If you’re in the market for a more sustainable set of sheets, start by selecting fabrics made from natural fibers such as organic cotton, flax, bamboo, and hemp, that are breathable and durable.
Next, pay attention to the weaves and how they feel against your skin. Percale sheets are durable, crisp and lightweight and get softer with every wash and are great for warm sleepers. Sateen is silky, soft, and heavy, and is good to sleep in all year round. While hemp fabric is slightly coarser than linen, both linen and hemp are wrinkly, durable and natural insulators that soften with washing. When it comes to bamboo sheets, pick sheets made from bamboo lyocell, which are low-impact compared to those made from bamboo viscose.
You’ll also want to keep an eye out for certifications. OEKO-TEX means the product is free from harmful substances and is harmless for human health, Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certifications ensures the organic status of textiles, and Fair Trade certification ensures better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world.
We deeply researched the market to recommend the best sustainable sheet sets.
Soft as butter, Coyuchi’s sateen bedding set offers the best of two worlds, with a hint of luster on one side of the sheets and a subtle matte finish on the other. The sateen cotton set, including a duvet cover, fitted sheet, and two pillowcases (twin sets come with one pillowcase), will keep you comfortable throughout the year.
Best Overall
Coyuchi Organic Relaxed Sateen Bedding Set
The organic cotton is GOTS and Fair Trade certified and Coyuchi contributes to nonprofit environmental organizations through 1% For The Planet. The products are also MADE SAFE certified, which means they’re free from toxins that are harmful to humans, animals, or ecosystems. Minimalistic and perfect for decompressing, once you buy them you’ll find yourself more often in bed.
Price at time of publish: $268 for size queen
Affordable and comfortable, Magnolia Organics bedding bundles are uncompromising on quality and the principles of sustainability. These sateen sheets made from long-staple organic cotton are GOTS certified and dyed with low-impact, fiber-reactive dyes that do not require toxic chemical binders. Our tester particularly liked the fitted sheet’s deep-pocket with elastic in each corner, which help hold the sheet firmly in place on the mattress.
Best Budget
Magnolia Organics Dream Collection Sheet Set
The sheet set includes a flat sheet and one deep-pocket fitted sheet along with two pillowcases (twin sets come with one pillowcase). You can snuggle in these 300 thread count sheets throughout the year.
Price at time of publish: $110 for size queen
Bamboo fiber’s moisture wicking and temperature regulating abilities have made it a popular choice for hot sleepers. Cozy Earth’s Bamboo Sheet Set is dye-free and made from bamboo sourced from farms in China. Although Cozy Earth does not currently list any third-part certifications, a spokesperson from the company told Treehugger that the bamboo is sourced from USDA Organic farms.
Best Cooling
Cozy Earth Bamboo Sheet Set
Cozy Earth offers a 100-night trial and a 10-year warranty. These breathable sheets are designed to help lower the humidity surrounding your body in bed, keeping the hot flashes and night sweat at bay.
Price at time of publish: $369
Available in a range lovely shades, stripes and multiple sizes, we love Ettitude’s Bamboo sheet set made from CleanBamboo, their signature bamboo lyocell fabric that’s sustainable, hypoallergenic, and OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified. CleanBamboo also uses a water-saving process, that allows the manufacturer to recycle water up to 200 times. This sheet set is super-scrumptious to touch and is thermoregulating, perfect for hot sleepers who toss and turn at night.
Best Bamboo
Ettitude Bamboo Lyocell Signature Sateen Sheet Set
You can complete your bedding set in style with a matching bamboo lyocell duvet cover from their collection.
Price at time of publish: $169
Indian Suvin Cotton, nicknamed “Suvin Gold” is a rare, heritage hand-harvested cotton growing in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, with only a few 1,000 bales being produced each year. What’s special about this cotton is its extraordinary fiber length, allowing it to be woven to a high thread count. Avocado’s Superfine Suvin Sheets are GOTS, OEKO-TEX Standard 100 and MADE SAFE certified. Sink into blissful slumber in their 600 and 1,000 thread count sateen sheet sets, the epitome of cotton eco-luxury.
Best Organic Cotton
Avocado Organic Superfine Suvin Cotton Sheets
Price at time of publish: $429 for queen size
Why swathe yourself in fabrics which have a silky feel but aren’t the real deal? Momme is a measure of silk’s weight and density; great quality silks are 22 momme and higher. Orose Silk’s flat sheet set is made from 25 momme natural mulberry silk, touted as the most luxurious silk in the world. Orose silk sheets are equivalent to 800 thread count, making them luxurious and durable at the same time.
Best Silk
Orose 25-Momme 4-Piece Silk Sheet Set
OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified, they are lustrous, stay wrinkle-free, and are naturally dyed. Many people find that silk sheets help their skin and reduce frizzy hair, by cutting down on overnight friction. If you’re looking to improve your beauty sleep, that might be reason enough to consider switching to a silk set.
Price at time of publish: $599
Think of percale as the crisp white shirt that caresses your skin on a hot summer day. Sol Organic’s 300 thread count percale bedding is made from long staple cotton fibers spun into a single-ply yarn, resulting in lightweight, long-lasting sheets.
Best Percale
Sol Organics Percale Bedding Bundle
The company uses GOTS and Fair Trade certified organic dyed cotton which comes in three subtle shades. The sheets are available in Twin XL and California King, as well as in standard sizes.
Price at time of publish: $199
Do you want to sleep in soft and fuzzy sheets that are breathable? Boll & Branch’s cotton flannel sheet sets in solid colors have been ethically manufactured in Portugal, a leader in cotton flannel. They have a smooth and velvety texture because the flannel has been brushed and sheared to resist pilling, which is the bumpy surface of broken fibers found often on the fabric. It’s cozy and weighty yet comfortable for even hot sleepers.
Best Flannel
Boll & Branch Solid Flannel Sheet Set
The sheets are GOTS and OEKO-Tex STANDARD 100 certified, and the company publishes a detailed impact report about its commitment to organic cotton farmers and the environment.
Price at time of publish: $248
If tucking in unruly ends of your fitted sheet under the mattress is a daily struggle after you wake up, “deep pocket” sheets offer a solution. Pottery Barn’s fitted percale sheet has a 16-inch-deep pocket that can easily be stretched over the loftiest of mattresses. All the items in the set have a 400 thread count. Our tester found these sheets to be durable, but noted that they do wrinkle easily, but that’s expected with cotton sheets.
Best Deep Pocket
PB Classic 400-Thread-Count Organic Percale Sheet Set
Made from combed organic cotton that’s GOTS and Fair Trade certified, the set includes a flat sheet, fitted sheet, and two pillowcases (twin sets come with one pillowcase). For an extra charge, these sheets can be monogramed, so you can tuck yourself into bed feeling like you’re royalty.
Why Trust Treehugger?
To make this list, we picked sheet sets that ticked the right boxes when it comes to satisfying sustainability criteria, by looking for brands with trusted third-party certifications and products made with natural and low-impact materials. Our team also tests top products in our own homes, to make sure our picks stand up to real-world use.
Our top pick for a sustainable sheets is the Coyuchi Organic Relaxed Sateen Set, because they have three trustworthy certifications to ensure they’re ethical, sustainable and free of harmful chemicals. If you’re a hot sleeper, you’ll want to consider the Cozy Earth’s Bamboo Sheet Set.
Here at Treehugger, we want to make it easy for our readers to make the best sustainable purchases. Author Neeti Mehra is an expert in sustainable and conscious living.
