Half cotton, half banana: I tested this Bananatex bedding
22/10/2026
Translation: machine translated
Pictures: Pia Seidel
Linen, hemp, muslin: I thought I had seen it all when it came to bed linen. Then Lavie presented me with a fabric made half from a type of banana. The Swiss brand says it is soft, densely woven, and more robust than cotton. I tested how it feels in everyday life for several weeks.
I drove to the Lavie showroom in Zurich with a clear idea in my head to pick up a sample for testing: stiff, rough, a bit like canvas. That’s because I’ve only known Bananatex from bags so far. And bags have to be able to withstand a lot. Then I hold the "Liam" bed linen in my hands and immediately correct myself. The fabric is soft, light, and yet drapes smoothly. Whether it stays that way, the next few weeks will show.
A fruit that no one eats
The fiber is actually called Abacá. "This is a banana plant whose fruit you don't eat," explains Oliver Balsiger, Managing Director of Balsiger Textil AG, to which Lavie belongs. "As soon as it produces fruit, the stem dies off and a new one grows from the leaf sheath. This is a waste product that has been removed from the ecosystem for fiber extraction, probably for centuries."
In the Philippines, people have always used it to make ship ropes and fishing nets. The material found its way into the bedroom via a detour, and that leads through the Zurich label Qwstion, which we also carry in our range. The founders were looking for a durable, circular material and came across Abacá. The advantage lies in the fiber length: cotton is soft but short, while Abacá provides long and tear-resistant fibers, as Qwstion co-founder Christian Kägi explains in an interview with my colleague Laura Scholz.
From this fiber, Qwstion developed the material Bananatex and also makes it available to other brands like Lavie instead of keeping it to themselves.
Bananatex or just banana fiber? A difference that counts
Not all Abacá is the same. "The material is officially called Abacá. It exists in other places in the world, industrially grown, even in monocultures," says Balsiger. Bananatex, on the other hand, is the brand of a specific yarn with a specific origin: from the Philippines, from permaculture. The Abacá plant grows there in a polyculture that mimics a natural ecosystem, together with teak and cocoa. There is no artificial irrigation.
Bananatex no longer carries a certificate today. Initially, Qwstion had the material tested according to Cradle to Cradle, but the brand decided against re-certification for cost reasons. Nevertheless, the supply chain remains fully traceable, from the field to the fabric.
Anyone who reads "banana fiber" on a label in the future should therefore take a close look. The raw material alone reveals little about how the plant was grown.
How a hard fiber becomes a yarn: via the detour of paper
Abacá cannot be spun like cotton; the fiber is too long and too tough. So it takes the detour via paper. "In the process, the fiber is chemically dissolved and poured into paper, just as it was scooped in the past," describes Balsiger. "Then the paper is cut endlessly into very thin threads and these are spun into yarn."
The fact that paper is suitable as an intermediate step is no coincidence. The paper industry has been working with Abacá since the 1970s because it does not tear even when wet. Tea bags are made from it, as are individual banknotes.
The path is long: raw material from the Philippines, pulp from Taiwan, by ship to Portugal, where Lavie weaves and sews. The design is created in Zurich.
Why half and half
Lavie first wove a version made of 100 percent Bananatex. It is in the archive. "That was a cool test, but not ideal for our purposes: too heavy and too rough in terms of feel for the bed," says Balsiger. "In addition, the yarn could not be processed well in the warp because it lacked consistency."
The answer lies in the weave: "Warp organic cotton, weft Bananatex. This combines the softness of cotton with the rather cool, super-resistant feel of Bananatex." The two fibers only meet in the loom, not in the yarn. No additional chemicals are needed for this. Lavie never tried other ratios; 50 to 50 was the first and only attempt.
In terms of weight, "Liam" is exactly in between at around 150 grams per square meter: cotton weighs about 120 grams at Lavie, linen 175.
First impression: soft yet crisp enough
After the first wash and putting it on, it is clear: the fabric does not feel fluffy, but dense, and it drapes anything but limply. It feels cool on the skin, less strict than linen, but noticeably fresher than my cotton covers.
In direct comparison with my previous test candidates, "Liam" lies in between: The muslin made of lyocell is softer and airier, but pulls threads more quickly. The hemp bed linen feels coarser and warmer. "Liam" combines the smooth surface of one with the robustness of the other.
