Consumers beware: natural products are not necessarily good for the planet

Things are not always what they seem and outwardly natural products can be anything but nature-friendly. Take cotton bedding. More than likely, in environmental terms, your crisp, white sheets are evil incarnate because the dismaying fact is that the textile industry is one of the largest polluters in the world; with around a quarter of the world’s insecticides used to grow conventional cotton and 8,000 chemicals variously employed to process, dye and finish it.

The bonkers thing is that there are plenty of wholesome alternatives (at comparable prices) from organic, unbleached or naturally-coloured cotton (certification labels to look out for include Soil Association, Oeko-Tex 100, Ecolabel, IMO and SKAL) to heirloom linen (in surprisingly plentiful supply, courtesy of the attics of France and Belgium) and new linen woven from flax or, increasingly, hemp.
Hemp and flax, in stark comparison with cotton, grow like weeds without little if any help from potentially dangerous chemicals, need a fraction of the water, are waste-free crops (producing, for instance, seeds, oils and a fibrous pulp that is used for bank notes) and actually enhance soil rather than depleting it.
And what is more, linen is luxuriantly cooling and although it tends to be considerably more expensive and time-consuming than cotton, the initial outlay and upkeep are more than repaid by decades of pleasurable use. Isn’t ironing the new baking, anyway?

Top tip: Always dry linen naturally, never tumble dry. While still damp, roll the linen and place in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for minimum of two hours. Then steam iron on high temperature (ironing any monograms or decorations on the reverse side). The result will be silky smooth linen.

Eco bedding suppliers

Stylish, self-patterned 240-thread count, organic cotton duvet covers, in white or cream, plus matching pillowcases.

Fair trade, organic (non-GM), hand-woven cotton bed linen from a co-operative in Southern India.

By Nature www.bynature.co.uk
Striped and checquered ecru duvet cover sets from the Portuguese Natura Pura brand in soft, 100% unbleached, un-dyed, organic (Ecolabel) cotton.

US web retailer specialising in hemp textiles.

Gaiam Direct www.gaiamdirect.co.uk
Hand-harvested, organic cotton coloured using low-impact dyes, transformed into luxurious, 250-thread count bed linen.

Gayle Warwick www.gaylewarwick.com
Heirloom-quality, delicately hand-embroidered bed linen ranges using either organically grown, oxygen-bleached Swiss cotton or natural linen.

Greenfibres www.greenfibres.com
Broad range of eco bedding taking in flannel and percale options.

Gossypium www.gossypium.co.uk
Naturally-dyed, 100% organic, fair trade cotton bed linen created by mixing fibre-dyed and undyed yarns.

Guinevere Antiques www.guinevere.co.uk
Nineteenth century, French, linen sheets in natural shades and given a technicolour makeover with vegetable dyes.

Wide choice, including reasonably priced white cotton percale bleached with environmentally-friendly hydrogen peroxide.

Jane Sacchi Linens www.janesacchi.co.uk
Butter-soft, antique, French linen sheets and pillowcases. Also, modern, own-label bed linen made with high-quality, Oeoko-Tex 100-certified, Scottish linen.

Schmidt www.naturalclothing.co.uk
High thread count organic cotton sheets (fitted and flat) and duvet covers available up to super-king size in sunshine yellow, Grecian blue, or un-dyed.

Irish linen that is ‘as environmentally-friendly as you can get in mass production,’ and unbleached linen bed linen by special order.