9 Sustainable Towels To Upgrade Your Bathroom And Support The Environment
While contemplating life in the shower (obviously), we had an eco-epiphany about the necessity for sustainable towels.
We realized that it makes little sense to use carefully selected eco-friendly shampoo only to dry ourselves in a bath of synthetic fabrics treated with toxic chemicals.
We feel cleaner already, knowing that’s not how our therapeutic showers have to end. Rather than defeat our sustainable scrubbing efforts, let’s clean ourselves and our dirty planet up, one eco-friendly towel at a time.
What are the most eco-friendly towels, though?
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The Top Sustainable Towels To Keep Your Conscience As Clean As Your Body
We’re quick to think of Slowtide’s collection of natural or recycled ethical towels that support the ethical textile wave with certified fabrics and factories.
If you plan to hit the beach, look no further than Nomadix. Though designed for travel, their catalog of fun, fair trade towels made from recycled resources could easily add a planet-friendly pop to your home bathroom, too.
Whether you need sustainable kitchen towels or those for the bathroom, Delilah Home will outfit your home in only the best organic cotton weave that’s fluffy, luxurious, and durable.
If you want to scrub away the dirt on how we made this list of sustainable bath towel brands, take a dip here.
The Full List of Eco-Friendly & Ethical Towels
- Slowtide | Visit Store
- Pact | Visit Store
- Nomadix | Visit Store
- Cariloha | Visit Store
- Delilah Home | Visit Store
- Magic Linen | Visit Store
- Coyuchi | Visit Store
- LinenCasa | Visit Store
- ettitude | Visit Store
1. Slowtide
About Slowtide
Price Range: $19–$195
Slowtide’s collection of sustainable bath towels will help you ride the slow fashion tides—and trust us, these towels are straight up fashionable.
Luxuriously large bath towels aside, they produce towels for the beach, kitchen, gym, and everywhere in between—including your eco-friendly yoga mat!
Their prints take inspiration from pop culture and music, like The Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, and Wu-Tang Clan—like the Staten Quick-Dry Towel with the infamous Wu-Tang Clan logo, made from 100% post-consumer waste.
Slowtide’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
All of Slowtide’s cotton is certified through the Cotton LEADS program™, ensuring sustainable production and traceability in the supply chain.
The quick-dry eco-friendly microfiber towels, fleece blankets, and camp blankets are made from 100% GRS-certified recycled consumer waste, primarily from plastic bottles.
All products exceed OEKO-TEX certification standards, meaning they do not contain any harmful or allergy-causing substances.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Slowtide works with global suppliers who share their values of sustainability, accountability, and transparency.
They require their suppliers to participate in independent third-party audits, ensuring living wages, responsible labor environments, reasonable hours, and comfortable working conditions.
Some of these third-party auditors include Sedex, SCAN, and Amfori BSCI.
Community & charitable giving:
Slowtide gives back whenever possible, working with organizations like Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii, Good360, Surfrider Foundation, and others.
2. Pact
About Pact
Price Range: $20–$140
If you’re looking for some of the most natural sustainable towels, USA-based Pact will make quite the impact on you.
Their line of sustainable hand towels, bath towels, and wash clothes will tackle any water your zero waste bathroom can throw at them.
For Turkish cotton towels, ethical meets super soft in the lightweight Airy Waffle Bath Towel.
Pact’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
100% GOTS-certified organic cotton is kind of Pact’s thing—and this is precisely what’s found in everything they offer, from ethical bath towels to organic sweatpants.
Supply chain & labor practices:
The certified Fair Trade bath towels feel extra amazing because you know that soft organic cotton also supports cotton farmers.
Partnering with Indian farms and factories means that Pact not only reduces the geographical span of their supply chain, but also helps to support these communities by providing fair wages.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
Pact towels are packaged in a reusable bag, joining the rest of their reusable, recyclable, and compostable shipping materials.
They’re partnered with SimpliZero to offset the carbon footprint of their entire supply chain, shipping included.
Community & charitable giving:
Not only is their packaging sustainable, but it also serves a social purpose. Customers can use the boxes in which they receive their order to send back gently used clothes from any brand for donation.
Through this Give Back.Wear Forward program, any type of unwanted clothing (doesn’t need to be Pact brand) can benefit others in need.
