My Skin Started This Journey Long Before SunGods Did
For as long as I can remember, my skin has been difficult, not difficult in a dramatic way but difficult in a persistent way. The kind of way that slowly changes how you live, a new laundry detergent, a different body wash, a cleaning product, certain clothing, some bedding and my skin would let me know immediately. Hives, itching, redness, I currently have Eczema on my eyelids and around my eyes. Discomfort topped with a killer migraine is the norm for me at the moment, my skin has always been a far better detective than I am.
Long before I started questioning what products were made from, my body was already asking the question for me and unlike marketing departments, skin doesn't care about promises, it responds to materials.
The Clean Living Journey
About ten years ago, I started paying closer attention not because I was trying to be sustainable, in all honesty, it was because I wanted relief. I began replacing conventional cleaning products with more natural alternatives, swapped out household chemicals, changed body care products and reduced unnecessary plastics in our home. I started reading ingredient lists and gradually something interesting happened, I felt better with less breakouts and migraines, this wasn’t an overnight sensation but enough for me to realise what surrounds us really matters.
The products we touch every day, inhale, wear, sleep in and bring into our homes, materials matter far more than most of us realise.
The Frustration That Wouldn't Go Away
As my interest grew, I started looking for clothing and textiles made from more natural materials, this sounds easier than it is, finding natural fibres for everyday clothing is possible, finding them for activewear, sleepwear, performance fabrics and modern home products is far more difficult. Every promising product seemed to hit the same wall, Polyester, Elastane, Nylon, Synthetic performance blends all these are Petroleum-based solutions (plastic) disguised as innovation.
The deeper I researched sustainable textiles, the more dead ends I encountered. The thing is, I wasn't looking for perfection, I was looking for alternatives and there weren't many.
Then I Discovered SeaCell
Everything changed when I came across SeaCell. Developed by German fibre innovator Smartfiber AG, SeaCell is a cellulosic fibre created from sustainably harvested Icelandic seaweed and wood pulp sourced from responsibly managed forests. At first glance it sounds almost impossible, Seaweed in textiles? Must be super expensive? Which was certainly my reaction, however it fascinated me so I kept researching.
SeaCell is produced using a closed-loop manufacturing process similar to modern lyocell production. The seaweed is carefully incorporated into the cellulose fibre structure, creating a soft, breathable fibre that retains many of the natural minerals found within the seaweed itself. The fibre is manufactured in Germany and produced according to stringent European environmental standards.
Importantly, the production process is climate neutral and designed around resource efficiency and responsible sourcing. Yet despite all of this innovation, very few brands seemed interested, which surprised me because from my perspective, SeaCell represents something exciting, not another synthetic performance fibre but a natural regenerative alternative.
What Makes SeaCell Different?
Consumers don't buy fibres, they buy outcomes. So what does SeaCell actually do? SeaCell is naturally soft, breathable, moisture regulating, comfortable against sensitive skin and because it is a cellulosic fibre, it works with the body rather than against it. Unlike many synthetic materials, SeaCell doesn't rely on petroleum-derived inputs (plastic) because it comes from nature and at end of life it can return to nature far more easily than conventional synthetic fibres.
For someone who had spent years searching for better textile solutions, it felt like a glimpse into the future and the opportunity to finally not have to put up with the itchiness of eczema and hives.
Then We Found Good Earth Cotton
If SeaCell represented innovation, Good Earth Cotton represented transformation. In a previous source blog (Natural, organic, sustainable, regenerative; what these labels really mean) we explored how sustainability language has evolved from organic to regenerative. Good Earth Cotton is a perfect example of modern evolution. Produced in Australia using regenerative agricultural practices, Good Earth Cotton focuses on improving soil health, biodiversity and carbon outcomes while maintaining full traceability from farm to finished fibre.
What appealed to me wasn't just the regenerative farming story but the fibre itself.
As we dug deeper into the technical specifications, we discovered Good Earth Cotton wasn't simply being recognised for how it is grown but also recognised for the quality of the fibre it produces.
