Archive for March, 2012

Disana’s secrets of success

Posted Monday, March 5th, 2012 by Helen East in our brands
TheDisana organic Merino wool dungarees and jumper News is in, and it is official...  the best seller this Autumn/Winter season has been the Merino Wool Trousers or Leggings by Disana. Disana is one of our all-round top brands - so what are they doing right, and what makes them so special? Disana began 25 years ago - in a garage.  When they started their company, Dieter and Imma Sautter combined their initials D and I with the word Sana, which is the name of the ancient goddess of health and healing – very apt for Disana's natural ethos. Disana now supply shops around the world with organic wool baby and children's clothes and is still growing steadily, carrying with them this vision of health and healing through clothing.

Secrets of success

Disana are committed to high quality, natural raw materials and specialise in organic Merino wool.  They are a founding member of the International Association of Natural Textiles (IVN) and are proud of its guidelines for natural textile production; these are recognised as the most comprehensive, strictest guidelines in the world. In fact, Disana was one of the very first companies to have most of its clothing certified by IVN as BEST, indicating organic textiles of the highest ecological quality.  Its range is also GOTS certified as organic too at a time when organic wool is still hard to come by.

Fairly made and traded

DisanaDisana's commitment to high standards includes fairness throughout the supply chain and their excellent craftsmanship shows throughout their organic clothing range. The fabrics used in Disana’s wool clothing are produced either at their premises or within a 100km radius in long-term partner factories, ensuring good working conditions and making for good relationships and excellent quality control.  This is Herr Heinz Munz in the workshop, who is very proud to be in our blog 🙂 And as you can probably guess, everything that goes into each piece of clothing is is subject to strict regulations, from the sewing thread and buttons to even the lubricating oil in the knitting machines - everything must be environmentally friendly.

Designed for little ones

Disana Boiled Wool Fabric

Each Disana piece is designed to keep a little one comfortable and healthy, which makes Disana stand out from the crowd when it comes to design.   For them it's all about the baby, the baby's comfort, health, freedom to wriggle, crawl or walk. Disana's clothes allow the skin to breathe and the body to relax, and parents to know that their little one is being looked after by real living wool.

So, thank you to Disana for providing us with the choice of natural, healthy and sustainable clothing.  We at Cambridge Baby and Good Natured Clothing love what you do, you're totally in accord with our ethics and we are proud to carry your organic wool clothes.   ♥ ---------------------------------- Win a £20 Gift Voucher!  Comment on this or any of our blog posts in March, and we'll randomly select a winner on 1st April.  Share or link to a blog post for bonus entries! ---------------------------------

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Why is wool good for you?

Posted Friday, March 2nd, 2012 by Helen East in dressing your baby, our fabrics

Organic Merino Wool Baby Blanket by DisanaYou've probably noticed we use expresssions such as "breathable" and "regulates body temperature" a lot at Cambridge Baby.  Wool is naturally an amazingly clever fibre and here you can find out how and why.

I'm going to explain how wool can
  • breathe, absorbing water vapour from the body and releasing it into the atmosphere
  • dynamically respond to the environment
  • help regulate temperature
  • clean itself (oh yes!), and
  • repel rain (think: sheep).

The magic of wool

The magic of wool lies in its structure. Wool consists of three layers.
  • The inner layer or core is keratin, a moisture-loving protein that all animal hair has. It is designed to maintain a stable body temperature - to keep the body at a comfortable and stable temperature. Think how useful this is to babies, athletes and your own day-to-day living.
  • The second layer is a scaly covering. The overlapping scales are tiny, but as they rub against each other they push off the dirt. So it is self-cleaning, as anyone who's put their baby in wool knows.
  • A wool fibre's third layer, the top layer, is a filmy skin which keeps the rain out. Wool is quite water-resistant, as duffel-coat wearers and sheep can testify.
It gets even more amazing.

Wool breathes for youOrganic Merino Wool Hat by Disana

Now, the two outer layers of the wool fibre have tiny pores which allow moisture to pass through to the keratin core.  The keratin core can absorb this moisture.  So, if the temperature increases or the wearer becomes more active and begins to sweat, the moisture is wicked from the skin through the outer layers of the wool fibre into the central core. Then, your natural body heat then wicks it out towards the surface, where it is released into the atmosphere. In this way, it helps you and your baby maintain a stable temperature and keeps you and your baby dry and comfortable by absorbing and releasing sweat.

And wool is dynamic

Wool even does this breathing process "dynamically", which means it does it more when needed, and less when not needed.   It responds to the environment around it and does what's needed to the best of its ability. It's just the best thing, don't you think? No man-made fibre can equal this.

Looking after your woolOrganic Wool and Silk Baby Bodysuit

To keep these abilities, wool does need to be looked after. But with 99% of washing machines now having a wool cycle, this is quite easy. Just use a liquid detergent for wool, or a drop of your own shampoo, and set the temperature on your wool cycle to 30C and dry away from direct heat. Because wool is self-cleaning, wool clothes that haven't been treated can be hung out on the line and "aired" and will start cleaning and de-smelling themselves. In the next blog articles, I'll explain more of the wonders of wool: how wool is also naturally antibacterial, how it absorbs water without feeling wet, why it's stretchy and easy to wear, why it's fire-resistant and more.

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