Caring for Natural Fiber Yoga Clothes | Breath of Fire – Breath of Fire Eco & Yoga Fashion

Q: What materials we use

We work with three fabrics. Three. Not thirty.Brushed Organic Cotton Jersey (220g, made in Portugal) soft, slightly thick, with a peach-skin touch. Our flagship. The Sohang, Yamala and Mahan are knitted from this.Mercerized Organic Cotton Jersey (180g, made in Portugal) lighter, smoother, with a subtle natural sheen. Our new Essence Collection uses this for models like Ankaa, Nashira, Maia.Bamboo Viscose blended with Organic Cotton (made in Turkey) cool, breathable, fluid. Used for the Lilii pants and the Mizar Kimono. Bamboo regrows in three to five years, without replanting and without irrigation.Most pieces include around 8% certified elastane, enough to hold shape over years of wear, without losing breath.We use every meter of yarn we knit. What we don't sew, we save for repairs and samples. Nothing goes to waste.

Q: Three generations of women

Three generations of women.My grandmother Johanna sewed evening dresses by hand. Long, careful, beautiful work, a kind of patience that has all but disappeared.My mother, Cornelia, learned from her. In 2004, she founded Breath of Fire. The very first piece she designed, the Sohang, was created on the floor of her living room in Switzerland, with a yoga teacher friend named Christina. It is still our flagship today.Today, I ( Pernelle) run the brand. I do not redesign what works. I extend it. The Essence Collection, launched in 2025, sits beside the Evergreen line. New silhouettes, same intention.We do not design for trends. We design for the body in practice, for the moment when the breath deepens, when the posture lengthens, when you forget what you are wearing.That is the test of a piece. Forgetting it on. Returning to it.

Natural fibers ask for natural care. Cool water, a mild soap, a line in the shade. A few simple habits, and your yoga clothes will follow you for years, softening and settling, becoming part of your practice.

At Breath of Fire, every piece is made from certified organic cotton, bamboo viscose or a blend of both, in small batches since 2009: our cotton collections in a family workshop near Porto, in Portugal, and our Evolve bamboo pieces in Turkey. These materials are alive. They breathe with you, soften with use, and reward the gentleness you give them.

Here is how we suggest caring for them.

Close-up of the ivory Sohang yoga pants at the ankle showing the brushed organic cotton jersey — Sohang pants in ivory: the soft, brushed organic cotton jersey up close.

Five gentle rules for daily care

Wash cool. Cool water protects the fibers, the stretch of the jersey and the planet. Above 30°C, you start asking too much of natural fibers.
Use a mild, plant-based detergent. Eco-friendly detergents do what we want here: soft fibers, soft skin, soft impact. Avoid harsh formulas, bleach and optical brighteners, which weaken natural fibers over time.
Skip the tumble dryer when you can. High heat is hard on organic cotton and elastane. Air drying keeps your pieces in their original shape. If you must use the dryer, low heat only.
Avoid fabric softeners. They coat the fibers with a film that reduces breathability, exactly what natural fibers were chosen for. A splash of white vinegar in the rinse does the job naturally.
Wash with similar colours, inside out. Especially for deep tones (bordeaux, indigo, deep green) and for whites. Turning pieces inside out also protects prints and embroideries, like the embroidered Kundalini snake of our logo on the Sohang and the Ankaa pants.

Follow these five habits and your Breath of Fire pieces will accompany you for years: meditation, āsana, daily life, the slow arc of a practice. Always check the care label of each piece as well.

Kundalini snake embroidery on the Ankaa yoga pants — The Kundalini snake embroidery on the Ankaa pants: wash inside out to keep it bright.

Grandmother's solutions for stains

For the unexpected (a drop of golden milk, a smear of beeswax, the orange juice that escapes mid-flow), here are the gentle remedies we go back to. Test any solution on a hidden corner first. These are home tricks, not guarantees.

White vinegar. A natural stain remover. Mix equal parts water and white vinegar, apply to the stain, let it rest a few minutes, then blot with a clean cloth.
Baking soda. Lifts stains by absorption. Mix with a little water into a paste, apply, wait a few minutes, blot away.
Lemon juice. A natural lightener. Mix with water in equal parts and use on white or very light fabrics only. Citric acid can fade certain dyes.
Hydrogen peroxide and dish soap. For stubborn stains on white pieces. Equal parts, apply to the stain, let it work a few minutes, blot. Peroxide can lighten colours, so never use it on dyed fabrics without a test.
Rubbing alcohol and dish soap. For oily marks. Same logic, same care.

A turmeric stain from golden milk? Act quickly, rinse with cold water, then lay the piece in the sun: daylight often fades turmeric naturally.

Why natural fibers deserve this attention

Synthetic yoga clothes hide their wear behind polymers. Natural fibers do not. They show their age, and that is precisely why they last longer with care. A pair of Sohang pants that has practiced with you for five years carries something a synthetic piece never will. Discover the benefits of natural fibers in yoga clothing and why we only use organic cotton and bamboo viscose.

You are not just maintaining clothes. You are preserving a small piece of slow craft, knitted, dyed and sewn by people we know and visit personally.

Amba yoga wrap shirt in bordeaux worn with Sohang yoga pants — Amba wrap shirt in bordeaux with Sohang pants: deep tones stay rich when washed cool and inside out.

