The Top 5 Reasons Why You Need to Be Sleeping on GOTS Certified Organic Cotton Bedding

When was the last time you thought about your sheets?

You know, the fabric that graces your skin night after night, year after year? Have you ever taken the time to consider what goes into the linens you put on your family’s beds? Sadly, many shoppers never get beyond colour, size, and thread count when it comes time to purchase new sheets. But these are just surface specs and features. What really matters is deep down in the raw fabric itself.

You will spend an entire third of your life sleeping. Doesn’t it make sense to know what’s in your bedsheets?

Unfortunately, not all bedsheets are created equal. In fact, there is a massive difference in the ways in which many sheets are grown and manufactured. The biggest difference? Whether or not your sheets use organic cotton.

While most are likely familiar with the benefits of organic food, it’s unlikely that many would know the difference between organic and non-organic cotton. But cotton is a crop just like any of the fruits and vegetables you eat. And choosing to only use organic cotton sheets in your home can have some incredible, lasting benefits – both for your family, and the planet.

Ready to learn more? Here’s a look at the top 5 reasons you need to be sleeping on organic sheets:

1.   Organic Cotton Reduces Exposure to Harmful Chemicals

Non-organic cotton crops are a booming corporate empire. And to protect their investment, factory farms rely heavily on pesticides and insecticides, spraying their cotton crops with impunity. In fact, reports show that nearly 25% of all the insecticides used on earth are used exclusively on cotton crops.

In addition, many non-organic cotton manufacturers use various chemicals to treat their sheets before their final sale to the consumer. Meaning the linens you bring home and rest your head on at night may be covered in toxins such as formaldehyde, bleaching agents, chlorinated and brominated flame retardants, and more.

However, organic cotton sheets are made from cotton using none of these synthetic, toxic pesticides or chemicals. Instead, organic cotton farmers use natural pest repellants such as crushed tea leaves. With organic sheets, you know that when you lay yourself or your baby down at night that your body is going to remain toxin free.

2. Organic Cotton Protects the Oceans and Waterways

Not only is organic cotton safer for you and your family, but it is safer for the countless cotton farmers across the globe. According to the Fairtrade Foundation, an estimated 300 million people work in the cotton industry worldwide. And those that work directly on non-organic farms are exposed daily to the toxic herbicides and pesticides. Many of these chemicals are known carcinogens, and over time have caused number health defects – and even death – for those forced to work with them.

By choosing organic cotton sheets, you can rest easy knowing that no farmers or their families were put in danger to create the super soft sheets on which you sleep.

3. Organic Cotton Protects the Oceans and Waterways

Cotton is a thirsty crop that requires quite a bit of water to grow. However, with all of the chemicals sprayed on non-organic cotton crops, there have been serious issues with rain and irrigation causing toxic runoff into waterways near cotton farms. These toxins then travel the length of the water source, causing all sorts of problems for wildlife, surrounding nature, and most terrifyingly, our own drinking supply.

Making matters worse, non-organic cotton products actually pollute our water a second time around. Many non-organic sheets, towels and other linens are mixed with various other synthetic fabrics, and when washed, release little bits of plastic and other non-organic materials called microfibres. These microfibres make their way through our wastewater supply, and eventually land themselves in our lakes and oceans, only to be consumed by sea life, causing premature death and disease. 

3. Organic Cotton Sheets Save Water

In addition to protecting our oceans and waterways, organic cotton sheets actually require less water to produce than their non-organic counterparts. With the additional use of chemicals and various rinsing cycles and agents, the manufacturing of non-organic sheets can use upwards of 20% more water than that of organic sheets. Multiply this out over the billions of bedsheets sold across the globe, and you’re talking about serious water savings

5. Organic Cotton Sheets Are Incredibly Comfortable!

By removing all the chemicals, toxins, and manufacturing shortcuts in the name of driving profit, organic cotton sheets end up incredibly soft and luxurious. From the very first time you lie yourself or your baby down on certified organic cotton sheets, you’ll immediately feel a difference. A difference that not only makes for a better night’s sleep, but a better planet in the process.

Now, while going organic is a great first step, it’s important to note that not all organic fabrics are created equal. If you really want to maximize your impact on bettering your family’s health and the health of the greater world around you, you’ll want to be sure to opt for bedsheets that carry the Global Organic Textile Certification (GOTS) standard.

All of our sheets & bedding here at White Terry Home carry this certification, and we happy to say that achieving this certification took a lot of hard work. It makes us happy because GOTS is the gold standard when it comes to sustainable textiles, and as a company who aims to better the environment just as much as we better our customers’ lives, we want to hold ourselves to a higher standard.

The GOTS certification process looks at much more than just the fibres that go into you fabric. Sure, these must be at least 70% certified organic in order to be considered, but that’s just the stating point. GOTS certification also has strict requirements on chemicals, banning the use of the most commonly used chemicals in textile production…the same chemicals know to cause cancer, birth defects, and host of other serious illnesses. GOTS also has strict requirements on water usage, waste water, energy consumption, and environmental and social factors such as diversity in labour, no child labour, and no discrimination policies.

In short, our GOTS certification means that we can proudly say from start to finish, White Terry Home bedsheets, duvet covers, and shams are all made with healthy materials and in an ethical manner that’s good for the planet, our employees, and ultimately, our customers.

And the best part about all of this? Our hard work to create a GOTS certified product also led to us creating, as our countless customers can attest to, the softest, most comfortable sheets you’ll ever sleep on! You spend so much of your live sleeping. Why not sleep soundly knowing you're resting on sheets that bring so much good to the world?