In everyday life: the test over several weeks
I am testing "Liam" from late summer into autumn. In summer, the cooling effect convinces me immediately. In autumn, it works differently, but just as well: when slipping in, the blanket is briefly fresh, then it warms up and remains pleasant. This suits me because I give off a lot of heat at night and especially in the morning. Even in the morning, the bed linen is not clammy.
After washing, I am mainly interested in whether it keeps its shape. I am allowed to wash at 60 degrees, the dryer is allowed. This is not a matter of course for natural fiber blends and speaks for everyday use. Thanks to the garment-wash finish, the bed linen shrinks no more than one to two percent according to Balsiger. After several washes, I can confirm this: the dimensions are correct, nothing has warped.
Balsiger himself has been sleeping on it for about a year: "It is extremely resistant, doesn't pill, doesn't lose any material. It stays perfectly in shape and retains the feel of the surface. Compared to our other products, it is even more durable." And, with a view to the rest of the market: "Certain bed linen is super soft, but loses its color over time. Everyone knows that."
Details that stand out
I find the pillowcase the best solution. It manages completely without a closure, neither buttons nor zippers, so nothing is in the way at night. Only with the undyed version does the label shimmer through on one side. That only bothers me for a moment, because I simply turn this side downwards.
For others, perhaps a disadvantage because of the effort, for me a plus point: there are buttons on the cover instead of a zipper, which usually gives up the ghost first and is expensive to replace. A torn-off button, on the other hand, I can sew back on in two minutes. Added to this is the look. The buttons are understated, just like the care label, which disappears inside the strip.
At the corners are ribbons with which I fix the blanket. With other sets, I miss exactly that.
Three colors
"Undyed is the unbleached, undyed version. We include it in every collection, it is available in cotton, linen, hemp, and for the quilts," says Balsiger. "Nature makes the most beautiful colors."
Coconut serves the brown trend, Avocado sets a fresher shade of green next to it. The three colors result in their own card, which is consistent in itself and can be combined with other Lavie lines. Interesting: At Qwstion, too, the founders like the undyed off-white best, which arises by itself in the process. The clientele, however, mainly reaches for black. Whether the natural coloring is more popular for bed linen remains to be seen.
The catch: a blended fabric
Otherwise, Lavie works exclusively with monomaterials. With "Liam," the brand makes an exception, and Balsiger openly names the catch: "Basically, we don't make blended fabrics. Here we are making a compromise. But cotton and Abacá are both cellulose materials, you can recycle that chemically. In mechanical recycling, it is hard; you cannot recycle it like a 100 percent monomaterial. It is important: it is not a mixture with polyester."
For comparison: At the end of the product cycle, Qwstion is already further ahead. There, they construct the bags so that the few metal parts can be separated and the rest can be composted. With a fabric made of two cellulose materials, that would theoretically also be conceivable, but a concrete return path for the bed linen does not yet exist.
The cultivation by hand and the elaborate yarn make the fabric more expensive than pure cotton. Thus, "Liam" is priced at the level of linen. The bed linen is available in the common sizes. Whether the surcharge pays off over the years, I cannot prove after a few weeks. I will follow up.
In a nutshell
Soft, yet crisp and honest in its compromise
The 'Liam' bed linen feels cooler and denser than classic cotton and drapes well. It retains its shape after several washes and does not pill. Buttons instead of a zipper, ties at the corners, and a pillowcase without a closure show that Lavie has also thought about the details. The only downside: with the undyed version, the label shows through. And as a blended fabric, 'Liam' is difficult to recycle mechanically.
Pro
- soft feel with good body in the fabric
- Abaca is a waste product from permaculture without artificial irrigation
- no intimate blend, therefore no additional chemicals for the mixture
- Organic cotton in the supply chain
- Garment wash finish, maximum one to two percent residual shrinkage
- Straps for ceiling mounting included
- Buttons instead of a zipper
- retains its shape after several washes, no pilling
- washable at 60 degrees, tumble dryer safe
- Supply chain fully traceable
Contra
- Mixed fabrics, barely mechanically recyclable
- long transport chain from the Philippines via Taiwan to Portugal
- The label shows through on the uncolored version
- Price at linen level, significantly above cotton
Header image: Pia Seidel
Pia Seidel
Senior Editor
Pia.Seidel@digitecgalaxus.chLike a cheerleader, I celebrate good design and bring you closer to everything furniture- and interior design-related. I regularly curate simple yet sophisticated interior finds, track down trends and interview creative minds about their work.
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