9 Eco-Friendly Shower Curtains & Liners For That Au Natural Rinse
Things are getting sustainably steamy with eco-friendly shower curtains.
Many of our best thoughts come in the shower. As the off-gassing from our conventional shower curtain overcame the refreshing smell of our coconut zero waste shampoo, we had to wonder: what is the most eco-friendly shower curtain?
The best is a natural shower curtain—one that doesn’t release chemicals and can go back to the earth after many years of use, not litter a landfill.
If you, too, have been wondering, “What can I use instead of a plastic shower curtain?”, here are a few of our favorite bathing buddies.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. We may receive a small commission if you make a purchase through a brand link below. Learn more here.
The Best Eco-Friendly Shower Curtains For Hot Showers & A Cool Planet
Parachute is saving hygiene routines everywhere with their non-plastic shower curtain materials: 100% European flax linen and GOTS-certified organic cotton.
Add a zero-waste shower curtain from Rawganique to your bathroom and you’ll have something free of artificial additives that will naturally break down in the environment at the end of its life.
For a clean body and a clean conscience, freshen up with a fair trade shower curtain from Boll & Branch.
Watch suds go down the drain (look to the end of the article) to see how we scrubbed up with the best of the bunch and answered, “What is an eco-friendly shower curtain?”
The Full List Of Sustainable Shower Curtains & Liners
1. Parachute
About Parachute
Women-founded brand Parachute offers a selection of quality, comfortable home goods.
Everything—including their blankets, organic robes, and organic mattress protectors—is ethically made by gifted artisans.
Making sustainable showering as easy as 1-2-3, Parachute also offers a range of natural shower curtains, liners, and shower curtain hangers.
These include cotton Waffle Shower Curtain, Turkish Cotton Shower Curtain, Linen Shower Curtain, and Organic Cloud Cotton Shower Curtain.
Parachute’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
A sustainable fabric that requires only limited inputs, European flax is a material we can get behind which is why Parachute’s 100% linen shower curtain is one of the best.
If your shower goes a little longer, you can feel good about the Organic Cloud Cotton Shower Curtains and their water-saving GOTS-certified organic cotton.
Parachute is OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified, which means their shower curtains are as clean as you are post-scrub (read: free of harmful chemicals and synthetics).
Supply chain & labor practices:
Parachute’s linen shower curtains are made in a family-owned factory in Portugal that honors passed-down traditions.
While that is their main manufacturing partner, the natural cotton shower curtains are made via a smaller partner in Turkey.
Green business practices:
Parachute is Climate Neutral-certified and recently launched their first circular program, a Recycled Down Pillow crafted from returned Parachute down pillows and a 70% recycled cotton shell.
Inclusivity:
Last year, more than half of Parachute’s paid influencer budget was dedicated to BIPOC individuals.
Community & Charitable Giving:
Aware of the injustices in business, Parachute’s Home for Dreams Initiative provides mentorship, grant money, and finance and marketing education to Black entrepreneurs.
Parachute also donates malaria-prevention nets to people in need through their partnership with the United Nations’ Nothing but Nets campaign.
Available: Parachute
2. Boll & Branch
About Boll & Branch
Before or after you cozy up with their sustainable blankets and eco-friendly pillows, let Boll & Branch leave you with a clean body and conscience.
Run by a wife-husband duo, this US brand feels proud of its home textile range, which includes a small-but-sustainable range of natural shower curtains.
Boll & Branch’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Whether you opt for the waffle style or the hand-painted Signature Botanical Shower Curtain, Boll & Branch only uses 100% cotton that’s both OEKO-TEX and GOTS-certified organic.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Boll & Branch’s bath products—including their eco-friendly shower curtains—are made in fair trade environments in India, Turkey, and Pakistan.
So far, they’ve paid more than $880,000 in fair wages and community development funds.
Green business practices:
In addition to eco-friendly, sustainably-produced packaging, Boll & Branch also saves emissions by transporting via boat.
They avoid toxic residues and harmful chemicals across their entire product line.
Community & Charitable Giving:
Between donating mattresses to those in need, sharing 10% of profits with Direct Relief, and providing bedding for returning US service members, Boll & Branch goes the extra mile to make its ethical shower curtains truly ethical.
Available: Boll & Branch
3. Coyuchi
About Coyuchi
Coyuchi is a brand we aren’t so coy about loving.