3. Nomadix
About Nomadix
Price Range: $24–$119
If you’re looking for a sustainable beach towel brand with products as adventure-ready as they are absorbent, Nomadix may truly offer The Only Towel You Need™.
Their ethical lightweight towels are perfect for travel, camping, yoga, days at the beach, and so much more.
Beach goers will love the vibrant designs of their Original Towel alongside the sand, pet hair, and funk resistance.
Nomadix’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Nomadix’s eco dry towels are made from a blend of post-consumer recycled plastic bottles and recycled polyester that’s OEKO-TEX certified.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Each eco-friendly travel towel comes from a US factory that’s FLA-certified and committed to fair labor practices and safe working conditions.
Nomadix sources materials as locally as possible to reduce the carbon footprint of its supply chain.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
Nomadix holds a Climate Neutral certification, meaning they offset their total greenhouse gas emissions.
They are partnered with BEF and Carbonfund.org to support renewable energy and forestry projects, like wetland conservation and forest management.
They use recyclable cardboard shipping materials and compostable product bags.
Community & charitable giving:
Nomadix is a member of 1% for the planet, donating 1% of sales to organizations like Fifty-Nine Parks, Conservation Alliance, and Surfrider Foundation. 100% of proceeds from the Brave Trails collection goes to supporting LGBTQ+ youth.
4. Cariloha
About Cariloha
Price Range: $24–$49
Are bamboo bath towels eco-friendly?
Cariloha certainly thinks so.
Their sustainable bamboo towels combine luxury and odor resistance in carbon-neutral products, like the ultra-absorbent and spa-like quality Bamboo Bath Towel.
PS: If you’re looking for ethical men’s underwear brands to stay clean after the bath, Cariloha’s bamboo can help you there, too.
Cariloha’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Cariloha uses a unique blend of bamboo fabric and Turkish cotton in their eco-friendly bath towels, which they call “Bamboo Cotton.”
All Cariloha items are tested for toxic substances, bearing either OEKO-TEX 100 or OEKO-TEX Made In Green certification.
Supply chain & labor practices:
The Certified B Corp has Fair Trade partners in the U.S., China, Turkey, Mexico, and India, ensuring living wages and ethical working conditions.
Cariloha’s raw bamboo is grown in the Sichuan province of China, by suppliers adhering to the SFI sustainable forestry certification standards.
It is then transformed into bamboo fiber in China’s Hebei province, woven and spun worldwide.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
The Cariloha Cares Initiative is their path to reducing their overall carbon footprint and supporting the environment.
Cutting out all carbon emissions without offsetting is their ultimate goal, with land reforestation, solar, and wind power projects, meaning some of their towels are already carbon-neutral.
The brand also aims to use recyclable, FSC-certified packaging in all product categories and eliminate single-use plastic bags.
Other efforts include switching to renewable materials and creating a program so customers can renew, upcycle or recycle previously used products.
Community & charitable giving:
Cariloha gives back to numerous organizations tackling all manner of issues, from cancer to child trafficking.Their partners include the Mauli Ola Foundation, Operation Underground Railroad, and Make-A-Wish, to name a few.
5. Delilah Home
About Delilah Home
Price Range: $29–$99
Delilah Home is named after a puppy lost in the cold North Carolina mountains, where a whole community rallied to save her.
Just like the story, this organic towel brand is built on resilience, sustainability, and community.
Clean up your home with their chemical-free natural fiber bedsheets and luxuriously fluffy sustainable cotton towels for any room in the house.
Delilah Home’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Delilah’s beach, bath, and eco-friendly kitchen towels are made from organic Turkish cotton that’s certified by the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) and Vegan.org.
These ethical Turkish towels do not include any allergenic, carcinogenic, or toxic chemicals commonly utilized in traditional cotton production.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Delilah Home partners with Fair Trade factories, investigating every farm to see how crops are grown and employees are treated while crafting these fair trade towels.
Their OneCert certification ensures their entire supply chain is inspected, verified, and certified—extending from their warehouse in Charleston to their corporate office in North Carolina.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
Delilah Home is also affiliated with the Organic Trade Association (OTA), Green America, and the Textile Exchange.
Community & charitable giving:
Delilah Home donates 10% of its profits to charity, including 1% for the Planet and Operation Warm.
6. Magic Linen
About Magic Linen
Price Range: $18–$74
What is the best alternative to cotton towels?
