Shopper’s Diary: Slow Textiles from GDS Cloth Goods

Textile industry veteran Geana Sieburger founded GDS Cloth Goods as a source of environmentally sustainable, ethically made sewn goods for people who appreciate good design. Sieburger makes aprons and more in her Oakland, California, studio, plus a reusable coffee filter that’s an alternative to the single-use pour-over filter.

More broadly, Sieburger is on a mission to reconnect consumers of cloth with the source of their products, just like the farm-to-table movement has rekindled a connection between people and the source of their food. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Sieburger developed her reverence for textiles growing up in her native Brazil, where, in the eighties, she says, “bakeries and their bakers could be found every few blocks, and skilled seamstresses still sewed a good portion of people’s everyday wardrobes.” She’s hoping to re-create some version of that in the US by offering workshops, textile care guides, and a glimpse into the process of making cloth from seed. Let’s take a closer look at the GDS offerings.

Photography courtesy of GDS Cloth Goods.

Ebb filters work just like paper, but will last for up to four months of daily use if properly stored. “Like all things not-single-use,” says GDS, they will change over their life cycle: Water will drip through most quickly when the filter is new, and more slowly when the filter is nearing time for replacement.

In March, GDS raised more than $18,000 on Kickstarter to purchase fabric Sieburger designed specifically for the Ebb. She’s documenting the process—from a West Texas cotton farm to a South Carolina weaving mill to the Oakland, California, sewing studio—on Instagram. The company’s first fully “seed to cup” filters will ship in July.

Each filter includes brewing and care instructions. For more, read the company’s detailed online Brewing Guides.

GDS calls its denim, woven in North Carolina, a “dreamy organic cotton cloth—a medium blue selvage denim with white selvage stripe.” The company reports that its aprons look as beautiful on the inside as on the outside—there are no cut edges finished by serger; instead, all are carefully sewn.

GDS designers are experts in the care and feeding of textiles. “Long Live Cloth—A Care Manual”is an 18-page “zine” with detailed information on caring for cloth. It’s meant “to get you excited about extending the life of your clothes,” says the company; $9.

For more eco-friendly style from across our sites, see:

• Use This, Not that Plastic Thing: Expert Advice on 5 Easy, Eco Swaps for the Kitchen
• Palette & Paints: 5 Favorite Eco-Friendly Stains
• Eco-Friendly Kitchen Style from Mr. and Mrs. P