Frequently asked questions

Will my organic cotton yoga pants shrink?

Not if you wash them at 30°C and let them air dry. Shrinking mostly comes from hot washes and the tumble dryer. Our jerseys contain 8% elastane, which helps them keep their shape.

How often should I wash my yoga clothes?

Less often than you think. After a gentle practice, airing a piece overnight is often enough. Wash after sweaty classes. Fewer washes mean softer fibers and a longer life.

How do I keep white yoga clothes white?

Wash whites together, cool, with a mild detergent, and dry them in daylight. For yellowed areas, a little baking soda or, on white only, diluted hydrogen peroxide can help. Avoid chlorine bleach, which weakens cotton. Browse our white yoga clothing.

Can I iron my yoga clothes?

It is rarely needed: jersey relaxes as it dries if you hang it flat and smooth it by hand. If you do iron, use a low setting, inside out, and never on embroidery or prints.

Discover the Evergreen collection

Wear well. Wash gently. Keep what serves you.

Join our community and receive inspiration on yoga, movement, and conscious living — plus exclusive offers.

Once you have signed up, go to your inbox to receive the discount.

What you wear matters. The texture against skin. The breath that moves freely. Pieces that soften with the years.

Our clothes are certified organic cotton, knitted and sewn in Portugal in small batches since 2009. Natural fibers. Slow craft. Clothing for those who pay attention to what touches the body.

Near Porto, in Portugal, two small family businesses work side by side for us. The first, in one village, knits our organic cotton from scratch and dyes it to our specifications. The second, in the next village, cuts and sews. We have been visiting both every year since 2009. We know the people by name. We share meals when we visit. They have watched our collections grow alongside their own children.

During the Covid years, when organic cotton and bamboo became briefly impossible to source in Portugal, we found a second family workshop in Turkey — also ethical, also certified, also personal. About 5% of what we make passes through their hands today. The Mizar Kimono and a few Lilac pieces from past collections come from there.

Most yoga brands buy fabric from a market — pre-made rolls, ready to cut. We don't. Every meter of jersey we use is knitted from scratch to our specifications. That is why the Sohang feels the way it does. That is why a five-year-old pair softens instead of wearing thin.

A slower way of making clothes. Sometimes inconvenient. Always worth it.

Sustainability for us is not a marketing department. It is a series of small, sometimes annoying choices we have made since 2009.

We chose certified organic cotton when it was 40% more expensive than conventional or plastic fabrics. We still pay that premium today. We grow without external capital which means we cannot afford to overstock, so we don't. We use every meter of yarn we order, even when it means smaller runs and longer waits. We are 100% self funded and all the money is placed in ethical funds in a local bank.

We focus on evergreen pieces, the Sohang, the Amrit, the Amba instead of seasonal collections. Some of these designs are over a decade old and still our bestsellers. A garment worn for ten years on a body is the most sustainable thing a fashion brand can make.

Our fabrics are dyed with processes gentle enough for a baby's skin. We package in either recycled or biodegradable bags. We ship from our small warehouse in Cully (Switzerland) or our partner in Germany, never overseas.

We don't tick every box. We are not perfect. But these are the choices we make, and we make them visible.

We work with three fabrics. Three. Not thirty.

Brushed Organic Cotton Jersey (220g, made in Portugal) soft, slightly thick, with a peach-skin touch. Our flagship. The Sohang, Yamala and Mahan are knitted from this.

Mercerized Organic Cotton Jersey (180g, made in Portugal) lighter, smoother, with a subtle natural sheen. Our new Essence Collection uses this for models like Ankaa, Nashira, Maia.

Bamboo Viscose blended with Organic Cotton (made in Turkey) cool, breathable, fluid. Used for the Lilii pants and the Mizar Kimono. Bamboo regrows in three to five years, without replanting and without irrigation.

Most pieces include around 8% certified elastane, enough to hold shape over years of wear, without losing breath.

We use every meter of yarn we knit. What we don't sew, we save for repairs and samples. Nothing goes to waste.

Three generations of women.

My grandmother Johanna sewed evening dresses by hand. Long, careful, beautiful work, a kind of patience that has all but disappeared.

My mother, Cornelia, learned from her. In 2004, she founded Breath of Fire. The very first piece she designed, the Sohang, was created on the floor of her living room in Switzerland, with a yoga teacher friend named Christina. It is still our flagship today.

Today, I ( Pernelle) run the brand. I do not redesign what works. I extend it. The Essence Collection, launched in 2025, sits beside the Evergreen line. New silhouettes, same intention.

We do not design for trends. We design for the body in practice, for the moment when the breath deepens, when the posture lengthens, when you forget what you are wearing.

That is the test of a piece. Forgetting it on. Returning to it.

Search

Cart

How to Care for Natural Fiber Yoga Clothes

Five gentle rules for daily care

Grandmother's solutions for stains

Why natural fibers deserve this attention

Frequently asked questions

Will my organic cotton yoga pants shrink?

How often should I wash my yoga clothes?

How do I keep white yoga clothes white?

Can I iron my yoga clothes?

Wear your frequency.

Two villages in Portugal make your clothes

The slow choices behind our sustainability

What materials we use

Three generations of women