Most clothing that calls itself natural is not. A 100% cotton shirt is usually sewn with polyester thread. Fleece is plastic. Microfiber is plastic. Elastic is plastic. The label tells you about the fabric and hopes you do not ask about the rest.
Here, 100% means ALL of it:
- Fabric: hemp and cotton only. Nothing synthetic is woven into anything in our own line — no Lycra, no spandex, no polyester blends, no recycled plastic wearing a green costume.
- Thread: our garments are sewn with 100% cotton thread. This is the part almost nobody does, because polyester thread is cheaper and stronger. We think a natural shirt should be natural in its seams too.
- Trims: cotton drawstrings, nickel-free metal snaps, ribbed natural cuffs instead of plastic elastic. If a component can't be natural, the product doesn't ship until we find one that is.
How we keep the promise: before any fabric is listed, we check the full fiber spec — and then order a swatch and put our own hands on it. We have already turned down heavier, pricier fabrics — including USA-knit jerseys — because they contained Lycra. If it isn't 100% natural, it doesn't carry our Certified 100% label. It doesn't matter what flag is on it or how good the price was.
Our makers’ shelf: we also carry goods from partner makers on the From Our Makers shelf, sold under the makers’ own names. Those products are natural in their main materials, but they are NOT part of the Certified 100% line above — some are sewn with the maker’s standard thread, and some listings don’t print a full ingredient list. Every one is labeled honestly on its product page, so you can see exactly what it is.
The home test: hold a lighter to a thread from a big-brand "cotton" shirt. Polyester melts and beads into hard plastic. Natural fiber chars and ashes like a plant should. Try it on ours.