Coyuchi Organic Cotton Cloud Loom towels | $18 – $68
I try to use/wear things as long as possible before replacing them; that goes for exercise wear, underwear, and home linens, as well as clothing. Last year I made it a goal to replace anything that needed replacing with the most sustainable option I can afford, starting with my lingerie drawer. I successfully replaced some VERY old underwear with new organic cotton and brands that produce in the US, and couldn’t be happier. So, I decided to try and tackle my “towel” problem.
I had a face towel that I LOVEd, but was literally more than 20 years old; my mother bought it for me when I moved into my first apartment. It worked, but it was so ugly, threadbare, and shredding. I was loathe to get rid of it, but there comes a time when even though something may still perform it’s “job,” it has tired of doing so, and shows it. As Marie Kondo would advise, I thanked it for it’s service, and sent it on it’s way.
We also have random towels here and there that are old, mismatched, never dry properly, and are starting to fall apart, so I decided to start replacing some of them with organic cotton. Instead of buying a set of one style, though, I wanted to try a selection and decide which one to commit to for a full set.
I bought one Mediterranean bath towel, one Cloud Loom bath towel, one Cloud Loom hand towel, and one Air Weight hand towel (all organic cotton). I use the Mediterranean bath towel because my husband didn’t think it would work (it does), and he uses the Cloud Loom bath towel. I use the Air Weight hand towel for my face and the Cloud Loom hand towel for hands in the bathroom.
Coyuchi organic cotton Mediterranean towels | $8 – $68
We’ve had the towels for a little over a month and I’m incredibly happy with all of them. I love the Mediterranean towel (I always wanted to try a Turkish-style towel), but it seems more appropriate for summer, or as a beach towel. It’s very absorbent, and I love that it dries quickly, but I think I prefer a more soft, thick, cozy towel for bathing.
Coyuchi air weight organic cotton towels | $8 – $58
I think I’d pass on the Air Weight towels, they’re fine, but nothing too special honestly. I really prefer the soft, light, plush feeling of the cloud loom towels for long-term use and to buy as a complete set.
Really, it’s just a matter of preference, all the towels are wonderful, soft and have held up nicely. I just think now after trying them all, I want a thicker, plush towel. I wash them all once a week (I don’t know if that’s enough, or too little…it’s just what I do…) in cold water and dry on low heat without a dryer sheet as per Coyuchi’s recommendations. I want these towels to LAST FOREVER, given how expensive they are, so I’m going to baby them!!
I did sign up for their email newsletter to get 15% off my first order, and they do have a selection of Coyuchi at Sierra Trading Post, if you’re flexible about colors. I’m going to have to add new towels gradually as I can find discount codes and/or have gift money, building my ultimate bath towel “wardrobe.” These are expensive, but worth it, and since I don’t need as many towels as I thought I did, I certainly don’t need to buy as many.
As with clothing, it’s worth thinking about how many towels, napkins, dish towels, sheet sets we really NEED. We have a ridiculous amount of towels around, since all the old, worn out ones get relegated to the rag bin, but seriously, how many rags do we need?? We need a few towels for bathing Dagny and I use old towels for the pool, but before I got rid of them, we absolutely had too many.
We also have too many napkins and dish towels. I guess we tend to collect things like that, and I know I like to have a stockpile so I don’t have to do laundry very often, but I’ve noticed lately that the more random linens we have around, the MORE laundry I end up doing! Now that we have fewer bath towels, I just throw them in with my clothes on the weekend, and I’m done.
That’s something I’m trying to be much more conscious of lately. I’ve always had a “scarcity” mentality, and worry about not having what I want/need around at any given moment, so I buy multiples, and make sure to have backups on hand. Besides the fact that it creates clutter and having more than I need, I ultimately also think it feeds the idea of scarcity, instead of alleviating it; as I have less, and just exactly what I need, I feel more free, and not so scared about not having enough. Go figure.
Have you tried any organic cotton towels? How do you buy your home linens?
When I started building a collection of household linens from scratch, Coyuchi became my #1 choice for sheets; I love old-fashioned percale and theirs is the best. That it’s organic is a stellar bonus.
I agree that the Air Weight towels are underwhelming. I bought two hand towels as testers, but they are a bit too rough for my tastes. When I go to replace my bath towels I am thinking I’ll opt for turkish spa towels (peshtemel) or linen towels. I like the idea of something resistant to mildew, as I live in a humid climate where thick terry towels *never* dry.
oh! thanks for the feedback on sheets – that’s next to replace. so far, ours are still good (we get them from costco), so it’ll be a while, but when we replace them, I definitely want to do organic.
i really love their mediterranean towel – it’s large, and really does absorb water well, and dries super-fast, which is a bonus. and it sort of makes me feel like i’m at a spa for some reason. linen would be interesting though, it ought to soften up very nicely.
