Aegean Towels

GSM is calculated by weighing a one meter by one meter square of the fabric in question, and it’s an agreed-upon standard in textile production. A higher GSM makes a towel thicker and more absorbent, but also takes longer to dry. We chose 700 GSM, which feels really good and spa-like, but isn’t so heavy that it’s perpetually damp. While there’s no “right number”, there are ranges that feel best: 500 to 800 generally is considered luxe.

Developed in the 1970s by textile scientist Dieter Plate and colleagues, Sirospun technology produces twisted double-strand yarn in a single step. Weaving long-staple fabric, like our towels, requires “twofold yarns”, or double-strand yarns, which are made by twisting together two “singles” yarns.

Why is this necessary? A singles yarn used alone risks snapping when on the loom, because of its unbound surface fibers. Twisting together two singles yarns binds each strand’s surface fibers into the structure of the twist, making it stronger. Sirospun technology combined the previously separate stages of first spinning and then doubling the yarns, producing sturdy, weaving-ready yarn in half the time. 

What does this mean for you? Not only do they last longer, and cost less, but fabrics woven of siro-spun, or siro-combed, yarns have a smoother handle than those produced with traditional two-fold yarns.

GOTS, the Global Organic Textile Standard, was established in 2006 as a globally-accepted set of transparent, clearly-defined criteria for what classifies a textile as organic. It was dreamt up at a 2002 conference and ultimately founded by 4 organizations: Japan’s Organic Cotton Association, Germany’s Internationaler Verband der Naturtextilwirtschaft, the UK’s Soil Association, and the USA’s Organic Trade Association.

It remains the worldwide leading textile processing standard for organic fibers, and is implemented via independent certification of a company’s entire supply chain, including ecological and social criteria. So if you’re GOTS-certified, you’re meeting a set of high standards when it comes to production, the environment, and your employees.