Each product featured here has been independently selected by the writer. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.
Avocado
Organic Superfine Suvin Cotton SheetsAvocadoLos Angeles bedding brand Avocado might be best known for its mattresses, but let's be clear: Its bedding is equally as comfort-inducing. In addition to being a Certified B Corporation—which means it balances its purposeful devotion to the earth with its profit—Avocado makes all of its products with top-of-the-line sustainable materials.
No matter what you buy from Avocado, customers can expect the highest quality and care. Each product is made with GOLS (Global Organic Latex Standard) organic certified latex, GOTS organic certified wool, GOTS organic certified cotton, and/or GOTS organic certified kapok fiber. Which is to say, the company's offerings are incredibly natural.
But that's not all. Avocado not only focuses on what it put into its bedding, but into the world, too. For that reason, the company fully offsets 100% of its carbon emissions. Avocado donates 90% of returned products to nonprofits as well. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. To learn more about Avocado's mission, check out the company's sustainability page or read our Avocado mattress review.
Author's Pick: Avocado's Organic Superfine Suvin Sheets are made with GOTS Organic certified Indian Suvin Cotton, meaning the sourcing and production of the product have been evaluated by a third-party. Certifications always make it easier to find brands that go the extra mile to source sustainable materials.
Cariloha
"Soft, cool, clean, and green"—that's the motto of bamboo-centric brand Cariloha. While the Utah-based brand offers everything from apparel and bath towels to bed frames and mattresses, today we're here to hone in on its bedding. All Cariloha bedding (and products, for that matter) are made from bamboo from the green hills of the Sichuan Province in China, where the brand's 24,600,000 square-meter, sustainably run bamboo farm is located.
The brand is fully transparent about its farm-to-bed process, ensuring sustainable practices every step of the way. It's because of that and the grade-A quality and standards of the products that Cariloha is certifiably clean and green, with certifications from OEKO-TEX, GOTS, Organic Blended Content Standard, Fair Trade, and CertiPur-US.
As if that's not enough to convince you to check out the supremely-soft bedding, know that Cariloha has earned recognition from the Green Business Awards, winning in 2020 for providing customers top-notch sustainable bedding and lifestyle offerings, and Eco-Excellence Awards, winning the Friendly Fashion category in 2020. In other words, the brand is well worth your attention.
Author's Pick: As someone who has spent her fair share of time snoozing in high-end hotel beds (perks of the job!), I can wholeheartedly say that the Resort Bamboo Bed Sheets are the softest, most luxurious bedding I've ever slept on. Every time I hop into bed, I think to myself just how insanely comfortable they are. I cannot recommend them enough as some of the best organic sheets on the market. Plus, have you seen the blush color? It's gorgeous.
Buffy
Known for being "the world's best hypoallergenic, earth-friendly" comforter brand, Buffy has made a name for itself in the sustainable bedding marketplace. Since the success of its comforter—which is said to be fluffier than a marshmallow—the brand has delved into organic sheets, duvets and pillows, too, all of which are made with the brand's signature eucalyptus (which is OEKO-Tex certified).
Eucalyptus is known for being an especially sustainable product thanks to the fact that it requires significantly less water to grow. In addition to eucalyptus, Buffy relies on recycled plastic and soft hemp to bring its products to life. The brand also uses GRS (Global Recycling Standard) polyester, again staying true to its earth-friendly mission to #KeepEarthComfy.
While the materials Buffy uses are notable, to say the least, the company's other sustainable practices are just as worthy of our attention. For starters, the brand offsets all its CO2 emissions generated from freight and customer shipments. Additionally, knowing that the return process makes for even more emissions, Buffy allows customers to donate their returns to cut back on the unnecessary emissions.
As inspiring as Buffy's mission is, the brand aims to do even better. On its site, shoppers can find Buffy's plan to become even greener by 2021, 2025, and 2030.
Author's Pick: Fair warning: Buffy's comforters are so soft you may very well struggle to get out of bed in the morning. That said, they make for the perfect cozy companion for a day in bed.
Sheets & Giggles
The name alone is noteworthy, no? Silliness aside, Sheets & Giggles knows what's up when it comes to high-quality, eco-conscious sheets. Like Buffy, it uses eucalyptus to bring its super-soft product offerings to life.
Each Sheets & Giggles product is OEKO-TEX 100 certified, FKT Certified (firmly cementing their hypoallergenic nature), and Higg Index Certified (meaning they're fully sustainable from production to the time they wear out). All of the brand's products are vegan, which is another reason they're high on our list of the best organic sheets.
The takeaway? Sheets & Giggles offers quality bedding—including sheets, pillowcases, duvets, throw blankets, and comforters—that customers can rely on, while also adding a touch of entertainment to all of its product copy.
Author's Pick: The Eucalyptus Lyocell Sheets are straight up dreamy. They're softer than any plain cotton sheet I've tried and they're intuitively labeled to show users where each corner actually goes, speeding up the bed-changing process as a result.
