When shopping for a bathrobe, choose one made out of organic cotton or small batch silk. Our favorite organic cotton bathrobes are certified by GOTS, and conventional cotton or silk robes should be certified by OEKO-TEX and/or Fair Trade. Keep your bathrobe in rotation for a few wears before washing to cut down on its environmental impact. 

Materials 

Cotton

It may surprise you that the largest commercial share, in fact 25%, of the world’s home textile market belongs to terry cloth, which is used to make towels and bathrobes. That soft, fluffy, and absorbent material is made of cotton. Cotton is the most widely used natural fiber on the planet. Unfortunately, it is a water-intensive crop that takes a significant toll on the soil and is associated with deforestation. Cotton is also particularly vulnerable to pests and other insects, which has led to a flourishing agrochemical industry around its cultivation. Almost 5% of global pesticide sales and 10% of global insecticides sales come from the cotton industry. Luckily, some cotton is grown in ways that can be kinder to our planet (see organic cotton below). In general, a plant-based material like cotton requires less energy to manufacture than a petroleum-based alternative like polyester. 

Organic Cotton

Organic cotton is grown without relying on the use of harmful chemicals, leaving the soil, air, and water with fewer contaminants. In an LCA looking at the differences between organic cotton and conventional cotton, the Textile Exchange found that organic cotton produces 46% fewer greenhouse gas emissions, creates 70% less acidification of land and water, the potential for soil erosion drops 26%, surface and groundwater use falls anywhere from 48% to 91%, and the demand for energy can drop by as much as 62%. While we think robes made with organic cotton are the best option, we recognize that they’re harder to come by. Less than 1% of all cotton produced is organic.

Polyester

Polyester is the second-most commonly used fiber type in bathrobes and the most widely-used manufactured fiber. Polyester is a synthetic material that is popular for its durability and low price tag. Sure, durability and accessibility are both great, but polyester has major downsides, including that it’s derived from fossil fuels. Extracting petroleum (which is needed to produce polyester) involves drilling and fracking, which have a host of negative environmental consequences (*cough*, oil spills, *cough*) that are not infrequent and can devastate already fragile wildlife populations. The environmental effects of drilling overwhelmingly impact people of color and low-income folks, who are more likely to live in communities near these sites. 

If that wasn’t bad enough, the chemical treatments used by polyester manufacturers are toxic and known to cause neurological damage and even cancer at high levels of exposure, putting factory workers at risk. Plus, every time polyester gets washed, it sheds tiny pieces of plastic threads - aka microplastics - that enter our waterways and devastate marine ecosystems or even find their way into our bodies. The Plastic Soup Foundation estimates that up to 35% of plastic polluting in our oceans comes from microfibers shed by synthetic fabrics. We’ll pass!

If you really prefer a polyester robe, look out for ones made with recycled materials. Recycling uses significantly less energy than making polyester from scratch. Studies have found that using recycled polyester cut water requirements in production by two-thirds, and that using recycled polyester could lead to a 59% reduction in energy use.  

Mulberry Silk 

Silk is quite possibly the creme de la creme luxury-wise when it comes to bathrobes, but its impact isn’t that luxurious. Silk is produced through a process called sericulture, which involves cultivating silkworms to extract silk from them. Silk farms require energy-intensive temperature-controlled environments harvesting the cocoons uses a ton of hot water and hot air. There are also some animal welfare concerns around silk: the mulberry silkworm does die in the production of silk. Some brands have even banned the use of silk in their clothing because of these ethical concerns, including ASOS. 

That’s not all – a study conducted by WRAP evaluated the carbon footprint produced from the commercial production of silk -- from cocoon to end of life -- and it showed that the footprint was equal to or more than that of some synthetic fibers. Another batch of research involving several LCAs found that the commercial production of silk has a larger environmental impact than that of Chinese cotton, nylon, and wool. This can be attributed to agriculture infrastructure inefficiencies in both the electricity supply and irrigation practices. But, it’s not all bad. 

Smaller-batch silk (silk that isn’t produced on an industrial scale) can have positive economic benefits for worker livelihood. In China and India, the world’s two largest silk-producing countries, sericulture work has provided women with opportunities for increased economic mobility. Studies have even shown this to have positive impacts on education and nutrition. Thanks, mulberry silkworms! We have to also consider that silk cultivation is an ancient practice – it’s been around for over 5,000 years. All that to say…the scale of silk production now is vastly different, and the commercialization has impacted the way silk interacts with the environment.  

Certifications

Here are some certifications to look for when shopping this category.