Good Earth Cotton is known for producing exceptionally clean, traceable cotton with strong fibre quality characteristics. Cleaner cotton means less contamination entering the spinning process, improved fibre utilisation and greater manufacturing efficiency.
Fibre quality matters more than most consumers realise. Better fibre quality can improve spinning performance, reduce waste during processing and help create more consistent yarns and fabrics.
Another advantage is colour.
Cotton with brighter, cleaner colour characteristics can require less intensive processing to achieve desired fabric outcomes compared with lower-grade cottons, helping reduce the need for additional treatments in some manufacturing applications.
Combined with regenerative agriculture, traceability and Good Earth Cotton's Zero Climate Impact model, it represented something we rarely see in the textile industry.
A fibre system focused on both environmental outcomes and fibre performance, this felt entirely aligned with what we wanted SunGods to become.
Why Cellulosic Fibres Matter for Sustainable Bedding and Homewares
The more we researched, the more we realised some of the most exciting innovations in sustainable textiles are occurring within cellulosic fibres. SeaCell. TENCEL™ Lyocell. TENCEL™ Modal. Good Earth Cotton and increasingly, natural alternatives to conventional synthetic components. These fibres offer something the textile industry desperately needs, performance without relying entirely on petroleum, comfort without compromise and innovation grounded in nature.
The Future of Sustainable Fibres and Circular Materials
Perhaps the most exciting part is, we are only at the beginning. For decades, innovation in textiles largely meant creating new synthetic materials; Polyester, Nylon, Elastane and Polyurethane. The good news is the future looks very different.
Today we are seeing a new generation of natural and cellulosic fibres emerge to challenge the assumption performance must come from petroleum (plastic). Innovations like YULASTIC are exploring plant-based alternatives to conventional elastic. SeaCell is demonstrating how marine resources can contribute to next-generation textiles. TENCEL™ Lyocell and Modal continue to push the boundaries of closed-loop cellulosic fibre production. Good Earth Cotton is showing how regenerative agriculture can improve both environmental outcomes and fibre quality.
And thats only the beginning….
Researchers and fibre innovators are increasingly exploring materials once considered agricultural waste streams.
Banana fibre is being developed into durable, breathable textiles using fibres extracted from banana plant stems that would otherwise be discarded after harvest.
Coconut fibre, traditionally used in mattresses and furnishings, is finding new applications in circular product development due to its durability and natural resilience.
Nanollose is pioneering fibres made from microbial cellulose, creating tree-free rayon alternatives which reduce dependence on conventional forestry resources.
Around the world, innovators are exploring fibres derived from seaweed, citrus waste, pineapple leaves, hemp, flax, agricultural residues and other rapidly renewable resources.
What excites me, isn't any single fibre, it's the shift in thinking of the textile industry beginning to ask a different question.
Not: "How can we extract more from the planet?" But: "How can we work with what nature already provides?"
That question has the potential to reshape not only clothing and homewares, but entire product categories.
At SunGods, we believe the future belongs to materials which are renewable, regenerative, traceable and designed with circularity in mind. This doesn't mean every new fibre will succeed and it doesn't mean every innovation will scale. However, it does mean the future is likely to look very different from the petroleum-based systems which have dominated the last fifty years.
Our goal is simple, to remain curious, to keep learning, to keep testing and to continue bringing the most promising natural and cellulosic fibre innovations into future SunGods collections as they become commercially viable.
The products of tomorrow should not only perform better, they should leave the world better too.
Why SunGods Exists
When I first discovered SeaCell, I assumed someone else would build the products I wanted, would blend regenerative cotton, advanced cellulosic fibres and circular design principles. Someone else would challenge the industry's dependence on petroleum-based materials (plastic) but very few people were doing it.
So eventually I stopped waiting and SunGods wasn't created because I wanted to launch another homewares brand, it was created because I believe the future belongs to better materials, which work with nature and respect our body.
Materials designed with a beginning, a life, and a way home.