Which handkerchiefs and bandanas are plastic-free in the cloth, the hem thread and the print?
This category is being vetted. Nothing here is a recommendation yet.
Where plastic hides in handkerchiefs and bandanas
A square of cotton looks like the simplest textile there is, which is why the plastic gets missed. The cloth is cotton or linen, though 65/35 polyester-cotton squares and polyester neck gaiters sell under the same names. The hem is sewn in polyester thread unless the maker says cotton. A printed bandana carries pigment ink, and the binder that fixes pigment to cloth is an acrylic or polyurethane polymer. A vat dye such as indigo bonds to the fiber with no binder at all. The label is a polyester tag. The square often ships folded in a polybag.
What to check before you buy
- Fiber: 100% cotton or linen, with nothing blended in?
- Hem: rolled or stitched, and with what thread?
- Color: woven in, vat or natural dye, or a pigment print with an acrylic binder?
- Label: none, woven cotton, or printed polyester?
- Packaging: a paper band, or a polybag?