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Eco-friendly Home Textiles

September 12, 2018

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In the past few years, the fashion world has been buzzing with eco-friendly news: eco-fashion startups, innovative new fabric technologies, a push towards sustainable practices by established brands, and a hunger for quality slow fashion over the fast fashion consumption cycle. It would be easy to think that this shift is only happening in clothing design, but the world of interior design has been on a similar journey.

Eco-friendly textiles come in a wide range of options, from organic natural fibres to highly-engineered man-made fabrics. When shopping for your soft furnishings and home textiles, look out for items made with wool (like alpaca), linen (created from environmentally sustainable flax), organic cotton, jute, hemp, recycled polyester (from PET bottles, etc.), and lyocell (from wood pulp). Even beyond the fabrics used, sustainability has been finding its way into duvets, cushion inserts, and couch stuffings as well.

When it comes to being eco-friendly, fabric choice is a great place to start, but it’s important to keep track of the whole process, from growth and harvest all the way to production and shipping. As consumers, it’s easy to feel a bit in the dark about the fine print of the products we purchase. In order to guide consumers towards truly sustainable brands, there are quite a few organizations providing certification and screening to help you understand what you’re getting yourself into every time you invest in something new. When shopping, keep an eye out for labels like Oeko-Tex, CO2 Logic, and Global Organic Textile Standard (or GOTS).

So many design companies, from global powerhouses to local businesses, are making incredible efforts in their use of eco-friendly textiles and sustainable practices. Walk with us through our current gallery of eco-home decor inspiration:

a bed in the back of a VW van, looking out over the wilderness with a navy blue comforter.
Poppytalk

IKEA’s Gulved bedspread is made of renewable and sustainable linen and quilted with wadding created from 95% recycled PET.

modern bedroom with cream bedding
Rekoop

REKOOP uses a combination of organic cotton and recycled polyester in their bedding products.

Charcoal grey couch with lavender throw pillows and a throw blanket
Urban Collective

Urban Collective’s wool cushions are made from 100% recycled wool.

Cream linen table cloth
Mungo

Mungo’s Provincial Stripe Tablecloth, designed, woven, and made in South Africa from linen and cotton. As a bonus, Mungo provides skills development and employment opportunities for their local community.

 

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Australia’s Coco Rose Interiors uses recycled water bottles to create their cushion inserts. Every kilo of filling gives seventy plastic bottles a new purpose.

 

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Sandra Jordan’s Prima Alpaca collection of textiles is light and airy enough to create gossamer drapes.

 

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Elli Beaven’s Whole Cloth Studio crafts quilted goods from sustainably sourced fabrics, like this stunning quilt made from repurposed shirts.

As expert cleaners, we know that committing to eco-friendly home textiles can be a significant financial investment — one that you want to protect as long as possible. Natural fabrics deserve to be cared for in a natural way, so you’ll be happy to know that Parkers provides green cleaning technology, perfect for your thoughtfully chosen garments and home furnishings. Our Solvair® process uses a biodegradable cleaning liquid, combined with a totally unique drying process that uses no heat. If you need a hand with larger items like duvets and rugs, get in touch to talk about our free pick up and delivery service or in home cleaning options.

 

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