Bearaby
BearabyBearabySay hello to the weighted blanket brand that, well, made weighted blankets trendy. Part of what led to Bearaby's popularity is not only the stylish chunky weave of its blankets, but also the very materials that go into making them.
While each of Bearaby's blankets is made with sustainable and/or organic materials—and are Oeko-Tex 100 certified, which cements customer confidence in the utmost product safety—the Cotton Napper stands out the most. The smooth blanket—which perpetually feels like the cool side of the pillow—is made with 100% organic, BCI (Better Cotton Initiative)-, GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard)-, and Fair Trade-certified, sustainably farmed cotton.
Materials aside, Bearaby puts extra focus into sustainability by donating to One Tree Planted every time a Napper is sold. What's more, it donates $1 for every Napper sold to NAMI (The National Alliance of Mental Illness). Given weighted blankets' therapeutic effect on anxiety and depression, Bearaby holds NAMI close to its core.
Author's Pick: While the Bearaby Cotton Napper is a dream for folks who get hot in the middle of the night, the Velvet Napper is nothing short of divine for cold winter nights. The ultra-soft finish gives it a luxe look and cozy feel that you'll want to wrap yourself up in all day long.
Rebecca R. Norris is a full-time freelance writer living in the DC metro area. She writes for a variety of publications, covering everything from beauty and wellness to style and news. She is a graduate of George Mason University. There, she earned her B.A. in Media: Production, Consumption, and Critique, along with a minor in Electronic Journalism. The Virginia native is a lover of lists, Stevie Nicks, dark chocolate Sprinkles cupcakes, and the Oxford comma.
Eye-Catching Designs Made from Recycled Plastic Bottles
The company sells a range of eco-friendly items like leggings, rash guards, and board shorts that are made using recycled post-consumer plastic bottles. There are currently 16 causes represented by distinct marine-life patterns, from whale shark research and invasive lionfish removal to sockeye salmon monitoring and abalone restoration.
One such organization is Get Inspired, a nonprofit that specializes in ocean restoration and environmental education. Get Inspired founder, marine biologist Nancy Caruso, says supporting on-the-ground efforts is one thing that sets Waterlust apart, like their apparel line that supports Get Inspired abalone restoration programs.
"All of us [conservation partners] are doing something," Caruso said. "We're not putting up exhibits and talking about it — although that is important — we're in the field."
Waterlust not only helps its conservation partners financially so they can continue their important work. It also helps them get the word out about what they're doing, whether that's through social media spotlights, photo and video projects, or the informative note card that comes with each piece of apparel.
"They're doing their part for sure, pushing the information out across all of their channels, and I think that's what makes them so interesting," Caruso said.
And then there are the clothes, which speak for themselves.
Advocate Apparel to Start Conversations About Conservation
Waterlust's concept of "advocate apparel" encourages people to see getting dressed every day as an opportunity to not only express their individuality and style, but also to advance the conversation around marine science. By infusing science into clothing, people can visually represent species and ecosystems in need of advocacy — something that, more often than not, leads to a teaching moment.
"When people wear Waterlust gear, it's just a matter of time before somebody asks them about the bright, funky designs," said Waterlust's CEO, Patrick Rynne. "That moment is incredibly special, because it creates an intimate opportunity for the wearer to share what they've learned with another."
The idea for the company came to Rynne when he was a Ph.D. student in marine science.
"I was surrounded by incredible people that were discovering fascinating things but noticed that often their work wasn't reaching the general public in creative and engaging ways," he said. "That seemed like a missed opportunity with big implications."
Waterlust initially focused on conventional media, like film and photography, to promote ocean science, but the team quickly realized engagement on social media didn't translate to action or even knowledge sharing offscreen.
Rynne also saw the "in one ear, out the other" issue in the classroom — if students didn't repeatedly engage with the topics they learned, they'd quickly forget them.
"We decided that if we truly wanted to achieve our goal of bringing science into people's lives and have it stick, it would need to be through a process that is frequently repeated, fun, and functional," Rynne said. "That's when we thought about clothing."
Support Marine Research and Sustainability in Style
To date, Waterlust has sold tens of thousands of pieces of apparel in over 100 countries, and the interactions its products have sparked have had clear implications for furthering science communication.
For Caruso alone, it's led to opportunities to share her abalone restoration methods with communities far and wide.
"It moves my small little world of what I'm doing here in Orange County, California, across the entire globe," she said. "That's one of the beautiful things about our partnership."
Check out all of the different eco-conscious apparel options available from Waterlust to help promote ocean conservation.
Melissa Smith is an avid writer, scuba diver, backpacker, and all-around outdoor enthusiast. She graduated from the University of Florida with degrees in journalism and sustainable studies. Before joining EcoWatch, Melissa worked as the managing editor of Scuba Diving magazine and the communications manager of The Ocean Agency, a non-profit that's featured in the Emmy award-winning documentary Chasing Coral.