At the official launch of EarthCove at Wellnest, a conversation with founder Emma Bianco, Wellnest co-founder Wissem Souadi and clinical nutritionist and NatureDoc founder Lucinda Miller got us thinking more deeply about something we’ve touched on before: if we’re becoming increasingly conscious about what we put in and on our bodies, how closely are we looking at what surrounds us — and what we wear — when things get hot?
In a time when we filter our water, scrutinise skincare ingredients, think more carefully about what we eat and are increasingly conscious of what we bring into our homes, there’s one part of our wellness routine that deserves the same attention.
The sauna.
We’ve talked before about looking beyond the benefits of sauna to the environment itself — what it’s built from, what materials are being heated around us and whether a beautiful wellness space is quite as considered as it looks.
But at the EarthCove launch, another part of that conversation came sharply into focus.
What are we actually sweating in?
Back in Sauna Season
Sauna has been firmly embedded in the wellness conversation for some time, but as autumn arrives, we’re back in the season when getting very hot suddenly sounds particularly appealing.
At Wellnest, Lucinda Miller, clinical nutritionist, founder of NatureDoc and author, spoke about sauna as something she recommends within her work, alongside a wider conversation around sweating, skin and reducing our exposure to things we might not necessarily want more of.
And it raised a simple question.
If we’re being intentional about going into a sauna for our wellbeing, shouldn’t we be equally intentional about what we’re sitting in and what we’re wearing while we’re there?
What Are We Sitting In?
This is something we’ve touched on before, but it’s worth looking at more closely.
Traditional saunas operate at high temperatures and, while timber may be natural, a finished sauna can also involve adhesives, coatings, stains, sealants and other materials. So if sauna is becoming a regular part of our wellness routine, it feels worth looking beyond the aesthetic.
What timber has been used? How has it been treated? What glues, coatings or finishes are involved? How is the space ventilated? We spend a lot of time asking what a wellness treatment can do for us.
Increasingly, we think another good question is: What is this actually made from?
What Are We Sweating In?
This was the real oh… moment of the EarthCove launch.
Most conventional swimwear is made predominantly from synthetic fibres such as polyester, nylon and elastane. They stretch, keep their shape and dry quickly. They’re also plastic-based fibres.
EarthCove is doing something different. Founded by Emma Bianco, the brand has developed swimwear made predominantly from natural fibres. The EarthCove swimsuit we saw at Wellnest was 98% organic cotton and 2% spandex.
It was seeing that label that made the whole conversation click. We’re questioning synthetic fabrics in our wardrobes. We’re talking about microplastics. We’re choosing natural fibres for bedding. We think about what sits against our skin.
And then we walk into an intensely hot room and sweat in plastic-based swimwear.
Once you think about it, it’s difficult to unthink it.
Heat, sweat and prolonged skin contact make it an interesting combination. Synthetic textiles can involve dyes, finishing agents and other chemicals used during manufacturing, as well as being part of the wider conversation around microplastic fibres.
There are still questions to be answered around exactly what different textile exposures mean for our health, but for us, the takeaway is simpler. If there’s a good alternative that puts predominantly natural fibre against our skin while we sit and sweat in high heat, we want to know about it.
And now we do.
Earthcove is the world’s first organic cotton swimwear range for the whole family. Designed for water-loving families who want less plastic against the body, in the water, and in the world their children are growing up in. Every piece is made from a minimum of 98% certified organic cotton — the inverse of nearly every other swimwear brand on the market.
A More Considered Sauna
The conversation also made us think about the ritual as a whole.
Sauna and detox are often used in the same sentence, although sweating is primarily how our bodies regulate temperature and our liver and kidneys do most of the heavy lifting when it comes to processing and eliminating waste.
But sauna doesn’t need an enormous health promise attached to it for us to see its appeal. The heat. The pause. The ritual. The absence of a phone. That feeling when you emerge. There’s plenty to like.
So next time we sauna, there are a few things we’ll be thinking about.
- Look beyond the beautiful timber. If sauna is part of your regular routine, get curious about what the space is made from and how it has been treated.
- Check your swimsuit label. If you’ve started choosing natural fibres elsewhere, sauna wear feels like a logical place to look next.
- Think about what you’re putting on your skin. High heat probably isn’t the moment we need layers of heavily fragranced body products.
- And listen to your body. Wellness should still be about what makes you feel well, rather than blindly following a protocol because everyone else is doing it
The Bright Souls Take
What we liked about the EarthCove launch was that we went expecting to discover a new swimwear brand and came away reconsidering an entire ritual.
We already knew we wanted to think more carefully about the spaces in which we do wellness. Now we’re looking at what we’re wearing in them too. And that feels like where the low-tox conversation gets interesting.
Not trying to create some impossible version of perfectly “clean” living. Just becoming more conscious of the choices we make repeatedly, particularly when better alternatives exist.
We filter our water. We read the skincare label. We look at what’s in our food.
Perhaps it’s time we looked at the label on our sauna wear too.
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The Art of Wellness, edited by Bright Souls
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