Often described as “breathable” because of its ability to absorb and release moisture quickly, cotton fabric makes cool, comfortable clothes. It is a tough textile, able to withstand higher temperatures without disintegrating, and treated correctly lasts for years.



GET SORTED
While all cotton clothes are generally durable, they all don’t belong in the same load in your washing machine. By separating your cotton laundry you can help prolong the life of your items. Separate your cotton clothes according to weight and color. Heavy, dark pieces such as denim, canvas or corduroy should be washed together, in cool or cold water, and separately from your high quality lightweight cotton T-shirts.

Turn embellished cotton clothing (anything with beads, graphics, or leather trims and/or pockets) inside out before washing. Then place items inside a mesh laundry bag to further protect the items during the wash cycle.



STAIN TREATMENT
Whenever possible pre-treat stains before the garment goes in the washing machine. If you catch a stain just after it’s happened, quickly apply cold (never hot) water to the spot to stop it setting. Whilst colour-safe bleach such as ‘Napisan’ is perfect for use on plain cotton garments, it needs to be kept well away from Leather Trims, screen-prints and metal embellishments. You can mix a small amount of ‘Napisan’ into a paste and apply just to the stain prior to it going into washing machine, but it needs to be rinsed before placing in machine to avoid it coming into contact with any trims once in the machine.


DRYING
Even pre-shrunk Cotton can have some residual shrinkage, so take care when drying it. For this reason line drying, inside out away from direct sunlight is best (sunlight can yellow cotton over time). If you must Tumble-dry items, do so on a low heat setting, just long enough to remove moisture and smooth wrinkles. To prevent additional wrinkles, remove your clothing and fold as soon as the cycle finishes. Constantly drying dark-colored fabric in the dryer will fade the color over time.


IRONING
The Cotton setting on your Iron will be hot and steamy, which is necessary to properly remove unwanted wrinkles. Extra care is needed when ironing cotton garments with Leather Trims, Pockets or Screen-prints not to touch the trim or print with the hot iron. If the Leather pocket on your garment is creased, turn the heat setting on the iron down to low, turn the garment inside out, and gently smooth the iron over reverse side of pocket to reshape.