CONSCIOUS CLOTHING CARE
TAKING CARE OF YOUR CLOTHES IN A SUSTAINABLE WAY
Introducing the yoga wear collection we thought of introducing ideas to care for our garments in a sustainable way. We decided on the soft organic cotton jersey instead of polyester for the yoga wear as even if recycled, polyester is all plastic and generates micro plastics with every use, with every wash and on top of that takes hundreds of years to biodegrade. Our organic cotton jersey is 95% GOTS-certified organic cotton, 5% elastane and is machine washable at 30°.
To make your garments last we recommend NOT to use fabric softener. There is a very sustainable option to conventional softener: Vinegar, it closes the fibres and makes the garment last longer and it’s also good for your washing machine!
We just add 0,5-1 dl cleaning vinegar in the softener compartment for every wash. But if you like you can make your own vinegar softener adding essential oils or lemon or other citrus juice.
Some tips for better care of garments:
Wash your clothes only if necessary, before washing the entire garments try to remove only stains and air the garment outdoors.
Choose a more sustainable detergent or make your own, you can find great recipes and further advice here.
Do not ever use fabric softeners, instead use vinegar.
Do not use electric dryers - they harm the clothes and use a lot of energy. Instead dry your garments outdoors. But be careful with direct sunlight as this will fade colours.
Avoid dry cleaning your garments.
Avoid chemicals and cosmetics with your clothes- for example when applying sunscreen, let it dry completely before dressing.
WOOL GARMENTS
Wool is naturally stain resistant, odour resistant and also crease resistant, so it seldom requires washing. This means that caring for wool is both easy and gentle on the planet.
100% Pure wool garments seldom need washing, most times airing your garments outdoors on a flat surface is enough.
Do not mix up your woollen garments with the other garments - always wash them separately.
Wool garments should be washed on the wool setting (usually gentle action at 30°C).
Use a neutral, mild detergent that is recommended for wool.
It is recommended that garments are flat dried after washing.
Storage: Knitted garments should be gently folded and stored in drawers.
Resting: Rest wool garments for 24 hours before wearing again. This gives the natural resilience and spring in the wool fibre time to recover and return to its original shape.
We do not advise dry cleaning as the chemicals can damage and weaken wool.
Hand Washing Wool
Turn your wool garment inside out, then hand wash in clean, lukewarm water, approximately 30°C, using a mild and gentle detergent. Allow to soak for a period of max 10 minutes before rinsing thoroughly firstly in lukewarm water, then finally in cold water.
Mild or neutral detergents have a relatively neutral pH level. Wool wash detergents are all mild and are suitable both for machine wash and hand wash.
Pilling in wool knits
Pilling is the formation of woolly balls on the surface of the knit, pilling is caused by rubbing during wear. Pilling is a natural process that will inevitably happen to even the most luxurious materials and is not an indicator of poor quality in wool yarns. There is a difference between synthetic pills and pills on natural fabrics. Synthetic pills are almost impossible to remove, while pills on natural fabrics are easily removed. Synthetic pilling often erupts in loose threads when you try to remove them, and that’s a problem you won’t have with garments made of natural fabrics. Pilling depends on many factors including the action of the wearer - there is a greater chance of pilling generally if the wearer is more active, or whether the garment during wear constantly comes into contact with other surfaces, such as bags, that tend to cause abrasion. Because pilling is so complex, nobody can guarantee that it won’t occur, but there are a number of ways to prevent pilling. There are also methods to remove pills if they have been formed.
How to prevent pilling when wearing wool
Turn your wool clothes inside-out before washing
Avoid using a fabric softener
Try to minimise abrasion when wearing wool clothing
How to remove pilling in 3 easy ways
If not too many pills have been formed then they can easily be removed by hand. This should be done routinely after drying, or just prior to ironing.
A comb, a wool comb or a baby/lice comb, can be used to remove pills, but this should be done very gently and carefully. A wool lint /comb (also called cashmere comb) is a very low cost device that works well when used carefully.
Small battery operated pill and lint removal devices known as either de-pillers/ fabric shavers can also be used to remove pills.
Pill razors are very effective but have to be used very gently and carefully on knits.