Why Choose a Cotton Towel?
Cotton is a popular towel choice for its durability, versatility, and softness. It’s also hypoallergenic and environmentally friendly.
Its breathable nature makes it ideal for promoting healthy skin. It’s also safe for babies and people with sensitive skin.
Cotton towels are very easy to wash. They can be washed on their normal setting and dried in the dryer.
Softness
Cotton’s naturally soft feel is a true delight for the skin, enveloping users in warmth and comfort after a shower or bath. The fabric’s smooth texture also eliminates any friction against the skin, Cotton Towel ensuring zero sweat buildup and minimal irritation. Furthermore, cotton is well-tolerated by most people and is less likely to trigger allergies or irritate sensitive skin.
To make towels as soft as possible, towel manufacturers must carefully select the raw materials they use and how they’re made. Towels are typically made from two types of fabric: 100% cotton or polycotton, which is a mix of cotton and polyester fibers. Cotton towels are available in a variety of weights (also known as GSM, or grams per square meter). Higher GSM fabrics typically mean thicker, softer and more luxurious towels.
Towel manufacturers purchase the raw materials they need to create towels in large bales, then blend them together to form yarn. Towels are then woven on high-quality looms to create a finished product. Quality assurance inspectors often visually inspect each towel for any weaving imperfections that may affect the towel’s durability or softness.
The softness of a cotton towel can be maintained throughout its lifespan by drying it on low heat settings and hanging it out to dry in a well-ventilated area. Additionally, avoiding the use of fabric softeners and dryer sheets will preserve the absorbency of cotton, helping it maintain its softness for longer.
Absorbency
The fibers in cotton are naturally able to soak up water, making cotton towels very absorbent. They are also more effective at wicking away moisture, preventing it from sitting on skin and leading to mildew and other unpleasant smells. This makes them a great choice for hospitality settings like hotels, where towels are used and laundered frequently.
When it comes to selecting cotton towels for your hotel or spa, it’s important to consider the towel’s fabric weight (also known as GSM) and its texture. A higher GSM indicates a thicker, more luxurious towel. Towels with a low GSM are often thinner and lighter, but they may also have been treated with chemical finishing that affects their softness and absorbency.
Cotton towels are also available in a variety of weaves, including terry and chenille. Terry towels are made with raised, tightly woven loops of thread that create an extremely fluffy and absorbent towel. The most commonly used terry fabrics are 100% cotton and often contain extra-long staple fibers, such as Egyptian or Supima cotton. DZee Textile offers a premium, 100% cotton terry towel called Opal Super Blend Towels, which are ideal for commercial use.
Chenille is a smooth, silky and very absorbent towel that can be made with either 100% cotton or a blend of cotton and synthetic materials, like polyester and polyamide (also known as nylon). This type of fabric is very receptive to dyeing and will hold up well over time.
Durability
Cotton towels are known for their durability, a trait that makes them a great choice for hotels and other businesses that need tough, long-lasting linens. When cared for properly, they can withstand regular use and repeated washings without Cotton Towel supplier deteriorating or losing their softness. They’re also less likely to get snags or pilling than other fabrics, like polyester and microfibre.
To produce a towel, the manufacturer takes huge bales of cotton—high or middling grade—and breaks them open using an automated machine called an uniflock. This mixes the fibers together, making them more malleable and allowing for easier spinning into yarn. The resulting yarn is then woven into sheets and finally cut into pieces for towel production. The resulting towel can be either zero twist or twisted; the difference being that zero-twist towels will feel more gentle on the skin and require less water to wash than twisted-cotton varieties.
A word of caution: Avoid bleach, fabric softener and other scented laundry products in your cotton towels, as they can damage the cotton fibers and make them feel rough and scratchy on the skin. Also, hang your cotton towels to dry on a low heat setting instead of tumble drying them on high, as the extreme temperatures can cause the cotton to become brittle and lackluster. With these tips in mind, you’ll be able to enjoy your cotton towels for years to come!
Sustainability
Choosing a towel made of organic cotton reduces the environmental impact of the towel you use. This is because conventional cotton is treated with harmful pesticides and chemical fertilizers during cultivation, which can pollute waterways and soil. These chemicals end up on your skin when you touch the towel, so the less of these materials used to make a towel, the better.
Organic cotton is also hypoallergenic, making it less likely to cause irritation for individuals with sensitive skin or allergies. It also requires significantly less water than other synthetic fabrics to produce, as it grows naturally without the need for chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
Towel brands committed to sustainability, like Coyuchi and Boll & Branch, source their cotton from suppliers that adhere to rigorous organic and sustainable standards. They also use water-efficient dyeing methods and employ energy-saving manufacturing practices to minimize waste and resource consumption.
Bamboo is another sustainable alternative to cotton towels. Made from a mix of bamboo and cotton, these towels are naturally antibacterial and softer than traditional cotton towels. This helps to reduce bacteria in areas where moisture thrives, such as in bathrooms.
Pact makes its towels from sustainable materials and ethically produced in factories that meet GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) and Fair Trade certifications. This ensures that workers are paid fairly, and provides detailed information about the brand’s supply chain.