% Turkish Cotton!). They will shrink a tiny bit in the first wash, but don’t worry - that’s completely normal.
General rules:
- Opt to hand-wash your Turkish towels first before using a machine wash.
- If you need to machine wash, use cold water with similar colored items. Don’t overcrowd the machine.
- Never use bleach or fabric softener, as these chemicals can make your towel less absorbent.
- You don’t need a lot of detergent, so try using less if machine washing or hand washing.
- Opt for naturally made detergent for best results.
- Air drying is always best, but if you need to use the dryer, use low heat.
Linen
100% linen fabric is what breezy dreams on the beach are made for. It can be easy to get confused between linen and cotton material, however linen is made from fibers derived from the stems of the flax plant (instead of the balls that grow around cotton seeds) so it requires a different approach to maintain it’s quality and softness.
General rules:
- Machine wash in cold or warm water with similar colored items, using a gentle cycle.
- Pre-soaking linen will help remove tough stains.
- Use mild detergent and absolutely no bleach.
- If machine washing, don’t overload the washing machine. Make sure your linen has room to move around when being washed.
- Air drying is always best, but if you need to use the dryer, use low heat.
- Don’t wring out. Use a Turkish towel to soak up excess water.
- Pro tip: Iron linen materials whilst they are slightly damp to avoid wrinkling. Use the linen setting on your iron for best results.
- When in doubt, opt for gentle hand washing or dry cleaning.
Organic Cotton
Did you know, 100% organic cotton fabric can vibrate up to a frequency of 110 mHz? It’s why we love it so much! Cotton isn’t as precious to care for in terms of other materials, but it still requires a little tlc to maintain its texture and quality.
General rules:
- For the first wash, use cold water. From there, you can use a low temperature and a normal cycle if using a washing machine.
- If you opt for hand-washing, you can use a natural soap and hand rinse to get the job done.
- Use a normal to mild detergent, so nothing too extreme.
- Don’t use bleach on cotton as it may dry the fibers of the material and cause color changes.
- As with most washing, wash cotton clothes with similar colored items.
- Pro tip: Wash inside out in a protective washing bag and reshape when damp. This will make sure your cotton clothes dry the same shape you bought them in.
- Don’t wring out. Use a Turkish towel to soak up excess water.
- Cotton can be ironed at a medium temperature, or simply use the cotton selection on your iron.
- If using a dryer, tumble dry on low heat.
If you really want to help the environment & be kind to your clothes, try these tips:
- For small stains, try using a cloth with soap (or vinegar for whites) and dabbing at the material. Not only does this save you placing it in the washing machine, but it also conserves water.
- Hang clothes out in the air to naturally remove odors. UV rays can help rid clothes of smell and also reduce your personal carbon footprint by 10%.
- Use organic, naturally made detergents and soaps.
- When possible, opt for hand washing.
- Use cold water to wash clothes. 75% of the energy used to wash clothes is from heating water.