UPCYCLE by The Sleep Shirt: A new line of sustainable homewear and accessories
Upcycled home accessories
We're thrilled to announce our newest line: UPCYCLE by The Sleep Shirt. We decided to take a sustainable step in our environmental footprint and reuse leftover fabric from seasonal production runs. This new capsule line consists of affordable home textiles and accessories made from our luxurious cottons and linens. Our founder, Alexandra Suhner Isenberg, was appalled to learn that the fashion industry creates millions of pounds of waste fabric every year and wanted to make sure that The Sleep Shirt was not contributing to this waste of materials and resources.
The Sleep Shirt’s policy has always been to use leftover fabrics where we can on extra sleepwear during seasonal production runs, however small rolls of waste fabric continued to accumulate. Working with small, female-run production units across Canada, it was decided to find a productive use of the leftover quality fabrics used in the regular collections. Together our team designed an array of reusable napkins, tea towels, zipper pouches, kerchiefs, and laundry bags made from our adorned sleepwear materials.
For the kitchen, UPCYCLE by The Sleep Shirt includes two sizes of napkins sold in sets of four and a variety of tea towels sold in sets of two. Alexandra has been using cloth napkins at home for many years, which are more environmentally friendly than paper ones (providing they are used more than once between washes) and more luxurious than their paper counterparts. The small napkin is a 30cm by 30cm (12” by 12”) square and is best used for informal dinners, outdoor picnics, or as cocktail napkins. The large napkin is a 45cm by 45cm (18” by 18”) square and would work well in formal dining or however best suits an individual's needs. Fabrics include a range of textures and prints, including a light blue linen, a picnic-esque red and white check, a soft brushed plaid and a silky blue and white micro check.
Zero waste home textiles
The tea towels, measuring 50cm by 65cm (20” by 26”) are available in the matching red and white check and a chic blue Oxford cotton with a woven white dot pattern. “You can never have too many tea towels” Alexandra explains. “I use them in place of paper towels when I am cooking. They are much less wasteful than paper towels, and are better for wiping hands, dishes, and surfaces. Plus, they don’t take up much space in the washing machine.”
The assortment of pouches and laundry bags were added to the collection as practical storage systems for handbags and traveling. The pouches, available in four sizes and sold in sets of two or four, can be used to store items of all sizes, from lip balms to shoes. The Laundry Bag, an item Alexandra insisted be added to the collection, can of course be used as a laundry bag, but she likes to use them to protect her clothing when traveling. “I tend to travel with a lot of luggage on business trips, so I like to have large bags that allow me to pack folded or rolled items of clothing neatly inside. The bags also allow me to separate my personal items from business items, such as collection samples.”
The last piece to launch in our first UPCYCLE by The Sleep Shirt collection is the kerchief. This 60cm by 60cm (24” by 24”) square is available in a mix of cotton and linen colourways and prints. The kerchiefs can be used for multiple purposes such as a headband, wrapping paper and as an adorable necktie for your pup.
SHOP UPCYCLE BY THE SLEEP SHIRT HERE