I have been on the search for good organic towels for a long time. I bought some from Gaiam years ago and they definitely did not hold up. I may try the Coyuchi. In terms of organic sheets, I love Boll and Branch. Thanks for the post, Beth
I have a set of organic Turkish hand towels that I put out when company comes, so they stay nice looking. I have a family of half-assed hand washers, much to my chagrin. So, when we did our bathroom remodel last summer in shades of grey slate floor tile, a grey marble vanity top on a white vanity, and white subway tiles with grey grout on the walks, I did something new for me: White plush bath sheets. What a difference! I can bleach them, and finally…something big enough for all of our tall bodies! I ordered from One King’s Lane, so honestly, I don’t recall whether they’re organic or not. But they’re nice! And as for our old ones, which were in great shape since I love to change out colors, I donate them and barely used bedding to our church rummage sale.
Those are gorgeous!
Living in the Bay Area I try to support local businesses as much as possible especially if they are sustainable/organic. I’ve had the Cloud Loom towels for years and they hold up really well. I prefer a less fluffy more textured towel (husband likes soft and fluffy) so I think I’ll try the Mediterranean towels soon.
I can also attest to the quality of their bedding. We have some of their cotton sheets in a guest room and they get positive reviews from all. My parents live in Minnesota so I got them a set of the Cloud Brushed flannel sheets and my mom loves them so much she uses them year round.
My favorite sheets hands down are from another local company Rough Linen. I love linen sheets – these are so comfortable and last forever as well as being beautiful. I also love the summer cover, which we use year round.
first, i’m glad my method of stuffing the duvet cover has been validated 🙂
second, THEIR BATH TOWELS HAVE LOOPS!!!!!!! that’s the thing i loved the most about the towel i finally had to get rid of, it had a loop that made it easy to hang and use for my face. and i wish my mediterranean towel had a loop…
you might also like the air weight towels; they’re less fluffy than the cloud loom and have a bit of texture. they’re very nice. i guess i prefer either more fluffy or less, not something in between! the mediterranean towels are wonderful.
i have honestly never thought about linen for bathing/sheets, and now i’m intrigued! do they take a bit of time to soften up or are they pre-washed? maybe it’s different from clothing, i always find linen to be a little “crunchy” at first, and then softens up nicely with wear/wash.
thank you for introducing me to rough linen!!
okay, now i MUST find a reason to have one of their pinafores. amazing.
oh, your bathroom sounds heavenly!! i love all white in the bathroom.
my mediterranean towel is white, but i got the dark grey (of course!) color for the other ones, and i think that’s what i’ll stick with going forward. i love white towels, but don’t like the way they look after a lot of use, and can’t be bothered to bleach 😉
i think one king’s lane has coyuchi every once in a while. i should check them more often, i just haven’t put my energy into home stuff until now!
Ooo!!! I’m looking! Thx!
I’ve had the linen sheets for years and can’t remember for sure how they started out. I know they didn’t have that crunchy feel and felt nice from the beginning, but they are quite substantial and definitely get softer over time. I love that she only makes a flat sheet (you just tuck the bottom sheet under the mattress) at first that seemed odd but soon I came to realize how much the elastic on fitted sheets annoyed me! The summer cover starts out very soft and has a wonderful texture. It’s pretty tough too, I keep trying to convince our Great Pyrenees that he has his own bed, but he thinks ours is more his size.
The pinafore is so cute – I keep thinking I could learn to wear an apron for that, but I’m just kidding myself. I did see a woman at the farmers market wearing a black one as part of her outfit, she pulled it off quite well.
Gorgeous towels! Will have to wait till I don’t have small children for them, but beautiful! On another random note, I received an everlane modern snap backpack in the mail today and the straps seem awfully long. I think you have the modern zip backpack, no? Do you have this issue with it? I have to tighten the straps fairly tightly for the backpack to fit comfortably around my shoulders, but the straps just hang ridiculously long….thanks for feedback on this!
Yes. I do have to tighten the straps all the way for it to “fit” me. I didn’t notice the straps hanging so long , but I guess they do… It’s just not something that bothered me too much.
I have wanted linen sheets for the longest time! (I live in NC – it’s hot & humid here!) I bought some pillowcases last summer to “test” my husband – he hates them! I assume they’ll continue to soften over time (they already have – I just bought Lands End version) but I don’t think my husband would put up with the process.
I’ve looked at turkish towels (in Turkey, even 😉 but end up deciding they’re not for me – feel like drying with a linen pillowcase, come to think of it…
Yup, organic cotton towels, from Bed Bath and Beyond if you can believe it!
oh! will look next time i’m there.