Sustainability can be defined as, "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

The Fabrics:
The creation of Oliveira Textiles' first collection began with a desire to create a beautiful textile that offered a cleaner/healthier alternative to what was on the market. We started by selecting sustainable and organic fabrics; hemp and organic cotton.

Hemp, although not grown in the U.S., makes the grade. It is a plant which does not depend on chemicals to make it a viable crop. It is a sustainably harvested fiber which thrives in most climates, grows rapidly and is resistant to most disease and insects minimizing the need for fertilizers and pesticides. Its deep tap root aerates the soil and creates a rich growing medium. Its tall stalk drops its leaves creating a self-mulching eco system. Hemp's 6000 year history and its role in supplying nations with a wide range of goods makes it a wonderful choice for creating our product. The yarns can be woven and blended with flax or organic cotton to name but a few, offering a variety of weights and textures. It can be natural or semi bleached. Hemp use could help move us toward biodegradable alternatives. It must be imported at this time.

The two main production centers for hemp are China and Romania. China offers products using a shorter fiber (less expensive to produce) which creates a different look than the long fiber of Romanian hemp. We prefer the Romanian hemp and this is the path we are on. The production methods are labor-intensive using traditional organic methods of water retting and drying before hackling and spinning the yarns. The fabrics are whitened if needed with hydrogen peroxide rather than chlorine dioxide and finally air finished for softening. Its, texture, durability, mildew resistance, character, beauty and old-world charm make it a winner.

Organic cotton was a natural choice for us in terms of offering a healthier alternative. Conventional cotton provides half of all textiles but is the most chemically treated of all fabrics since it is vulnerable to a large number of pests so that pesticides and fungicides are required. Organic production systems replenish and maintain soil fertility, reduce the use of toxic chemicals and help establish biologically diverse agriculture. Third party certification organizations verify that organic producers use only methods and materials allowed in organic production. Our cotton is grown, harvested and woven in Turkey.

Printing:
Our debut line; "Ocean Collection" uses a ground cloth of Chinese hemp and is hand silk-screened by artisans right here in New England with waterbased, high-light-fast, pigment dyes, free of heavy metals. These dyes are approved by The Organic Trade Association's Fiber Standards. (We are members of OTA.) We recommend our fabrics for light upholstery, draperies, pillows/cushions, and conversational chairs. No chemical finishes, flame-retardants are ever used. The fabrics should be professionally cleaned-seeking out solvent free or minimal solvent based cleaning when and where available.

The Next Collection:
Due out in late summer 08, our next collection will incorporate a beautiful Romanian hemp. This fabric is created the old-fashioned way, which is to say, the mill has not modernized. It is a chemical free method of mechanical fiber separation and preparation. The textiles have a beautiful hand, are tightly woven and are air finished (strong blasts of air are used to soften the fabric). This same company produces hemp/cotton blends and flax/linen fabrics in the same manner and we will be incorporating these base fabrics into our collections in the future. The European mill we are printing with, has established a relationship with the GOTS certifying body and is working toward this end. We will keep you abreast of the details as they develop.

We have made the leap to take our production overseas only after much thought and a deep desire to take the quality of our product to the next level. This combination of quality and beauty will create a textile suitable for many applications. We are currently seeking out additional production partners who are aware of the need to reduce their use of toxic chemicals and who are willing to print with dyes/inks approved by the Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS).

This is a long and winding road with a sharp learning curve but because we truly believe that the best is yet to come--we earnestly forge ahead. We hope you are as excited about these products as we are. Enjoy their beauty, and feel good that you too are taking a small step forward.

Thank you for considering Oliveira Textiles.