How Towels Are Made (Yes, Really): From Organic Cotton to Cloud-Level Softness

Have you ever really thought about your towel? Not only how efficiently it dries you off, or how soft it feels wrapping you up after a shower. Have you considered how it was made? What fibres are used in your towel and ultimately against your body? How much water is used to produce a single towel? Or even how the colours are woven together? 

To be honest, we hadn’t considered it either. Until suddenly, it was all we could think about. Some would even say we got a little too obsessed with these thoughts, to the point that we made our own towel brand to ensure we could find the high-quality, ethically sourced and made towels that weren’t currently available on the market. You might think a towel is just a towel, a square of cloth that dries you off and gets shoved in the laundry basket until next week. But when you dive into how a truly premium towel comes to life, there’s a whole world of artistry, engineering and textile mastery happening behind the scenes.

At ARID, we work with one of Portugal’s oldest and most respected terry cloth makers to bring you towels that are soft, absorbent, long-lasting and kind to your skin and the planet. Let’s pull back the curtain and explore how a premium-quality towel is actually made.

Design & Development, Where the Idea Takes Shape

Here at ARID, each towel line starts with a design and development phase that blends creativity and pattern development, with our factory’s technical know-how. Together we study colour theory, material innovations, and weave structures so that the end product doesn’t just perform, it looks beautiful too. This step means your ARID towel isn’t just soft; it’s crafted with intention and functionality.

It All Starts with Organic Cotton, the Best Fibre for the Job

At the heart of every ARID towel is 100% organic cotton, grown without harmful pesticides or chemicals. Cotton is a natural fibre, known for its softness, breathability and for being highly absorbent. It’s the best and by far the only material we use to make our towels. Choosing organic cotton means a more gentle feel and a cleaner ecological footprint; a choice that matters from farm to finish. 

We pay a higher price to use organic cotton, and with this certification comes traceability. We know where the cotton comes from, how it was farmed and can ensure that no harsh chemicals were used during the process. (And yes, organic cotton truly feels softer and more breathable than conventional cotton.) Because your towel touches every part of your skin every day, and we need to ensure that only the best quality cotton is used for the job. 

We don’t just hope our towels are great; we rigorously test them. The cotton we use in our towels has the OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 certification, which means every towel is guaranteed free from harmful substances, making them safe for your skin and for everyday use. That’s not marketing fluff, it’s tested, certified textile quality.

Yarns and Weaving, Where the Magic Happens

Before the towel becomes a towel, it’s simply cotton yarn on a cone. These fibres are wrapped into larger beams (basically larger cones that are the starting point for weaving). Everything from the yarn thickness to the twist needs to be considered, as this will affect how the towel will feel and absorb water when you use the towel at home.

Now we get into serious manufacturing talk. The cotton yarns are thread into state-of-the-art looms; machines that weave the threads to create terry cloth, the looped, textured fabric iconic to towels. ARID’s production line includes advanced jacquard looms that allow precise control of loop height, weight (GSM) and pattern across the fabric. Meaning ARID towels can be as plush, absorbent, patterned, or as bold as needed.

This weaving stage is where the towel structure (and ultimately absorbency) is defined. Longer loops = more surface area for water to cling to. That’s why ARID towels feel so luxuriously absorbent.

Dyeing, Colour That Lasts

There are two ways to create colour in your towels.

The first method is for your solid colour-blocked towels. Once the fabric is woven, your colour-blocked towels are dyed all together in one batch. Think of this as a giant colour bath for the woven towel material. Dyeing in one batch, after the towel material is woven, ensures water consumption is kept at a minimum and that the colour stays consistent and remains vibrant wash after wash. 

The second method happens before your towel is woven and is used in any ARID towel that contains more than one colour. The yarns themselves are dyed together in one giant bath per colour. From here, the coloured patterns you see in your ARID towels are then woven together with precise and specific machine programming.

ARID’s dyeing facilities use sophisticated equipment and expert techniques across both methods to ensure the colours don’t fade, bleed, or feel dull after a few laundry cycles, a real win for the towels you use daily. 

Finishing, That Oh-So-Soft Touch

This is where the magic happens. The finishing process involves washing, softening, and treating the fabric so it gains that luxurious feel. Investments here mean your towel comes off the line feeling plush, responsive and durable. It’s also where final texture and sheen are perfected before cutting and sewing begin.

Up until now, your towel has been one continuous length of towel material. Think of an ARID towel that had no end – long enough to wrap up everyone in your suburban street. Once we’ve inspected the fabric and deemed it just right, the towels are then cut to size, sewn, labelled and packed. This step is supervised by expert quality teams who inspect each towel piece by piece. 

The beautiful ARID embroidery is then applied, one-by-one, placed specifically for each towel. It’s a meticulous finishing process, and that’s exactly why ARID towels arrive at your door in premium condition.

So, Why Does This Matter for You?

When you choose an ARID organic cotton towel, you’re not just buying a piece of fabric. You’re buying an expertly designed textile born from decades of Portuguese craft. You're buying organic, skin-friendly materials that are tested and safe. The towel you're buying is a high-performance fabric engineered for absorbency and softness that will maintain its colours, textures and integrity over time.

Every step, from the field to the loom to your laundry, is about marrying sustainability with luxury. That’s why your ARID towel feels different, feels better, and continues to perform beautifully with each use.