Behind the making of the wayvee Hair Towel

The beauty industry is rife with brands who love using fluffy words like ‘natural’ and ‘eco-friendly’. It feels like every brand out there claims to be slinging the holy grail of sustainable beauty. But then they go suspiciously quiet when you start asking questions like ‘wait, where do you actually get your products from?’ and ‘wait, what are your products actually made out of?’. 

That’s why we’re answering both of those questions right here, right now. And telling you a bit more about what sustainable beauty means to wayvee. Like, actually. 

What’s Hair Towel made of, and is it sustainable? 

We’ve gone to great lengths to make sure every part of Hair Towel comes from sources that are sustainable as possible.

That’s why when it came time to create Hair Towel, choosing the fabric was easy. We’ve always had a soft spot for linen (see: bedsheets and PJs, when we remember to do our laundry), but our reason for choosing linen was more than just us playing favourites.

Linen comes from the flax plant, a resilient little thing that thrives no matter where it’s planted and needs much less water than cotton. The good thing about the flax plant is that the whole plant is pulled out when it’s harvested for linen. This creates useful byproducts like flax seed and flax oil, which are supposed to be good for you. Apparently? 

Linen is also 30% thicker and stronger than cotton, which makes it last longer. Take good care of linen and it's the gift that keeps on giving. And giving, and giving. We’re not saying you’ll be handing down Hair Towel to your grandchildren (or fur babies), but you’ll be purchasing a new towel way less often than if Hair Towel was made from silk, cotton or even microfibre.

We’ve also used 100% European linen for Hair Towel. That’s because Europe has the perfect climate for growing the best linen, and your hair deserves only the best. Okay, maybe we’ve also got a soft spot for a Euro summer. This fabric has been OEKO-TEX certified, meaning no harmful chemicals or substances have been used in the production process.

The button used to secure Hair Towel is also OEKO-TEX certified, made from a bioresin material derived from fruit and vegetable waste. The button loop elastic is biodegradable, made from 60% GOTS organic cotton and 40% natural rubber sourced from Malaysia. 

Finally, our product labels are 100% cotton with polyester thread and OEKO-TEX certified.

Where are Hair Towel materials sourced from?

Our linen Hair Towel is designed and made in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, supporting local makers and textile manufacturers. 

The European linen is sourced from a Western Australian importer with over 25 years in the industry. Those bioresin buttons have travelled all the way from Lithuania, the button loop elastic is made from Turkish cotton and Malaysian rubber and the labels come from a manufacturer in Western Australia.

There’s one thing we’d really like to set straight – sourcing materials from across the globe doesn’t mean shady practices. Ethical considerations hinge on the practices of individual suppliers and the commitment of businesses to uphold certain standards, no matter where in the world they’re from. We’ve spent heaps of hours scrutinising all of our suppliers to make sure ethical labour practices and minimising harm to the planet are non-negotiables. 

So, what does ‘sustainable beauty’ mean to wayvee?

We know that putting new products out into the world makes what we do inherently unsustainable, and that’s why we’re not claiming perfection. We’re still committed to creating the most sustainable products we possibly can, though. 

To us, sustainable beauty simply means being transparent. It means no sugar coating or adding silly little words like “eco-friendly”, “green” and “natural” just for the sake of it, without explaining what we really mean. 

When we talk about wayvee products being sustainable and where we fit in the world of sustainable beauty, we mean we’re committed to staying open with you, probably making mistakes along the way, and being the first to own up to the bits we can be better at. Our therapist is really proud of us, actually.  

Looking for more behind the scenes wayvee goodness? Head here to read a note from our founder all about why she started wayvee.