What a torn fitted sheet taught us about sustainable materials
One morning, I walked into my bedroom and found Moose and Nellie looking unusually pleased with themselves. Moose, my American Staffy, and Nellie, my Greyhound, had apparently decided that my bed needed some renovation work.
The fitted sheet was torn, not a small tear but a proper rip, the kind of damage that immediately tells you the product isn't coming back from it.
At first I laughed, then I found myself asking a question I couldn't shake.
How did they do that so easily?
This wasn't a cheap fitted sheet, it came from a well-known premium bedding brand. The kind of brand most of us trust without hesitation which promises quality, luxury, comfort and durability with a consistent stream of four or five star reviews, yet two dogs managed to destroy it in minutes.
That moment sent me down a rabbit hole I never expected.
Like most people, I had spent years evaluating products the same way; Brand reputation, price, reviews, packaging and marketing, The story around the product, which I rarely looked at is infact the thing that matters most.
The materials, not the headline material, the actual materials, the fibres, the Weave, the construction aand the hidden components.
The things that determine how a product performs, how long it lasts and what happens to it when its life is over.
Somewhere along the way, many of us stopped asking what products are made from and started trusting what brands say about them.
The towel we never used
A few years ago I was given a towel as a Christmas gift, it was marketed as innovative, lightweight, quick drying, anti sand repellent, perfect for travel and outdoor adventures. The kind of product designed to solve modern problems but when I looked more closely at what it was made from, I hesitated. I put it away and never used it, not because it wasn't functional or it wasn't well made.
Because I couldn't get past a bigger question. What exactly was I wrapping around my body? it was made from 100% recycled materials which in this case were plastic bottles.
As I started researching textiles, fibres and manufacturing, I learned that many products marketed as sustainable are still built around synthetic materials. Many contain polyester and recycled polyester, many contain blends which make recycling difficult or impossible, many continue shedding microfibres throughout their lifetime. The deeper I looked, the more I realised sustainability claims and material choices are often two very different conversations.
The label changes the question
Sustainability language is everywhere. Material truth is more specific.
Marketing promise
Natural. Eco-friendly. Conscious. Responsible. Beautiful words, but they are not materials.
Fibre content
Cotton. Polyester. Elastane. Lyocell. Linen. The composition is where the real story begins.
End of life
Blends, finishes and hidden components decide whether a product can be repaired, recovered or returned.
Not: is it sustainable? But: what is it made from?
Today, consumers are surrounded by sustainability language. Natural, Eco-friendly, Green, Conscious, Planet-friendly, Responsible, Sustainable and Regenerative. These words are everywhere but there is one question that often gets lost beneath all of them.
What is this product actually made from?
Not what the marketing, packaging or influencer says.
Instead ask the intelligent questions
What are the fibres?
What are the components?
What are the hidden materials?
Because material choice affects everything; durability, comfort, performance, feel, hyper allergenic, recyclability, circularity, environmental impact and ultimately whether a product can ever become something else when we are finished with it.
During the development of SunGods, I found myself spending less time reading websites and more time reading fibre specifications, Yarn compositions, textile certifications, manufacturing processes and material science reports. The more I learned, the less interested I became in marketing claims not because brands are dishonest because materials tell a more complete story.
Materials reveal trade-offs, compromises, whether sustainability was considered from the beginning or added later as a marketing message. A product cannot outperform the materials it is made from and no amount of branding changes that.
You begin noticing how many supposedly natural products contain synthetic materials, you notice how many premium products rely on polyester, you notice how many sustainability claims avoid discussing material composition altogether.
Most importantly, you begin asking better questions.
Not: "Is this sustainable?" But: "What is it made from?"
That single question has changed the way I buy almost everything. Brand promises still matter, but they are no longer enough.
Now my first question is: what is it made from? That single question changed how we buy, design and judge almost everything.
This isn't about perfection, it's not about throwing away products you already own. Nor is it about judging the choices people make, it's about curiosity.
The kind of curiosity that asks; where materials come from?
How products are made?
What happens when they wear out?
And whether they were designed with their entire lifecycle in mind.
That curiosity ultimately became the foundation for SunGods, we certainly don’t have all the answers but we started asking different questions and sometimes the most important question isn't whether a product is sustainable, it's whether we understand what it is actually made from.