9 picks · vetted plastic-free
The best organic cotton bathrobes
A polyester robe holds water against you and sheds microfibres down the drain. Cotton and linen do the job the way they always have.
A robe is the textile you put on wet, straight onto clean skin, and then wear for an hour. Most of the ones sold under $60 are polyester fleece or a poly blend. Polyester pushes water around your back instead of taking it up, and every wash sends synthetic fibres into the drain. Researchers measuring domestic machines found a single load of synthetic textiles can shed hundreds of thousands of them.
Cotton and linen behave differently. They take water in, they soften with each wash rather than pilling, and whatever comes off in the machine is plant matter. Below are five that earn the money, from heavy single-loop terry down to a summer poplin that packs into the corner of a bag.
Towels to match
What you dry with matters for the same reason. The Coyuchi air-weight and Temescal towels are organic cotton right through. Parachute's bundle is the heavier plush option, and the hooded set is sized for a baby.
Common questions
- Waffle or terry?
- Waffle is lighter and dries between uses, which suits a warm bathroom or a suitcase. Terry holds more water and feels like a hotel robe, so it wins in a cold house. The Cloud Loom is the terry on this page and the Coyuchi waffle robe is the lighter one.
- Coyuchi waffle robe or Cloud Loom robe?
- The waffle robe costs less and dries quickly, so it is the everyday one. The Cloud Loom is thick single-loop terry off the same loom as their towels, and it is what to buy if you want weight on your shoulders after a bath. Both are GOTS organic cotton grown and woven in Turkey.
- Why avoid a polyester bathrobe?
- Polyester is plastic. It takes up very little water, so you stay damp under it, and each wash releases microfibres into the water system. It also traps heat against skin that has just come out of a hot shower.
- Does an organic cotton robe need special washing?
- No. Warm wash, low heat or a line, and leave out the fabric softener because it coats the fibre and stops it absorbing. A terry robe takes its time drying, so give it room rather than cramming it in.
- Is a linen robe worth it?
- In a warm bathroom, yes. Linen pulls water off faster than cotton on its own and keeps softening for years. The MagicLinen robe is a linen and cotton waffle blend at about 190 gsm, so it has substance without the bulk of terry.
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