Recently, we attended a webinar about how to keep your home free of toxins. In the conversation about which fabrics to choose for your furniture, one of the panelists suggested using a synthetic (polyester) fabric to avoid stains. People often think synthetic fiber fabrics are naturally stain resistant. They are not. They are stain resistant …
Don’t forget to take a look at our new retail website (Two Sisters Ecotextiles) and let us know what you think. We’re still working out some kinks so your input is really appreciated. In the textile industry, there are two third party certifications which are transparent and to which we certify our fabrics: the Global …
Our previous blog post we talked about fabric – how to determine the quality of the fabric you’re considering for your new sofa. But the most important consideration merits a blog all its own, and that is the safety of the fabrics you’ve chosen. We define “safe” as a fabric that has been processed with …
From Alaska to Southern California, sea stars (or as I call them, starfish. But scientists like to point out they’re not fish, ergo: “sea stars”) are dying by the millions. Drew Harvell, a marine epidemiologist at Cornell University, calls it the largest documented marine epidemic in human history. The disease deflates …
I’ll be taking a few weeks off so instead of sitting in front of the computer I’ll be hiking in the mountains and sitting by a lake. Have a wonderful fourth, and see you in August. Last week I promised you the list of things to do to avoid toxins in your life. In putting …
Fibers are divided into three main categories: Natural – like flax, wool, silk and cotton Manufactured – made from cellulose or protein Synthetic – made from synthetic chemicals The difference between “manufactured” and “synthetic” fibers is that the manufactured fibers are derived from naturally-occurring cellulose or protein, while synthetic fibers are not. And manufactured fibers …
Illnesses — including remarkable combinations of symptoms — are on the rise. Over the past 50 years, there has been a steady increase in the incidence of children developing cancer[1], asthma[2], attention deficit disorders[3], allergies[4], autoimmune disorders[5], and others. So too are the numbers of chemicals getting mixed inside us (studies have shown that babies …
We published a post about lead in fabrics about a year ago, but I thought it was important enough to remind you of the dangers of lead in fabrics, because we’re starting to see claims of “heavy metal free” dyestuffs used in fabrics. What does that mean? Lead is considered one of those “heavy metals’ …
Apparently Good Housekeeping now has a green seal of approval. UL laboratories, the safety test lab, also has it’s own green seal of approval. In fact, according to the new 2009 Conscious Consumer Report from BBMG, there are now over 400 different certifications related to “green” and environmental attributes of products and services. So many …
OEcotextiles 