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Quilcene

Product Description

Fiber composition:54% bamboo viscose, 46% certified organic cotton

8 colorways

Width:54"Wide

Weight:13.2 Oz

Passes Cal 117

Abrasion:37,000 Martindale with application of Cradle to Cradle certified EnviroSeal finish

10,000 Martindale without finish

This fabric is named after the Big Quilcene River in Jefferson County, Washington, a class V+ section of whitewater. The Big Quilcene and the Little Quilcene River estuary represents one of the most significant saltmarsh areas in the local marine complex; it has been impacted by the construction of a dike system nearly 100 years ago. The estuary supports sustaining populations of Chinook, pink, chum, steelhead, coho, sturgeon, and cutthroat, yet the dikes have disturbed tidal function on a significant portion of this estuary. The Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group is working to protect this vital salmon habitat.

Bamboo gives this fabric a silken look and feel that belies its hearty performance attributes. Though it drapes beautifully, it’s equally at home as an upholstery fabric, when used in conjunction with our MBDC Cradle to Cradle certified antimony-free polyester impregnation, which means it meets abrasion results for general contract use and solves the pilling problems that usually beset fabrics made with bamboo.

Manufacturer

O Eco Textiles

Green Attributes

Renewable Resource
Natural Dyes
heavy metal free
Sustainable Manufacturing Process
Oeko-Tex Certified
Contributes to LEED Credits

Other

Eligible for credits: indoor air quality, use of rapidly renewable resources, and/or innovation

Manuf. List Price

Upon Request

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ECOFACTS
Benign Bamboo. The bamboo fibers used in the yarns are grown in China using sustainable farming methods and harvesting techniques which do not threaten Panda habitat.
The bamboo is sent to our Japanese yarn manufacturer who developed a new viscose production method that is environmentally responsible. Manufacturing viscose requires use of a sulfuric acid bath; although the resulting yarn is non-toxic (ours is Oeko-Tex 100 certified, and safe enough to eat), the waste could create an environmental hazard.
However, our enlightened manufacturer uses bacteria and enzymes to neutralize the sulfuric acid, as well as not using another common chemical in the process (sodium hydroxide) and thereby returns wastewater to the ecosystem that meets stringent Japanese drinking water standards. There is some out gassing of the sulfuric acid to the air – air pollution. As demand for our bamboo grows, our spinner will afford to address this issue as well. All in all, even with the slight outgassing into the air, we believe our bamboo is a very important addition to the world’s textile set.
Eco-Conscious Cotton. This organic cotton is certified by Control Union (www.controlunion.de) and grown in Peru by farmers who have received the Control Union organic certification (www.controlunion.com). The Peruvian organic cotton fields are appropriate for the region, a region with very high annual rainfall. This is an important consideration because even organic cotton is a very thirsty crop. Many places in the world where it has been grown have been inappropriate choices, producing a desert that is too alkaline – such as the environmental disaster around the Aral Sea. But you can feel great about encouraging the cultivation of our organic cotton.
Proud Partner. A dedicated conservationist owns the small mill in Japan where these yarns are woven into fabric. In his state-of-the-art mill, each step of the process has been carefully analyzed to ensure that it is environmentally sound – for example, in 1995, he began treating his wastewater to be compliant with environmental regulations of the Seto Inland Sea, among the strictest in the world, resulting in COD of 12 ppm or less.
Our partner has been among the first to try new green processes, such as using ozone to bleach fabric (in which the only by product is oxygen). He uses only low impact fiber reactive dyes which contain no heavy metals or aromatic amines and which meet GOTS standards. His factory is powered 100% by the wind. Although there is no wind generator on the premises, he buys wind power from a wind farm north of the mill – the first medium size enterprise in Japan to do so. This results in a reduction of approximately 370g CO2 per yard of fabric produced – or 20 pounds of CO2 per 25 yards of fabric (about the amount needed to cover an average sofa).

About the Founders
Patty and Leigh Anne founded this company to make the whole world safer while making our personal environments more beautiful.

After forming O Ecotextiles in 2004, they began a world-wide search for manufacturing partners interested in a cradle-to-cradle process of creating no-impact, perfectly safe, incredibly luxurious fabrics.

They began working with people around the world: Romanian farmers who dew- or field-ret hemp stalks; a Japanese mill owner committed to "green" processes, even new methods such as using ozone to bleach fabric; a 100-year-old Italian mill that produces no wastewater; a Chilean mill shifting to entirely green processes; an Italian dye house that produces biodegradable, heavy-metal free textiles.

The first fabrics coming out are, as the sisters envisioned, sophisticated, stylish and "green."

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