Our Fabrics
our fabric promise
The fabrics we use are central to who we are. We've searched the globe for materials that are free of synthetics, but also breathable and soft, and settled on an old favorite - woven cotton. The cottons we've selected are crisp and light, and feel like a cozier, softer version of a man's dress shirt.
Silk was too slippery. Cashmere was nice and soft, but too hot. And synthetics (often referred to as “technical” fabrics), though they can work well at the gym, aren’t something we want to invite to bed overnight, a time for our body to rejuvenate and our skin to breathe.
We think you’ll like sleeping in cotton as much as we do, and if you don’t, we have a very flexible return policy.
We promise to continue to scour the globe for the highest-quality synthetic-free fabrics out there so you can dream in natural, high-comfort sleepwear.
why we love cotton
In our opinion, cotton is the best material for sleeping. It’s breathable, it’s soft, it’s not clingy, and – unlike synthetics – it grows in the ground.
Within the cotton family, quality varies hugely, ranging from cotton grown in China on the low end, to cotton grown in Egypt on the very high end (major oversimplification, but you get the idea!). Egyptian cotton is considered to be the finest of all cottons because it has the longest staple, or fiber. And Giza 45 – grown only in a small area east of the Nile, and making up less than 1% of total cotton production annually – is the longest, thinnest, and strongest Egyptian cotton fiber, which is why it produces a smooth and silky look and feel when woven into fabric.
At maison étoile, we use Giza 45 Egyptian cotton in the majority of our sleepwear; and when Giza is not available, we use Supima cotton, which shares many of the same characteristics as a fine Egyptian cotton, but is grown in the Americas. The cotton yarn we use is then woven into fabric at a small mill in the Northern Italian countryside, a region famous for producing the most high-quality shirting fabrics on the planet.
Cotton also happens to be biodegradable, which – in technical terms – means that if you throw your maison étoile nightgown into a compost pile, it would soon disappear.
why we don't love synthetics
Synthetic fabrics are textiles made from man-made rather than natural fibers, and are used in sleepwear across the globe. Examples of synthetic fabrics include polyester, acrylic, nylon, rayon, spandex, tencel, and devlar. Chemicals used to make synthetic fabric typically include sodium hydroxide and carbon disulfide, which are derived from coal, oil, or natural gas. Depending on the synthetic fabric, added chemicals can make it softer, wrinkle-free, water-resistant and the like. While some of these qualities may be appealing, the processes can harm the environment, wildlife, and people's health. Synthetic fabrics are often non-biodegradable, meaning that when discarded, they do not break down in soil, and the chemicals used in their manufacture can reach out and harm the environment.
To paraphrase, synthetic materials are made from chemicals mostly derived from coal, oil and gas. And if you left your synthetic clothes in the backyard to decompose, even Mother Nature would reject your outfit, and it would lie on the ground in a crumpled, chemical-y pile for eternity..