Here at Oscha Slings, we always strive to produce our woven baby wraps with the highest quality materials, ethically sourced from as close to home as possible. That is why we were so pleased to discover English Fine Cottons, a company bringing cotton spinning back to its spiritual home in the North of England.
Just a couple of hundred miles from our Scottish workshop English Fine Cottons are based in Manchester, formerly dubbed 'Cottonopolis', spinning their high-quality cotton within a historic Victorian cotton mill.
General Manager, Andy Ogden says:
“When we first acquired Tower Mill back in 2013, it was sadly very run down and we knew we had an enormous task ahead of us to make it fit for purpose. Restoration work is still on-going but the mill is thriving and is now home to the most modern cotton production machinery in the world. We're really proud that we have achieved our goal of re-establishing cotton spinning in the UK and the fact we've managed to revive an important part of the indsutry's heritage in the process.
English Fine Cottons only buy cotton directly from their growers, avoiding buying from agents to be certain of traceability. They are passionate about getting to know their suppliers, travelling to North America, India and Barbados to inspect the farms where the cotton is grown to ensure our products are not compromised.
For example, their Supima cotton comes directly from the Californian farms of one of the world's foremost growers, J G Boswell. Every bale of raw cotton received from Boswell's comes with its own unique number. This allows them to trace the bale back to the day it was harvested and find out the very field, and even which part of the field, it came from – guaranteeing real consistency in their cotton's main characteristics, colour and length.
English Fine Cottons say:
"Our handling processes at Tower Mill are also all about traceability. Our systems are robust and able to track every delivery into our warehouse. When we receive the containers, the bale numbers are recorded and logged into our stock system.
Every time we load the bale plucker, we use bales from the same master batch, controlling the fibre from each batch through to the finished cones of yarn. Each cone of yarn has a unique number – assuring complete traceability from the grower right through to the finished yarn."
We're proud to be supporting English Fine Cottons, their Britspun ® yarns have quickly become customer favourites, with Britspun ® Suvin Gold and Supima cottons bringing wonderfully luxurious qualities to our woven slings.
Supima Cotton
English Fine Cotton's star grade Supima cotton is a wonderful alternative to our organic combed cotton. We loved the wrapping qualities of this Britspun ® yarn so much that we have used it as a strong, durable & easy care warp on two of our newest Classic Collection additions: Raja Wilds & Zorro Ignite.
Supima cotton is a great alternative to standard cottons, bringing just a little more shimmer and cush. Offering another dimension to our woven slings and accessories, Supima cotton is now a firm favourite for Oscha customers.
Supima cotton is wonderfully versatile, its shimmer and silky softness making it perfect for our gorgeous lightweight Ceo scarves as well as our woven wraps and carriers.
Our customers have certainly enjoyed getting to know the qualities of Supima Cotton:
Erica Kurktchi: “I am absolutely loving the Supima cotton! It doesn't feel like any cotton I've previously wrapped with. The shine on it is also unbelievable. When you think cotton, you don't think of shine. And that has been true until now!
Nikki Hines:"Incredible sheen and softness! These wraps absolutely glow. There's slight cush, plenty of glide, and they're easy to wrap with and knot."
Suvin Gold Cotton
Last year, English Fine Cottons spun a small amount of Suvin Gold – a rare superfine cotton that's the jewel in the Indian cotton crown. This long staple cotton is wonderfully durable, supportive and shimmery, bringing a truly decadent feel to our Scottish-made baby slings.
Our customers have compared the feel, look and wrapping qualities of this cotton to the sought-after Sea Island Cotton. Long lasting, with a rich shimmer and a lovely cushy feel, Suvin Gold brings an added toddlerworthy quality to our cotton warps - with just a little more comfort and support than our standard organic combed cotton.
This Britspun ® yarn is a fantastic alternative to standard cottons, and with a slightly lower price tag than its rarer cousins, the wrapping qualities of this ethically produced yarn can certainly rival the more well-known luxury cottons.
Our customers love Suvin Gold:
Johna Jolene Smith: “It's amazing! SO soft straight from the bag. Plus my toddler felt weightless still.
Trang Woo: “Itfeels silky and oh so shiny that you'll need to snuggle with it. It wraps beautifully and glides into place…I just want to mention that shine again!