Magic Linen thinks it’s linen and, as their name suggests, they’re all about sharing the magic of this natural fabric with the rest of the world.
The family-operated Lithuanian business produces some of the highest quality linen towels (both bath and hand towels), bedding, clothing, and more.
Lightweight, ethical towels, like the Waffle Bath Towel, are gently exfoliating and naturally antimicrobial.
Pairing one of their exceptional bath towels with one of their linen bath mats or washing sponge will up your sustainable hygiene routine tenfold.
Magic Linen’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Stone-washed linen (made from 100% European flax) is blended with cotton for maximum softness and a home spa experience.
All Magic Linen products are certified by OEKO-TEX and GOTS, making them free of harmful substances and chemicals.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Magic Linen works with a third-party agency to ensure their flax farms and factories keep all stages of production as ethical and respectful as possible.
Magic Linen is a Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists member, a leading business organization in Lithuania committed to ethical and sustainable business practices.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
In addition to using a natural, readily biodegradable, and durable material in their ethical towels, Magic Linen recently partnered with an environmentally friendly packaging supplier.
They now ship their linen clothing, towels, and other home textiles in mailers made from corn starch and PBAT (bio-based polymer).
7. Coyuchi
About Coyuchi
Price Range: $8–$238
California-based Coyuchi, has something “organic for every room,” including the bathroom, kitchen, and bedroom.
They have a diverse catalog of sustainable bath linens, like towels, robes, shower curtains, and bath mats.
The Air Weight Collection is “the hardest working towel in the bathroom,” made from 100% organic cotton that’s bubbling (er, bubble bathing?) with certifications.
If it’s sustainable dish towels you’re after, the texture of their Organic Waffle Kitchen Towels is pleasing you might actually stop dreading doing the dishes.
Coyuchi’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Coyuchi has several collections of eco bath towel, kitchen towel, and beach towels, all of which are made of 100% GOTS-certified organic cotton.
The Mediterranean Collection is also MADE SAFE certified, while the Air Weight Collection is GOTS, MADE SAFE, and Fair Trade certified.
Supply chain & labor practices:
You can see in the product description where the towels have been grown and woven (either in India or Turkey). Regardless of which, the factories are Fair Trade certified.
Going above and beyond Fair Trade, Couychi pays an additional amount into a Community Development Fund, which their workers can use as they wish or need.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
Each product lists its impact: how much drinking water and emissions are saved, and how much land is farmed without pesticides.
Coyuchi partners with factories that recycle water and only use recyclable/reusable packaging materials.
They also have a 2nd Home™ recycling service where you can return your used Coyuchi bed and bath linens to divert waste from landfills and get a discount on new ones. The materials are recycled or resold in partnership with the Renewal Workshop.
Community & charitable giving:
As a member of 1% for the Planet, Coyuchi donates a portion of its annual sales to Fibershed and the White Buffalo Land, both of which are committed to regenerative agriculture, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity.
8. LinenCasa
About LinenCasa
Price Range: $28–$30
Husband and wife duo Tanya and Marco are the faces behind LinenCasa. As lovers of linen, they decided to turn their passion for this power plant into an ethical business.
They have a vast catalog of kitchen, table, bedroom, and bathroom linens at reasonable price points.
Any one of their environmentally friendly towels will be a fine addition to your kitchen, but if you want a rustic yet elegant ethical tea towel, their Natural Trim + Dot Hemstitch varieties add the perfect finishing touch to sustainable tea time.
LinenCasa’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
As suggested by their name, LinenCasa’s material of choice is 100% stonewashed linen in medium or thick weights.
It’s all locally grown and OEKO-TEX certified.
Supply chain & labor practices:
LinenCasa works with Belarusian flax growers, who grow the plant (along with its beautiful blue flowers) fully before they harvest, which benefits pollinators and helps increase biodiversity.
The harvesting process is done by hand, including removing the seeds, breaking the stalks into smaller pieces, and spinning the long fibers into linen yarn to be made into sustainable dish towels in small batches.
9. ettitude
About ettitude
Price Range: $24–$94
The eco-friendly towels at ettitude have attitude.
The Certified B Corp produces some of the best sustainable bath towels, bedding, loungewear, apparel, and accessories using closed-loop sustainably produced bamboo.
