Coyuchi products are 100% organic cotton AND fair trade certified. Coyuchi works with one mill in India, which sources its cotton from a cooperative of 6,500 family farmers who grow the organic cotton. Farmers and mill workers are paid a fair wage, giving them the ability to afford health care and education for their families. India has the greatest textile tradition of any country currently producing the kind of fiber and cloth we need for our products, as well as the fair trade & organic farming collectives which meet Coyuchi’s social justice goals.

The variety of cotton Coycuhi uses is related to Upland cotton, which is drought resistant, pest resistant, and high-yielding. The fiber length is not particularly long, compared to Pima or Acala, but since Coyuchi combs as well as cards the fiber, the short pieces fall out and the yarn is ring spun for extra softness and strength.

Another feature of Coyuchi bedding is that Coyuchi does not use chemical softeners, as most other manufacturers do. The fabric is preshrunk through a mechanical process and then calenderized, a process involving high heat and pressure, which flattens and polishes the surface so that the product looks shiny and feels very smooth. Natural, or ivory, is the color of the cotton with no treatment other than washing out the wheat starch (sizing) after weaving. White is achieved by bleaching with hydrogen peroxide, a benign bleaching agent that breaks down into hydrogen and water.

Thread count refers to the number of horizontal and vertical threads are in one square inch of woven fabric. There is no intrinsic value to a higher thread count number, despite popular belief. Instead, the hand of the fabric depends on the integrity of the fibers used, the weave selected, and the quality of the finished product. Thread count is but one element in determining how a finished piece of fabric will feel. Knowing us humans, we love numbers and quick, easy ways of quantifying value, so this little fact still plays a large role (too large in our opinion) in determining fabric quality.

Coyuchi uses low-impact, fiber-reactive dyeing in all their products. Coyuchi dyes are very safe, environmentally certified, and “low impact” which means the chemical bonding and absorption rate are so high we use less water, less heat, and produce less waste-water runoff than chemical dyeing processes use. Un-dyed, natural color or color-grown fabrics are the best choice for people who react to fiber-reactive dyes or who want only 100% natural, virgin fabrics on their skin.

All woven fabrics use 3 basic weaves: plain, twill, and satin. The plain weave is the simplest with an over, under, over, under structure. Percale is an example of a plain weave. The twill weave is characterized by its diagonal lines across the fabric. Our towels are twill weaves. The satin weave is formed by a series of floating yarns tied down intermittently in the weave. This provides different patterns and a sleek, shiny surface. Coyuchi's sateen sheets are a good example of the satin weave. All other weaves are combinations of these basic weaves and are classified as complex (or novelty) weaves.

Coyuchi was founded 20 years ago in Point Reyes Station, a small, rustic town on the Northern California coast. There, surrounded by ocean and forest, beach and bluff, they created a line of home textiles rooted in nature. Their signature bedding, made from 100% certified organic cotton, soon earned a loyal following among people who nurture a connection to the natural world in their lives and in their homes.

Coyuchi is a word used in southern Mexican for naturally colored brown cotton. It is originally derived from the Aztec language and refers to the color of the Coyote.