About
Bainbridge is a wonderfully soft linen of the finest quality, a sophisticated semi-sheer leno weave. The fibers are very long fibers. The linen is not "cottonized."*
Eco Facts
Bainbridge is GOTS certified.
What does it mean for a fabric to be GOTS certified?
It means a whole lot, including requiring that at least 90% of fibers be certified organic (ours are 100%); no chemicals can be used which have been proven - or are suspected - to harm humans or the environment at any stage of the textile production process; water treatment to a very high standard is required; and certain worker safety and rights issues are honored, like no child or slave labor and certain minimal level of safe working conditions (These are still huge problems in textile mills outside of the “developed” countries. Many mills are still in the 19th century.) Although it does not explicitly address carbon footprint, a GOTS certified FABRIC is the best choice by far, carbon wise right now - exponentially better than recycled polyester, for instance, or of conventional cotton fabric. Read more here.
Fabric made from organic cotton which is produced conventionally can be – and almost always is – full of residual toxic chemicals – and its production released chemicals into our groundwater; its carbon footprint stinks, and worker safety was not considered.
Buy safe fabric – and know it is safe because you have a strict, reliable, third party certification.
The Fabric Name
Located in the middle of Puget Sound, Bainbridge Island is a 35-minute ferry ride from Seattle, so it's no wonder that over 60% of islanders commute to Seattle for their employment. Bainbridge Island is a stop along The Whale Trail: sites where one can have a reasonably good chance of seeing orcas or other cetaceans at some time during the year.
Uses
Beautiful as drapery as well as duvet covers, clothes - lots of uses. Now Bainbridge is a semi-sheer, so you might need an underlayment fabric for some uses. Try our muslin, Astoria, Asotin, sateen – lots of choices.
Specifications
- care: Although Bainbridge can be washed in cool water and line dried, we recommend professional green cleaning to maintain its crisp appearance. Iron while still damp; because, if you wait until the linen is completely dry, linen is really hard to iron. If it does get dry, spritz with water – with distilled water (If there are minerals in your tap water, those minerals may stain).
- certification: GOTS, the Global Organic Textile Standard
- content: 100% organic linen
- directionality:
- weight: 6.2 oz yd2 / 210 gm m2
- width: 54" / 137 cm
- * Most mills "cottonize" the linen fibers in order to spin and weave on cotton equipment. Cotton and synthetics spinning machines and looms are not terribly strong machines; full length linen fibers will tear them apart. Cottonizing means chopping the linen fibers to 2-inch lengths to spin. The longest fiber cotton is less than 2 inches long. Linen fibers (high quality) average multiple in length. Much harder to manage and much more expensive to use. But worth it as the single most important determinant of the quality, durability, etc. of your linen final fabric is the average length of the fibers spun into the yarn. (This is true for any fiber, not just linen; the length of the fibers spun into the yarn is the major determinant of the quality of the yarn and fabric.). That's when you get that linen sheen to die for after years of use. And stunning durability. Well cared for linen will last hundreds of years with regular, continual use.
