While linen might not be the obvious choice for bedding in the face of the shimmery softness of silk or the versatility and affordability of cotton, it is a great investment for your bedroom and a pleasure to snuggle in. Linen is a textile made from natural fiber. It is cultivated from the flax plant, which grows abundantly in Europe—the best quality linen often comes from Belgium and France. One of the inherent advantages of linen is that the cultivation of flax requires minimal irrigation, pesticides, and chemical inputs.

Linen has slid into the mainstream of the bedding universe in recent times. You can now buy heirloom style, Earth-friendly linen across price points. Linen’s rumpled popularity is encouraged by its ability to age gracefully. The coarse material becomes softer with use and every wash. Though more expensive than cotton, it often is more durable in the long run. Breathable, linen is multi-seasonal, ideal to keep you cool in the summer and warm during winter.

So, bring a slice of Mediterranean chic to your home with linen’s Insta-friendly, lived-in luxurious look. Here’s the best linen bedding:

Breezy and comfortable, Parachute’s linen set is effortlessly stylish and scores high on utter softness, making it our best overall pick. The bedding is made in Portugal from OEKO-TEX certified European flax. Light and airy, even when you’re cocooned deep inside the sheets, you’ll feel no scratchiness or heaviness.

Best Overall

Parachute Linen Venice Set

Available in solid colors, the textured linen is temperature-regulating, so you can sleep in them through all seasons and not wake up drenched in sweat. The set comes with a fitted sheet, a pillowcase set, and a duvet cover. You can add an optional top sheet to the bundle if you so wish.

Price at time of publish: $469

You may think of Avocado as a mattress company, but the brand also has an impressive range of organic bedding. These GOTS-certified linen sheets are woven in France, and are also Made Safe Certified, Climate Neutral certified, PETA-Approved vegan. They come in two colors (white and natural), and are also pre-washed to increase the linen’s softness and prevent shrinking.

Best Overall Runner Up

Avocado Organic Linen Sheets

The sheet set include a flat sheet, a fitted sheet, and two pillow cases. Avocado also sells a matching linen duvet cover, which is available in the same colors as the sheets plus indigo blue, olive green, and gray. 

Swaddle yourself in this decadent bedding set from Coyuchi. They come in dreamy colors such as Fog, Maize, Laurel, and Harbor Blue. Packed in a reusable cotton cloth bag, the set includes a duvet cover, a fitted sheet, and a set of two pillowcases. It’s made from linen grown on organic farms in France, where the flax plant is rotated with crops such as alfalfa and fava beans.

Best Splurge

Coyuchi Organic Relaxed Linen Minimalist Set

Woven in Portugal, the linen is GOTS certified and also Made Safe, indicating it is free from toxins that are harmful to human health, animals, or ecosystems. We love their simple detailing, such as the thoughtful color-matched pick stitching and the rustic coconut shell buttons on the duvet. These hotel-style sheets are worth the splurge and will lull you gently into a restful night of sleep.

Price at time of publish: $1,012 for a Full/Queen Bedding Set

Linen bedding’s reputation of being coarse in its initial days is on the wane. Many companies sell pre-washed and treated linen, which is softer and more pleasurable to touch. UK-based brand Piglet’s basic bedding bundle sets are made from natural stonewashed French flax.

Best Stonewashed

Piglet Oatmeal Basic Bundle

Stonewashing means the fabric has been pre-washed with natural or manmade stones such as volcanic rocks or pumice stone, giving it a fuzzy preloved look and fluidity. Post stonewashing, this OEKO-TEX certified linen will not shrink, fade, or get distorted out of shape, according to Piglet. We love that the soothing stonewashed Oatmeal hue has been inspired by a popular drawstring packing bag. The bundle comes with a linen duvet cover, a pair of pillowcases, and a fitted sheet.

Price at time of publish: $363

A traditional grouse about organic linen bedding is its limited color palette, which is often dominated by earthy hues. Not any longer. Brooklinen’s bedding bundle is available in 10 pleasing shades, ranging from soft pastels to bold stripes. Though some brands offer more options, we love that you can mix and match colors while building the set, which is comprised of sheets, the duvet cover, and the pillowcases.

Best Variety

Brooklinen Linen Hardcore Sheet Bundle

The linen, made from flax grown in France and Belgium, is OEKO-TEX certified. Each piece has been washed and dyed in small batches. The brand says you can machine wash it, and preferably dry it on the line to keep the color and fibers intact. To prevent your lovely sheets from fading, instead of storing them in plastic bags, you can stash them away in ventilated fabric bags, a large pillowcase, or ideally, a linen cupboard.

Price at time of publish: $573

You must be wondering why hemp sheets feature in this list. Hemp is a linen-type yarn that comes from the plant Cannabis sativa. It’s touted to have less impact on the earth than flax and is said to be more durable than linen made from flax. Buffy’s linen sheet set is made from hemp that’s harvested from farms in China’s Heilongjiang province.  

Best Hemp

Buffy Soft Hemp Sheets

The set has two pillowcases, one top sheet, and a fitted sheet each. It comes in three natural shades, which become softer as you use and wash them. Hemp is naturally antibacterial and holds its own against fading and moldiness, so you sleep blissfully in the sheets through all seasons.

Price at time of publish: $279

Why Trust Treehugger?

For our selection, we’ve only picked linen that has been certified with the relevant credentials. We’ve picked linen bedding that comes with certifications such as the OEKO-TEX certification, meaning the bedding is free from harmful chemicals and is safe for human use, and the GOTS certification, indicating its organic status.

Our top choice for linen bedding is Parachute’s Linen Venice Set, but we also love the Organic Linen Sheets from Avocado.

Author Neeti Mehra is a luxury-industry veteran who’s also committed to sustainable, slow, and mindful living.