Hailing from California, this organic bedding brand is passionate about filling homes around the globe with natural, sustainable materials—which is what they use for robes, sleepwear, sustainable towels, sheets, organic comforters, and eco-friendly shower curtains.
Transforming any bathroom into a “restorative bathing experience” their trio of natural fiber shower curtains includes a Mediterranean Organic Shower Curtain inspired by the softness of their best-selling Turkish cotton towels.
Coyuchi’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Whether you go with Mediterranean, rippled, or waffle looks, you’ll get eco-friendly shower curtains made with only natural fibers: 100% GOTS-certified organic cotton.
Doubling as eco-friendly shower curtain liners, the water can simply be squeezed out at the end of the shower and left to air dry. Machine wash for extra freshness.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Coyuchi sources and weaves their organic cotton in Turkey or India, but keeps the sourcing and manufacturing in the same respective country (yay localized supply chains).
They partner with several fair trade equivalent factories and have a range of certifications that are a testament to their ethical supply chain.
Green business practices:
While they don’t accept old shower curtains, Coyuchi does have a 2nd Home Take Back program that accepts old linens to be recycled.
Not only does this keep sustainable materials out of landfills, but it also provides customers with a discount on future orders.
So far, they’ve kept nearly 44,000 pounds of textile waste out of landfills.
Best of all, Coyuchi is pioneering the use of fabrics sourced via climate-beneficial farming including Climate Beneficial Wool.
Community & Charitable Giving:
As members of 1% for the Planet, Coyuchi donates a portion of their profits to organizations like Fibershed, the California Native Plant Society, and White Buffalo Land Trust.
Available: Coyuchi
4. Rawganique
About Rawganique
As the brainchild of a couple of off-grid homesteaders, it’s no surprise that Rawganique is one of the best places to source sustainable products.
With an emphasis on local manufacturing and organic fabrics, Rawganique constantly impresses with its range of clothing, accessories, organic rugs, and other goods for around the house.
We already shed some light on their organic curtains (the window kind), and now we’d love to dive behind one of their sustainable hemp shower curtains—along with organic cotton and linen.
One of the only brands with eco-friendly shower curtain hangers, Rawganique’s are made with eco-dyed hemp macrame.
Rawganique’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Rawganique’s shower curtains are made of squeaky clean organic materials: 100% organic European hemp, organic cotton, or organic linen.
These cotton, linen, and hemp shower curtains are PVC-free and chemical-free—which means no off-gassing.
Working as the best waterproof non-plastic shower curtain, they can be waxed for waterproofing. If mold and mildew take root in your hemp curtain, wash it following their care instructions.
The colors come from either hydrogen peroxide bleach-free whitening or biodegradable, low-impact eco dyes.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Rawganique mostly works with a single atelier in Europe, which is also where all of its organic fabrics are grown.
A few products are made and/or finished in the USA or Canada.
Green business practices:
Going beyond their non-toxic shower curtain line, all Rawganique products are completely free of toxic chemicals like dioxin, VOCs, plastic, PVC, vinyl, and formaldehyde.
Available: Rawganique
5. Dusty Linen
About Dusty Linen
Dusty Linen is located in Vilnius, Lithuania, where the cultivation and processing of this fabulous flax-based material go back thousands of years.
It’s what goes into all of their bedding, aprons, curtains, and other textiles.
This Etsy shop’s natural linen shower curtain range includes several colors and sizes as well as some waterproof options.
Dusty Linen’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
These non-plastic shower curtains are made with 100% OEKO-TEX-certified European stonewashed linen.
For those with a waterproof lining, this is made of durable 100% polyester, using technologies to make it softer than standard waterproof fabrics.
Supply chain & labor practices:
A relative newcomer to Etsy, Dusty Linen has already had more than 1,300 sales. Shop owner Rita views her products as a long-term investment.
Everything is handmade in Lithuania.
Available: Etsy
6. Best Custom Curtains
About Best Custom Curtains
Coming to the rest of the world from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Best Custom Curtains is a one-stop shop for home and bath accessories.
The real star of the show is their sustainable hemp shower curtains, which come in dozens of colors like Desert Taupe and Sun-Dried Tomato.
Best Custom Curtains’ Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
In addition to the hemp shower curtains—which are made with a blend of organic hemp and linen—there’s also a natural cotton shower curtain that’s organic and features a waterproof beeswax layer.
Other sustainable options include those made with 100% linen or conventional cotton. We’d probably avoid their plastic shower curtains made of velvet.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Best Custom Curtains is operated by a group of women with diverse ethnicities and backgrounds—from teachers and veterans to engineers and chemists.
