We recommend a cool machine wash inside out. Using cool water will help ensure colours last longer and items keep their shape.

Our products can be put in a wash up to 30 degrees Celsius but we definitely suggest a cool wash for maximising colour fastness. In any case, it’s a more sustainable way to launder as it uses less energy AND you’ll save money on your power bill!

Make sure you wash items with like/similar colours. This is especially important when you are washing darker coloured items like our Navy stretch cord pants. Side note: As far as we’re concerned this is a no brainer! When we were kids we were burned many times by our father putting dark colours in with light colours and items coming out a very different shade to when theywent in!

Do not bleach or rub. Spot rubbing will dull the colour of the garment in the place you rub.

Dry inside out. Nothing beats air drying! Even better if you can dry it flat. Items keep their shape better and a big bonus is that it’s free!

We recommend you do not tumble dry or dry clean your Two + Lou products.

Warm iron inside out. If you decide to iron, make sure the garment is turned inside out because ironing directly on prints can cause colours to fade.

When first purchased our GOTS-cotton/linen blend and 100% linen fabric compositions fabric may feel stiff. However, with washing and/or wearing and repeated use, over time the linen fibres will relax and soften.

Remember that linen, being made from flax, has been through quite the process to become the product you are holding in your hand, and the process of softening continues on throughout the life of the product.

When we started our business a few years ago we felt we couldn’t ignore the wealth of evidence showing the negative effects the fashion industry has not only on the environment but the communities who are involved in producing raw materials and manufacturing components and end products.

So, from the start our goal has been to source as many of the components we use to create our products from certified ethical and sustainable sources as we can.

Sustainable sourcing covers not only fabrics but also components such as zips, buttons, threads and the packaging and elements we include in your shipped product.

It has been tricky at times, because many suppliers offering certified sustainable or ethical fabric and components have high minimum order quantities (MOQs), which priced us out of being able to use them. However, over time, through careful research we are able to find more and more solutions that work for us.

Every component is considered through a sustainability lens, so if we have elected to use a less sustainable option there’s a valid reason. We invite any questions or suggestions you may have about this as we regularly revisit what and how we source fabric and components. info@twopluslou.co.nz

First and most importantly, we always declare the certification status of a fabric composition in the ‘About the Fabric’ section on every product page, so that you can make informed purchasing decisions.

As mentioned, our printed organic cotton-based fabrics are sourced from a factory in India that holds a Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certification.

We also source cotton/linen blend fabrics from the same supplier. The 'linen' component of this cotton/linen fabric composition is not GOTS certified because the raw linen the mill sources is not GOTS certified. We do note though, that the mill's process of printing and/or dying the cotton and linen is GOTS-certified. The summary is that for our cotton/linen blend fabric, some stages of the end to end process are GOTS-certified, but not all.

Occasionally we source plain dyed linen or cotton fabric from local suppliers, and always aim to ensure it holds a valid certification. As mentioned above, all relevant certification information is always included on every product page.

We choose natural fibres over using sythetic fibres not just because of their sustainability but also because of how they look and feel. Like us, so many of our customers love how cotton and linen based fabric compositions feel, and their breathability.
Now that we have been around traps a while, we're exploring other certified natural fibre-based compositions. If you have any fabric compositions you'd like us to explore get in touch, we'd love to hear about them! info@twopluslou.co.nz

We think the GOTS certification is awesome because it provides us (which by us also includes you!) with a guarantee that the end to end process of cotton growing right through to printing or dyeing has been validated as ethical and sustainable.

In summary it means:

1. The farming and harvesting of raw organic cotton has been certified as meeting the relevant GOTS standard.
2. Certified socially responsible manufacturing of cotton fabric. Specifically that staff are paid fairly and work in in conditions that meet the key norms of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
3. Printing and dyeing processes are certified as using non-toxic inks and water minimising technology.

There’s obviously much more to it than this, so if you’re interested you can learn more about GOTS here.

Our printed and dyed fabrics are ordered in small runs from our mill in India. Small batch production means that sometimes there can be subtle differences in colour between the batches. We ask that you appreciate these as part of the uniqueness of our product. Small batch ordering helps us make sure we do not add to the world's excess textile production & waste.

First, we separate out the fabric compositions that are made with 100% natural fibres (i.e. cotton and cotton/linen blend) from those that contain Lycra (which is synthetic). This is so that the fabrics made with natural fibres can be composted if needed.

Here are some of the ways our fabric off cuts have been repurposed to date:

• Donated to schools for us in art projects.
• Used to stuff beanbags and pouffes.
• Composted in the garden. Note the fabric is ideally broken down into small pieces first to maximise the speed of decomposition.
• Used for quilting projects.
• Used for art projects.

If you are interested in taking some of our off cuts, get in touch, we’d love to hear from you. info@twopluslou.co.nz