The Waffle Towels are ideal for stepping out of a hot shower, as they’re ethically made, delicate on the skin, and have quick drying benefits.
ettitude’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
ettitude’s towels are made from 100% organic and FSC-certified bamboo lyocell fabric.
They refer to the waffle weave fabric as CleanBamboo™, as it is OEKO-TEX certified as free from harmful chemicals and ideal for delicate skin.
Supply chain & labor practices:
They partner with WRAP-certified factories, ensuring living wages, safe working conditions, and zero child labor. ettitude visits its factories regularly to ensure responsible practices are maintained.
Their cut and sew partners are audited by SMETA and BSCI under strict ethical criteria, and their Code of Conduct agreement ensures all new suppliers uphold their standards.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
Through a closed-loop bamboo manufacturing process, ettitude recycles all water and chemical solvents used.
They also have textile recycling programs in the United States and Australia, allowing customers to return their gently-used products for repurposing and credit.
Ettitude has also partnered with CarbonClick to offset the carbon emissions generated by their business operations, including shipping and packaging, which is done in resealable bags designed to encourage reuse.
Community & charitable giving:
Ettitude has donated products to local homeless and animal shelters. They also contribute to 1% for the planet to help support global environmental causes.
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How We Found The Best Sustainable Towels
It doesn’t make sense to take a shower or bath only to wrap up in something made with plastic-containing materials or produced using harmful materials, does it?
To get squeaky clean and stay squeaky clean, we folded and unfolded many towels until we found this stack of bath sheets and towels.
While not fashion per se, many of the same criteria apply to towels and clothes regarding ethics and sustainability (textiles are textiles).
With our sustainable and ethical fashion guide in mind, this is what we looked for in the best eco-friendly towels:
Materials:
We’re obviously not a fan of toxin-laden synthetic fabrics—especially when it comes in direct contact with us in our birthday suits.
Therefore, we’d prefer to wrap our freshly-showered bodies in bath or eco-friendly hair towels made from natural materials like organic cotton and linen.
Bamboo lyocell also gets a “yes” from us, as long as it’s sustainable bamboo made in a closed-loop manner.
The only synthetic we would consider is recycled polyester, since it’s using something already considered waste. If we can head to the beach with a towel made from recycled ocean plastic pollution, that’s a sandy step in the right direction.
Remember recycled polyester still isn’t biodegradable and may release microplastics unless washed using a Guppyfriend wash bag.
- Certifications: OEKO-TEX, Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), Global Recycle Standard (GRS), Cotton LEADS, Vegan.org, MADE SAFE, bluesign®, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI)
Supply chain and labor practices:
If we bear all of these bath towels, we want sustainable brands to do the same (figuratively, of course).
We love knowing exactly where the materials have been sourced, where the workers are located, and how they’re supported with safe and fair working conditions. Fair pay, of course, is a must.
Manufacturing certifications help keep those white cotton towels from getting stained by greenwashing.
- Certifications: Fair Labor Association (FLA), Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit (SMETA), Supplier Compliance Audit Network (SCAN), Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI), B Corporation (B Corp), Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP)
Carbon commitments & green practices:
Choosing a natural material that doesn’t require much in the way of chemicals or water is the first step towards being green.
Better still when a brand goes the extra mile by utilizing carbon offset programs, recyclable/compostable packaging, closed loop or resource conserving manufacturing techniques, and slow, intentional handcrafting methods.
Community & charitable giving:
Nothing feels more refreshing than a long hot shower (drought permitting, of course) and the realization that your bath towel is providing someone or something with a better life. Brands that give back make us feel more warm and fuzzy than high-pile organic cotton.
Final Thoughts On Eco-Friendly Bath Towels
Towels don’t get much attention, which is surprising since we arguably use them more than any other piece of clothing in our minimalist wardrobe.
All the more reason to make sure it’s a sustainable towel, right?
Still, we encourage you to keep using the bath towel collection you have if you can, or at least responsibly dispose of your old towels. Recycling bath towels through craft projects, thrifting, and repurposing is another way to support the environment.
When you’re ready for a new set, choosing an eco-friendly bath towel made with natural fabrics is healthier for you and your skin and a better way to keep our planet clean.
Do you have a friend who needs a complete kitchen or bathroom makeover?
Send them this list of eco towels, so they can clean up their environment and support the environment in one fell swoop.
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