{"product_id":"linen-sauna-towel","title":"Linen Sauna Towel","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA cotton terry towel in a sauna is a sponge.\u003c\/strong\u003e It takes on water, stays damp in a humid room, and by the third session it smells.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLinen does the opposite.\u003c\/strong\u003e Flax absorbs quickly and releases quickly, so the towel is dry again before the next time you use it. It is also the cloth that gets better rather than worse: linen softens every time it is washed, and it outlasts cotton by years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 dir=\"ltr\"\u003eSize\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e30 by 51 inches (76 by 130 cm). A full bath towel, not a gym towel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe cloth\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e280 grams per square meter of 100% European flax, woven in Lithuania. \u003cstrong\u003eUndyed and unbleached, washed in water only.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eNo softener, no resin, no easy-care finish. Those treatments are what make a new towel feel plush in the shop and stop absorbing within a year.\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003eA linen towel that feels slightly firm on day one is a linen towel with nothing on it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 dir=\"ltr\"\u003eWhat is usually done to linen, and what we did instead\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eMost linen you can buy has been through a finishing process nobody puts on the label. \u003cstrong\u003eOptical brighteners\u003c\/strong\u003e, which are synthetic dyes that fluoresce under daylight to make white look whiter. \u003cstrong\u003eSilicone softeners\u003c\/strong\u003e, which coat the fiber so cloth feels plush in a shop and absorbs worse for the rest of its life. \u003cstrong\u003eChlorine or peroxide bleaching.\u003c\/strong\u003e And on anything sold as easy-care or wrinkle-resistant, a \u003cstrong\u003eformaldehyde-releasing resin.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eNone of that is illegal and almost none of it is typically disclosed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWe're selling undyed, unbleached, washed in water only, with no softener and no resin.\u003c\/strong\u003e And because a specification is only a sentence until somebody checks it, \u003cstrong\u003ewe tested the cloth under UV light during multiple sample runs.\u003c\/strong\u003e Optical brighteners glow under UV. Ours did not.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThere is a reason this matters more in a sauna than in a linen closet.\u003c\/strong\u003e A wrinkle-resistant resin was formulated for a wardrobe, not for a 190°F sauna, and nobody who makes those finishes has tested them there. We would rather have cloth with nothing on it than cloth with something on it that nobody has thought about.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe one synthetic in this product, and we are not going to bury it\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe hem is sewn with polyester thread.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eWe asked for cotton. The mill refused outright. Cotton thread does not survive repeated laundering, and they were not willing to make an exception.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eAnother mill we spoke to does offer cotton thread. We did not use them, because their cloth was not the cloth we wanted. That was a real trade and we made it with our eyes open: the fiber you touch is 100% flax, and the thread holding the hem is not.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eIt is a few grams of polyester in a product that is otherwise entirely flax, and you are reading about it here rather than finding out later.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 dir=\"ltr\"\u003eWhat we are still confirming\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ePhotography. The towels are still being woven, so what you see here is a photo of the final sample fabric rather than the finished piece. Real photographs will follow when we receive the shipment.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 dir=\"ltr\"\u003eAvailability\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNot yet available. Leave your email and we will tell you the day it is.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Brinna","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49532182462691,"sku":null,"price":78.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8388\/2979\/files\/linen-on-bench-corrected.jpg?v=1791665785","url":"https:\/\/brinnasauna.com\/products\/linen-sauna-towel","provider":"Brinna","version":"1.0","type":"link"}