Spotted recently: kitchen and bath towels from Japan featuring the antibacterial properties of binchotan charcoal. The most common use of binchotan, which is charred Japanese oak, is to purify water. (See The Binchotan Boom: 10 Ways to Use Charcoal at Home.) But Japanese brand Nawrap has begun making towels with binchotan charcoal infused into the fibers, so they’re naturally resistant to bacterial growth—which, according to the company, means hardworking, often damp kitchen and bath towels will stay smelling fresh for far longer than they otherwise would.
Photography courtesy of Nawrap.
Above: Nawrap binchotan charcoal dish towels are a blend of rayon and cotton and have a textured surface for efficient cleaning.
Nawrap has been manufacturing cloth (originally mosquito nets) since the 1930s, and offers a full line of kitchen and bath towels with and without charcoal infused.
Above: The towels are several layers woven together to increase absorbency. They’re stiff when they arrive, but soften after a soak in water and will continue to soften with use. Above: Though the towels can be washed in the washing machine, Nawrap insists they not be put in the dryer. The main reason, the company told us, is because they will shrink. “Another issue is that because they are woven with a traditional Japanese technique and have anywhere from four to ten layers of material, the dryer will cause the fabric to crimp a bit.” Above: A set of two antibacterial Tea Towels is $22 at Amazon. But know that the dryer will not affect the cloths’ absorbency or antibacterial traits, Nawrap says. “The charcoal is permanently infused into the fiber, so you don’t have to worry about it dissipating.” Above: If you wash dishes with cloths (instead of brushes or sponges), read the positive reviews of Nawrap’s Natural Dishcloths on Amazon. A set of two is $16.95 at Amazon. Above: The Nawrap binchotan Body Wash Towel is a long rectangle—12 by 34 inches—so you can scrub in the shower; $15 at Amazon. Above: Beauty editors recommend you change your pillowcases often (to keep bacteria at bay). Nawrap’s binchotan charcoal pillowcase, shown in natural, could help; $32 at Amazon.
Above: The pillowcase is 18 by 26 inches, and will shrink by 10 percent after the first laundry wash. Above: Binchotan’s antibacterial properties are ideal for sweaty gym towels. The Neck Towel in natural is $13.95 at Amazon. For more in Japanese design across our sites, see:
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins
Error: No connected account.
Please go to the Instagram Feed settings page to connect an account.
v5.0
×
Join the Remodelista Family of Websites
Become a Member at no charge
When you register as a free Member of the Remodelista family of websites (Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home), you gain access to all current posts plus 10 archived posts per month, our internal bookmarking tool, and the community bulletin board.
Access 10 archived posts (older than one year) per month on each site
Use of our internal bookmark tool, so you can save products, posts, and other pages for quick reference
Access to our community bulletin board so you can ask and answer design-related questions
Unlimited access to the Product Catalogs, Design Travel sources, and Architect & Designer Directory listings
Choose from our ten newsletters to keep up with the latest on the sites
Or Subscribe for Maximum Value!
For $5/month ($59.99 paid annually) you'll enjoy unlimited, ad-free access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home and all the benefits of Membership.
Annual subscribers pay 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99
×
Subscribe to the Remodelista family of websites
For $5/month ($59.99 paid annually) you'll enjoy unlimited, ad-free access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home and all the benefits of Membership.
Annual subscribers pay 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99
×
Sorry! As a registered member you get 10 free posts from our archive (posts more than a year old) every 30 days. You have reached your limit for this 30-day period. If you would like to access unlimited posts from the archive (ad free, too), become a subscriber today, and keep reading as many articles as you want.
Full Access Individual Subscription
Benefits include:
Unlimited access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home sites
Ad-free browsing environment
Unrestricted access to 30,000+ archived posts
Receive the full-text daily newsletters
All features that Members have access to
Annual subscribers pay just 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99
Sorry! You have reached your limit of three (3) free posts from our archive every 30 days. You can increase this to 10 posts by joining as a free Member, or read unlimited posts with no ads by becoming a paid Subscriber.
Subscribe to the Remodelista family of websites
For $5/month ($59.99 paid annually) you'll enjoy unlimited, ad-free access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home and all the benefits of Membership.
Annual subscribers pay 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99
Become a Member at no charge
When you register as a free Member of the Remodelista family of websites (Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home), you gain access to all current posts plus 10 archived posts per month, our internal bookmarking tool, and the community bulletin board.
Congratulations on becoming a Subscriber to Remodelista, Gardenista and The Organized Home! You now have access to many great features across the sites:
Unlimited access to all three sites
Ad-free browsing environment
Unrestricted access to 30,000+ archived posts
Receive any of the newsletters, including the the full-text daily Remodelista and Gardenista newsletters
Use of our internal bookmark tool, so you can save products, posts, and other pages for quick reference
Access to our community bulletin board so you can ask and answer design-related questions
Congratulations on joining as a free Member of Remodelista, Gardenista and The Organized Home! You now have access to many great features across the sites:
Access to all posts published in the past year
Access 10 archived posts (older than one year) per month on each site
Use of our internal bookmark tool, so you can save products, posts, and other pages for quick reference
Access to our community bulletin board so you can ask and answer design-related questions
Unlimited access to the Product Catalogs, Design Travel sources, and Architect & Designer Directory listings
Choose from our ten newsletters to keep up with the latest on the sites
If at any time you want to become a Subscriber and enjoy unlimited, ad-free access to all our content, just go to the My Account link and choose Subscribe.
Have a Question or Comment About This Post?
Join the conversation