One of the questions we have been getting since we opened up the shop is this: what is a thick-looped towel? Isn’t it the same as a normal terry towel?
The answer is no.
Thick-looped towels are produced in a totally different technique than standard terry towels.
They are not machine made but handcrafted in traditional shuttle looms, like all our products. The weaving method used to make our towels results in longer loops compared to machine made towels and makes them thicker. And even though the factory machines try to imitate the structure of a towel woven in a shuttle loom, they really can’t.
Why Are Longer Loops Better?
Thicker loops also mean more cotton is used in the making. What you get is a very fluffy and heavy towel, richer in material and SO soft. At the same time, our thick-looped towels release moist faster than machine-made ones. This is because the handcrafted structure of the fabric is less compact, more loose and more breathable.
In other words, your thick-looped towel will dry faster than any other standard towel you will have. This is not only practical, but also healthier, as it adds an anti-bacterial feature.
Finally, combined with the long fibers of the Turkish cotton used to spin the yarn our thick-looped towels are made of, they make a very durable product.
Treated rightly, you don’t have to get rid of your towel after a couple years because it’s worn out and dissolving. Like in the good old times, your towel will stay in very good shape for many years to come.
And that, in our opinion, is what sustainability is all about.
Buy Less, Buy Wiser, Buy Better
Making bold statements about environmental issue on a website, or shipping a product in recycled paper with fancy green labels doesn’t help the environment per se.
If you have to replace a textiles product over and over again, it only means more consumption, more production, more packaging, more shipping, more emissions and more of everything else that brought our planet where it is today. On the other hand, extending the average life of clothes by just three months results in a 5 to 10 percent reduction in each of its carbon, waste, and water footprints, according to the Waste & Resources Action Program, a U.K. environmental nonprofit.
The reason we love our thick-looped towels (and all our products in this matter) is because they are remnants of a time and culture where you buy new things because you want to, not because you have to. Buy less, buy wiser, buy better.Now THAT is sustainable.