Sustainability, without the spin
The honest version
of eco.
We won't call a cloth "eco-friendly" and leave it at that — that word means nothing unless someone backs it up. So here's what we're actually doing: honest materials, plain language about how and where a cloth breaks down, and third-party certification we're working to earn rather than a claim we've printed on the label and hoped no one checks.
What it's made of
Two materials, honestly disclosed.
No blends we're vague about, no "natural fibres" euphemism doing the work of a real ingredients list. This is exactly what's in the cloth.
- 70% FSC-certified cellulose. Sourced from responsibly managed forests and certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, chain of custody through to the finished cloth.
- 30% cotton. Woven through the cellulose for strength and drape — the same construction the original Swedish cloth has used since 1949.
- No plastic microfibres. No polyester, no acrylic, no synthetic scourer layer — nothing that sheds microplastic into your sink or your wash water.
- Water-based OEKO-TEX inks. Pigment printed with water-based ink tested and certified under OEKO-TEX Standard 100 — not solvent-based transfer print.
- Plastic-free packaging. Paper band and compostable outer, no shrink-wrap, no poly mailer.
The end of the cloth's life
How to compost it — with real detail, not a slogan.
"Compostable" is only useful if you know where and how long. Here's exactly what to do once a cloth is past its best.
Cut it into strips
Scissors through the worn cloth a few times. Smaller pieces break down faster and sit more easily in a compost bin than one solid sheet.
Add it to home compost or FOGO
Drop the strips into a home compost bin, worm farm bedding, or your council's FOGO / green-waste bin if your area collects one.
Let it break down — weeks to months
Full breakdown typically takes a few weeks to a few months, depending on your compost's heat, moisture and how small you cut the pieces.
Nothing left behind
No plastic residue, no microfibres in the finished compost — because there's none in the cloth to begin with.
Compost conditions vary a lot from yard to yard and council to council. If you're not sure what your local system accepts, check your council's FOGO or green-bin guidance before adding a cloth — most textiles at this cellulose/cotton ratio are accepted, but rules differ by LGA.
What we won't say
Some claims we've deliberately left off this page.
You've almost certainly seen the claim that a Swedish-style dishcloth "replaces 17 rolls of paper towel." It's everywhere in this category — and it's unverified marketing folklore. No one selling it can point to the study it supposedly comes from. We don't know where the number originated, we can't stand behind it, and we won't print it just because everyone else does.
Same goes for "eco-friendly," "green" and "sustainable" used on their own, with nothing underneath them. Those words don't mean anything unless they're attached to a specific, checkable fact — a certification, a material percentage, a disposal pathway. So on this site, we don't use them as claims by themselves. Every environmental statement we make is tied to something you can verify: a material percentage, a certifying body, a disposal method.
This isn't just a style preference. The ACCC's guidance on environmental and sustainability claims is explicit that terms like "eco-friendly" and "sustainable" need to be specific, accurate and substantiated — vague, unqualified green claims are exactly what regulators are targeting. Greenwashing enforcement in Australia is real and active, and we'd rather under-claim and over-deliver than end up on the wrong side of it.
Proof, not promises
What we're certifying — and what's still in progress.
FSC chain of custody
The cellulose in every cloth is FSC-certified, with chain-of-custody documentation from forest to finished product. This is verified today, not aspirational.
OEKO-TEX Standard 100
The inks used to print every design are tested and certified under OEKO-TEX Standard 100 — independently verified to be free of harmful substance levels.
AS 5810 / ABA Home Compostable
We are pursuing certification under AS 5810 through the Australasian Bioplastics Association's Home Compostable scheme. As far as we're aware, no competitor in this category currently holds it — we intend to be the first that does, not the first to claim it.
The bit that actually matters most
The compost step is the last chapter, not the main story. The real environmental win is upstream of it — one cloth standing in for hundreds of paper towels across six to twelve months of hard use, before it ever reaches the compost bin.Reuse first, compost second
The rest of the story
How they're made, start to finish.
See how a cloth goes from sketch to sink — or browse the designs.