They’re based in Europe, South America, the Caribbean, and the USA.
Each organic cotton, linen, or hemp shower curtain is carefully made in BCC’s Florida-based studio.
Available: Etsy
7. Bean Products
About Bean Products
Decades before “green” was cool, Bean Products began handcrafting environmentally friendly home essentials.
“Customized comfort with personal panache” is what you’ll get when you purchase their hemp bean bag chairs, body pillows, eco-friendly yoga mats, and eco-friendly dog beds.
But we’re going down a drain hole here, let’s turn our attention back to their environmentally-friendly shower curtains. Available in three materials, they’re here to “save the planet and your bathroom.”
Bean Products’ Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Bean Product’s natural fabric shower curtains feature Romanian hemp, organic cotton, and natural undyed cotton—processed without harsh chemicals or chlorine bleach.
Their fast-drying properties mean they work sans a plastic liner. Just be sure to machine wash once a month.
Each natural fabric shower curtain comes studded with strong, rustproof nickel-plated brass grommets for hanging.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Most items—including their bathroom accessories—are proudly handcrafted in Bean Products’ own sewing factory in Chicago, USA.
Some of the hemp for each hemp shower curtain is sourced domestically.
Green business practices:
Bean Products accepts and encourages custom orders, which allows them to minimize waste.
You can select an option at check out to make your order carbon neutral.
Community & charitable giving:
Bean Products partners with organizations like The Hemp Foundation to promote the conservation of Indigenous hemp cultivars.
For every purchase, they plant a tree with Trees for the Future.
Available: Bean Products
8. Machado Linen Mill
About Machado Linen Mill
Fairtrade artisan collective The Citizenry has showered Machado Linen Mill with love—and we’ll do the same.
This brand stole our hearts with their Stonewashed Linen Shower curtain—one of the best Fair Trade shower curtains to splash around with.
Machado Linen Mill’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Made with only the finest French flax, the environmentally friendly shower curtain is also OEKO-TEX certified.
Top it off (literally) with a kit that includes eco-friendly shower curtain hangers (stainless steel rings) and a washable shower curtain liner that’s eco-friendly.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Crafted in Portugal, the fair trade shower curtain is made with linen sourced and processed in the oldest, family-run mill in the country.
100% of products on The Citizenry are made in a fair trade environment guaranteed by the World Fair Trade Organization. They pay double the fair trade wage requirement.
Green business practices:
The Portuguese mill has established programs to recycle energy on the town’s power grid.
Community & Charitable Giving:
10% of all proceeds on The Citizenry are directly invested back into artisan communities.
Available: The Citizenry
9. Pottery Barn
About Pottery Barn
Pottery Barn is a household name.
Despite their size and seven decades of being in business, they’re pioneering sustainability among major furniture and home decor brands.
Their selection of sustainable shower curtains is impressive, ranging from minimalist colors to fun prints.
Pottery Barn’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Pottery Barn uses three natural fibers for their eco shower curtains: 100% GOTS-certified cotton, 100% Belgian flax linen, and 100% BCI cotton. Some bear OEKO-TEX® certification.
These can be paired with their eco-friendly shower curtain liner, which is PVC-free.
Supply chain & labor practices:
The linen shower curtains are produced in a Fair Trade-certified factory. Look for the badge to find other fair trade products on their site.
So far, Pottery Barn has paid over $7 million in fair trade community development funds.
Green business practices:
91% of their cotton is responsibly sourced, i.e. certified organic or naturally grown through their membership with the BCI.
Their sustainable outdoor furniture uses 100% FSC-certified wood.
Thanks to these efforts (and more), Textile Exchange and Sustainable Furnishings Council have named them a leader in responsible textiles.
Pottery Barn partners with the Renewal Workshop to offer a Renewed line of home furnishings and works to divert 75% of production waste from landfills.
Community & Charitable Giving:
When you buy a piece of their wooden indoor furniture, they plant one tree through the Arbor Day Foundation.
They support other organizations including HERproject, and VisionSpring.
Available: Pottery Barn
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Why Invest In A Natural Shower Curtain & Liner?
For safer showers
A nice, hot shower at the end of a long day is magical. Realizing your plastic curtain is potentially toxic, not so much.
Most conventional shower curtains and liners are made with polyvinyl chloride (PVC), the most harmful type of plastic.
