Posts Tagged ‘wool’

Haflinger: wonderful natural slippers

Posted Friday, May 30th, 2014 by Agnes Aubert in our brands, our fabrics

haflinger_logoHaflinger is a German shoe and slipper manufacturer of the highest quality. A long history of making slippers in traditional, sustainable style, slippers that are well made in natural fabrics, comfortable, healthy and good-looking - that's why we love Haflinger's range for children and adults!

Established in Germany in 1898 by Emil Otto, Haflinger started by making laces and cords. In 1955 they began making shoes and have never looked back. Their extensive experience and quality craftsmanship shows in the finished product, which is why we chose to stock them. 

haflinger_oldfactory

Nature is full of lasting beauty and brings happiness, so it's logical that Haflinger should use natural materials to make comfortable, long lasting slippers. They are designed to allow for freedom of movement, for the foot to expand and contract as necessary, and to keep the foot healthy and supple. 

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Haflinger uses only natural materials sourced in Europe.

Their boiled wool is warm, light and breathable and creates an optimum environment for healthy, comfortable feet. This wool is sturdy but flexes where necessary, and is naturally dirt-resistant and anti-bacterial too.PaulSlipper_MEDThe result is footwear which allows children to run and play and stay warm, and allows feet to breathe naturally

 

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We truly believe that these are the best children's and adults' slippers out there. With a natural latex sole to last longer, infused into the wool at the base, and a design that ensures a gentle but secure fit, they tick all the boxes and more: they comfort and delight the feet.

Lasting comfort for the whole family!

 

Haflinger Favourites

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Merino Kids

Posted Tuesday, May 27th, 2014 by Agnes Aubert in our brands

MerinoKidsLogo

Merino Kids was founded by Amie Nilsson in New Zealand in 2003.  It is now an international, award winning, textile company specialising in using 100% natural fibres, for the design of newborn, baby, infant and toddler sleepwear.

 

A lovely Merino Sheep, courtesy of http://animaladay.blogspot.ie/2012_03_01_archive.html

Merino Kids make garments using 100% natural superfine, bleach-free merino, 100% natural organic cotton and nickel-free zips and domes/poppers.

We especially love their Merino wool, because though it is warm and breathable - as always with wool - its fine knit give it the feel of soft cotton, thus giving children the best material to live and sleep in! 

You'll be glad to know that Merino Kids' superfine merino top is spun, woven and finished in India in a sweatshop-free environment.  

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When looking at Merino Kids' clothes, it's easy to see that they are created by a mother with care for children and practicality in mind.  Design features such as fold-over scratch mitts, fold-over feet, cross-over necklines and elastic backs are brilliant for easy dressing and changing.

Environmentally friendly packaging is also something Merino Kids care about, so they use 100% cotton organdy fabric and recycled tissue paper.

These things make Merino Kids a good fit for us, and we're happy to be stocking them.  We hope you enjoy their wraps, sleeping bags and clothing too.

 

 

Merino Kids Favourites

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All-in-One in Very Fine Merino Wool by Merino Kids
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How Merino Wool Helps Your Family Sleep Well

Posted Monday, February 10th, 2014 by Rachel King in dressing your baby, sleeping

Most comfy baby pyjamas in organic Merino wool and silk blend

My two young children sleep in merino wool pyjamas, and I love sleeping in my Merino wool vest - I think it's the most comfortable night wear there is.  Merino wool's comfort is quite literally a gift from nature, so  I thought I'd tell you a bit more about the properties of this amazing sheep's wool.

Merino wool is 20,000 times bendier than cotton

Merino wool is so soft and stretchy that it hugs you in a really gentle way - and this is because merino wool fibres can bend up to 20,000 times more and can be extended 5 times further than cotton!  This makes it way more comfy to sleep in than cotton as it moves with your body and is still soft on your skin – cotton bedclothes tend to get scrunched up around you. It's fibres bend so easily they don’t scratch, preventing the itchiness traditionally associated with wool. (more…)

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Natural sun protection – from Merino wool

Posted Thursday, May 2nd, 2013 by Helen East in dressing for the outdoors, our fabrics

Aside from being fine, breathable and helping regulate temperature, a real benefit of Merino wool in the Summer is that it provides excellent natural sun protection.

Wool Silk Vest gives high sun protection

It absorbs the UV radiation before it can reach your baby or your child's skin - naturally! Here are the facts for you.  Research by Haerri et al (2000), Reinert et al (1997) and Hilfiker et al (1996)  shows that (more…)

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Merino wool – studies show it’s great for sleeping

Posted Wednesday, May 1st, 2013 by Rachel King in our fabrics, sleeping

sleep well in merino wool

Even I was surprised by the University of Sydney study that wool bed clothes help you get a brilliant night's sleep - even in hot summer temperatures.

Merino wool - a very fine kind of wool from the Merino sheep - has fibres so fine that they bend easily and so don't scratch, preventing the itchiness traditionally associated with wool. This makes it way more comfy to sleep in than cotton as it moves with your body and is still soft on your skin.  But that's  not all.

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My son slept through… for the first time

Posted Friday, November 30th, 2012 by Rachel King in sleeping
My little boy is 19 months old. He doesn't do sleeping through. Which means its a very long time since any of us had an undisturbed night of sleep. Many people, including me have said its a good job he's cute.

Luckily for me my husband is a saint and since I stopped feeding him in the night he's done the brunt of the night missions. But I still wonder if I had undisturbed sleep whether many of the daily mishaps could be avoided. Every night two or three times a night we hear plaintive cries of Mama, Dadda, and most of the time he is sitting or standing in the cot. If you don't go to him immediately (no chance to get warmly dressed) he gets worked up into a frenzy. Sometimes patting works, sometimes you've got to make the chilly trek to the fridge to get some milk and then you're really awake. What worked getting my daughter to sleep through hasn't worked for my son. We've tried most things, but at the end of the day he just loves cuddles. My neighbour wisely said you just need to work out why he's waking up in the first place. However, there seems to be no pattern. We've tried all combination of bed clothes. Cotton pyjamas, Baby grows, fleecy baby grows but still no luck.  Having heard all the claims of children sleeping through with Merino wool sleeping bags  I was going to buy him one. But he's not used to sleeping bags and cried "stuck, stuck" when I tried one.  Helen suggested Merino wool all-in-one-Pyjamas.

They are brilliant. A beautiful ruby red colour with a little  embroidered sheep. On the first night I dressed him in a merino wool/silk vest underneath and then the pyjamas on top. He then poured goats milk all over himself....  argh!!...  but it just brushed off without soaking in.  And so I learnt first-hand about wool's water-resistant qualities.  Another amazing thing about Merino is that although it has liquid repellent qualities, it can also absorb up to 35% of its own weight in liquid without feeling wet. Making it perfect for dribbly teething children! Anyway the best bit is that he slept all the way through - the first time ever!  What luxury for me to get rest until 6am... and my husband... and my little boy too. Whether it was the comfort, warmth or breathability of Merino I'm not sure but I cannot recommend Merino wool Pyjamas highly enough - so lovely, such relief for us all.

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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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