LAURIE'S FAVORITES.
At LAURIE, longevity is crucial. We aim to create wardrobe favorites, and once you've fallen in love with a particular t-shirt or a specific pair of pants, we believe that love should not fade. Therefore, each of our materials is carefully selected, and we always seek the most sustainable textiles on the market.
There are four particular materials that we love working with due to their special quality, comfort, and, most importantly, their environmental friendliness. Learn more about all four of them below, here on this page. Would you like to learn more about our approach to even more materials? Then you can delve into our material guide here.
In fact, a whole 25% of the world's total pesticide consumption comes from conventionally grown cotton. This poses a serious threat to the groundwater that supplies water to many of the world's poorest production countries. Additionally, it puts rare, natural habitats under pressure. Globally, today, less than 1% of the total cotton production is organic. To classify cotton as organic, the following requirements must be met:
- No use of pesticides, insecticides, or defoliants
- No use of artificial fertilizers
- No use of genetic modification (GMO)
At LAURIE, we exclusively use organically grown cotton. It is not satisfactory that this type of cotton accounts for less than 1% of the world's total cotton production. Although LAURIE is just a drop in the textile oceans, we take our responsibility for a greener future very seriously. We do it for the sake of cotton farmers. We do it for the sake of nature and all living beings. And we do it for your sake. The production of organic cotton began around 1990, but the history of cotton goes much further back. Scientists have found pieces of cotton balls and cotton clothing in Mexican caves that are at least 7000 years old. Arab merchants introduced cotton clothing to Europe around 800 AD, and by around 1500 AD, cotton was known worldwide. However, the most groundbreaking development occurred in 1720 when the cotton machine was invented in England. When you buy cotton clothing from LAURIE, you can be sure that it comes from organically grown cotton plantations where both people and the environment are cared for.
LENZING™ ECOVERO™ is produced by the Austrian company Lenzing, and it can be briefly described as sustainable viscose. The material is made from renewable wood fibers, which are transformed into textile fibers using much less water and energy than conventionally grown viscose requires. LENZING™ ECOVERO™ viscose fibers from Lenzing are certified with the EU Flower, meaning high environmental standards are met throughout the lifecycle – from raw material extraction to production, distribution, and disposal. Additionally, Lenzing has documented that the production of LENZING™ ECOVERO™ viscose fibers involves up to 50% less water and energy compared to conventionally produced viscose.
A special system allows the identification of LENZING™ ECOVERO™ viscose fibers in the final product, even after extensive processes in textile production and transformation in the value chain. When you purchase clothing labeled with LENZING™ ECOVERO™, you can be 100% certain of the origin of the sustainable viscose. At LAURIE, the LENZING™ ECOVERO™ viscose type constitutes 97.5% of our total viscose consumption, and our goal is to reach 100% by 2022. Trees are invaluable to our climate, and we aim for a future where our viscose clothing is exclusively made from fibers sourced from replanted forests. In other words, from forests certified by FSC® or PEFC™. When you buy clothing made from LENZING™ ECOVERO™ viscose at LAURIE, you contribute to a greener future while pampering your skin with the softest feel.
In addition, it can absorb more moisture than cotton, preventing you from feeling sweaty. Once you've fallen in love with a piece of TENCEL™, you can enter into a long and happy relationship, as TENCEL™ doesn't lose its color. Not after 10 washes, not after 20 washes, not even after 30 washes.
If you haven't heard of TENCEL™, you might be familiar with Lyocell. They are, in fact, identical materials, but the name TENCEL® can only be used when it comes from the Austrian manufacturer Lenzing, which is at the forefront of environmentally friendly production methods. The raw material in TENCEL™ is Lyocell, consisting of 100% pure cellulose. TENCEL™ is a fiber derived from nature but artificially produced through modern technology. Eucalyptus trees primarily form the basis for TENCEL™ fiber production. Eucalyptus is a rapidly growing tree that requires no artificial irrigation and provides a significant yield. This results in many environmental benefits, and the tree can be cultivated in areas where it is difficult to grow anything, and neither food nor cotton can thrive.
The production of TENCEL™ takes place in a closed system, and almost 100% of the used chemicals and water can be recycled. The amount of waste from the process is minimal, and in the final stages of the TENCEL™ product's life cycle, the fiber can be recycled, with 99% of the fiber being biodegradable. If you haven't already acquainted yourself with TENCEL™, we strongly encourage you to do so. Both for your sake and for the sake of the environment.
Additionally, we love how little it wrinkles, how well it absorbs moisture – and, above all, how breathable it is. You will find it in many of our t-shirts in combination with organic cotton. This partnership provides long-lasting durability in both fabric and color – and longevity is, in our opinion, a prerequisite for a greener future. Thanks to its array of fantastic properties, the demand for LENZING Modal® has been steadily increasing since the 1990s. Over the past three decades, production has gone from 30,000 tons to 100,000 tons per year. LENZING Modal® has been called "the softest fabric in the world" – and while it is indeed silky-soft, we at LAURIE believe that what feels like the absolute softest against the skin is subjective. Nevertheless, LENZING Modal® is characterized by being both color and shape-resistant, making it one of the most environmentally friendly alternatives in textiles. For example, 10-20 times less water is used in the production of LENZING Modal® compared to the cultivation of cotton. Furthermore, LENZING Modal® from the parent company Lenzing – the source of everything LAURIE produces with LENZING Modal® – is even CO2-neutral, as cellulose creation is an integral part of the production process.
When you wear LAURIE t-shirts made with LENZING Modal®, you are in both soft and comfortable company, and we almost guarantee that they will become closet favorites. Added to the great feeling it gives when the well-being of the environment is taken seriously.