More sustainable materials

We make continuous effort to improve the sustainability of our products. Materials constitute a considerable proportion of our total emissions, with cotton causing over half of them. For this reason, we replace some of the ordinary cotton in our products with more sustainable materials, such as certified organic and Fair Trade cotton, recycled materials and linen.

In 2018, more sustainable materials accounted for 12.5 per cent of all materials in Finlayson products. These more sustainable materials include Fair Trade organic cotton (4.7%), linen (4.7%), recycled materials (1.6%) and organic cotton (1.5%). We still have a long way to go but we are approaching our goal, step by step.

Organic cotton

Altogether 6.2 per cent of the cotton we used in 2018 was organic.

We increasingly replace ordinary cotton with certified organic cotton, as the total emissions caused by organic cotton are significantly lower. Compared with traditional cotton growing, organic growing of cotton uses less water, chemicals, fertilisers and energy. This means that the production is more ecological and also safer for the farmer.

Our organic cotton products are GOTS-certified, which makes the cotton easier to trace. We know its entire route from the field to a finished product.

See our GOTS-certified products here

Fair Trade cotton

The Fair Trade label ensures fair pay to farmers and workers in developing countries. Fair Trade cotton can also be traced all the way to the farming community.
The Fair Trade cotton we use comes from Burkina Faso and India, and it is also organically grown.

In the Fair Trade farming programme, the farmers receive a guaranteed price plus a Fair Trade bonus, intended for financial, social and environmental initiatives of the farming community.

See our Fair Trade -labelled products here.

Linen (flax)

Linen made from flax is an ecological choice in production, use and recycling alike – therefore, we have considerably increased the proportion of linen in our products in recent years.

Flax does not require much to grow, and it is a durable material in use and also an easily recyclable natural fibre. Emissions caused by flax/linen are approximately half of those caused by cotton. In addition, the growing of flax requires considerably less water, fertilisers and pesticides.

See our linen products here.

Lyocell

The TENCEL™ Lyocell fibre is one of the most ecological textile materials in the world.

TENCEL™ is a conversion fibre made from FSC-certified pulp manufactured by sustainable forest industry companies – this means that it is made of trees, such as eucalyptus, birch, spruce and pine.

Compared with cotton, the production of TENCEL™ fibre consumes considerably less water and energy. In addition, the biodegradable chemicals used in the manufacturing process can be recovered and recycled to 99.5 per cent.

TENCEL™ is an excellent material for bedding, and we use it for products such as pillows and duvets.

Did you know that we also make products from recycled materials?