Winter 2010

Textiles Trends By Sue Marquette Poremba

Seeing Green in Textiles

As environmental consciousness in the general public grows, organic materials such as organic cotton are increasingly in demand. And it’s not hard to see why.

“I think people are trying to make their homes as healthy as can be,” says Megy Karydes of Chicago-based Karydes Consulting. “This especially relates to organic cotton bedding. We spend hours at a time in our bedroom, so you want to be in an environment that’s not harmful to you,” she says. Sheila Mulvihill says there are many reasons—aside from the fact that it helps the environment—why customers choose organic bedding. “For people who have allergies, organic bedding provides many benefits. Since the fibers are grown without the use of pesticides, they are without many of the chemicals that are found in other [conventional] bedding,” says the owner of Plover Organic, a wholesaler of green textiles.

The company sells organic bedding such as quilts, duvets, sheets, throw pillows, and crib bedding. The company also sells many table linen options. Mulvihill says that all products are made using low-impact fiber reactive dyes and that all prints are block-printed by hand.

Karydes says that organic cotton bedding is an especially strong contender in the children’s bedding market, a trend that Mulvihill confirms. One of the most popular sellers at Plover Organic, for example, is crib bedding.

Karydes speculates that in today’s economy, children’s bedding may be selling better than other types because of who purchases it and why. Adult bedding is a personal purchase, whereas infant and children’s bedding is often bought by grandparents or as gifts, she points out.

To best market items made with organic cottons, Karydes recommends retailers and manufacturers provide as much information as possible to the end user. “Let them know exactly what the product is made of, what makes it organic,” she says. “Give the [customers] information to read. Wash a bed sheet and display it so [customers] can see how it feels and looks before and after it is laundered. Use as many senses as possible to present the product,” Karydes recommends.

Sue Marquette Poremba

Sue Marquette Poremba is a freelance writer based in State College, PA. She specializes in technology, engineering, energy, and IT security topics. She has also published over a dozen essays and is the author of a book about the Philadelphia Phillies.