PVC shower curtains have been shown to contain dangerous chemicals like phthalates, organotins, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which may be released into the air.
To clean up the end-of-life fate
Do shower curtains biodegrade?
Not when they’re traditional plastic shower curtains.
There’s no safe way to dispose of OR recycle a synthetic shower curtain, but you could consider repurposing it.
An old shower curtain can be used as a painting drop cloth or donated to a school art department. You could pack it with your eco-friendly camping gear to use it as a lightweight liner between your tent and the cold, damp ground.
Old fabric curtains can also be cut up into rags, used as drawer liners, or laid on top of car seats when riding with pets.
What’s The Most Environmentally Friendly Shower Curtain Liner?
The best way to waterproof your body washing is with a natural shower curtain liner.
This could be a natural fiber shower curtain that’s just air-dried between showers (with the occasional machine wash). Another eco-option includes a sustainable shower curtain coated with something that will naturally repel water, like beeswax.
As far as non-plastic-free options go, a PEVA shower curtain liner is an okay alternative to PVC, as it’s more biodegradable and recyclable.
How We Chose These Eco Shower Curtain Brands
Most shower curtains release chemicals while in use and as they sit in landfills for thousands of years.
That’s as bad as cold water shock mid hot shower.
Fortunately, we can avoid miserable showers and a messy planet by referring to our sustainable fashion criteria when shopping for sustainable shower curtains.
Materials:
We’d like to share the shower with the same materials that we wear.
This typically means natural fabrics like certified organic cotton, linen, and hemp fabric. Bonus: hemp shower curtains are naturally mold resistant.
Avoiding synthetic fabrics across the board mean zero waste shower curtain options, as these will naturally biodegrade in the environment at the end of their life.
If plastic is involved, recycled shower curtains at least ensure it’s not virgin plastic.
Unfortunately, finding non-plastic shower curtain liners is still more of a chore than scrubbing the tile because waterproofing usually demands plastic. At the very least, we avoided PVC.
- Certifications: OEKO-TEX 100, Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), Better Cotton Initiative (BCI)
Supply chain & labor practices:
Many companies are taking extra steps to ensure employees are paid living wages and kept safe from unsafe working conditions and toxic chemicals associated with traditional shower curtains.
While certifications might soothe like hot water, they’re not infallible so above all we look for transparency, because being willing to bare all like you just got out of the shower shows a brand has nothing shady to hide.
- Certifications: fair trade, World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO)
Green business practices:
We’re happy to see some green in the shower (no, we’re not talking about mold).
In addition to eco-friendly products, more brands are using localized supply chains, regenerative agriculture, sustainable shipping materials, and carbon offset programs.
Community & charitable giving:
This isn’t necessary but it makes us feel extra fresh and clean to know many companies are donating a portion of each sale or annual profits to organizations committed to environmental and social justice.
Final Thoughts On Sustainable Shower Curtains
You can scrub-a-dub-dub and help save the planet at the same time with the help of these low and zero waste shower curtain options.
While you’re at it, grab an eco-friendly razor and bars of soap and you’ll be well on your way to a zero-waste bathroom.
Seemingly small changes to simple everyday routines (like showering) can have a big impact. And keeping plastic (and toxic chemicals) out of our bathroom is the best way to really get clean.
So what is the most eco-friendly shower?
For the same reasons we prefer body wash refills and all things reusable, it’s the one already in your bathroom, so take care of it to prevent mold growth.
Always stretch it out so it can air dry post-shower and keep a well-ventilated bathroom. Depending on the weather, you can open a window or run a fan.
For more sustainable shower curtain brands to support when you do need something new, check out our list of non-toxic shower curtains.
If you have loved ones who could use more planet-friendly personal spaces, make their steamy showers more sustainable by sharing this list with them.
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So NONE of these companies have sustainable curtain liners. They are polyster or PEVA, which is better but both are still plastic, and if you are buying the recycling industries claim they are “recyclable” then you are on the take. PEVA still has chlorine in it, just less than PVC. And polyester is still plastic. The topic of this article was curtains AND liners, but I found only one that even sells a liner. And its NOT a good choice. You need to update your info.
Hi Chris, sorry to hear you’re disappointed with the article. It is tricky to find shower curtains and liners that are perfectly eco friendly but we’re always refreshing these lists with the best available at the time so if you happen to find better ones on your hunt, please do share.
What about liners?
Hi Vic, sorry about the very long delay in replying. We’ve featured a bunch of brands that have liners in this article if helpful!