Frequently Asked Questions

For more information about these, please visit our Ordering Info page.

We design all of our reusable textile product ourselves from our headquarters in Northern California. They are then manufactured in India from locally grown cotton and natural jute, and the facility dedicated to providing high-quality goods while maintaining safe working conditions and guaranteeing fair wages. All the packaging & shipping is done in California, and goes straight out to you!

Our silicone kitchen tools are made of 100% pure platinum food grade silicone in Italy by Silikomart. They are a premier European supplier of silicone baking molds and accessories, who power their facilities with renewable energy and are committed to sustainable practices. They are carefully tested and fully FDA and CE compliant, and packaged & shipped in California.

All of our organic cotton products are certified according to Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). This standard stipulates requirements throughout the entire supply chain for ecology, labor conditions, and social responsibility. The supply chain includes growing, harvesting, spinning the yarn, weaving/knitting the fabric, and sewing the bags to create a finished product. Basically, they’re as environmentally friendly and ethically made as can be!

More About the GOTS Standards

Most of our bags are made of unprocessed, unwashed cotton, which means that they may shrink a bit after the first wash. However, any of the mesh and string bags will stretch right back out again after using. To minimize shrinkage, we recommend you wash any bags on a cold water cycle and hang them out to air dry, as opposed to tumble drying. Otherwise, you now have a mini-version of the bag.

Unprocessed or "green" cotton has a natural odor that will dissipate over time. Often described as as earthy or honey-like, this smell comes from the naturally occuring cotton seed oil in the minimally-processed fabric

Read more about our Green Cotton here!

If you look closely at our natural muslin and canvas bags bags you will see the tiny darker brown flecks within the fabric weave. These are natural leaf, stem, and seed remnants of the cotton plant. When fabric is processed with bleach and dyes they disappear from view, but since these bags are made of unprocessed fabric they will appear in varying degrees.

Read more about our Green Cotton here!

While they do share some similar qualities, no, silicone is not plastic. Food grade silicone, like the kind used in our silicone baking tools, is made of silica while plastics are made from petroleum. Our 100% pure platinum silicone products are nontoxic, heat proof, and extremely durable, and can replace hundreds if not thousands of plastic alternatives in their lifetime. Silicone is much safer to use than plastic, as plastic can leach harmful chemicals into foods and drinks, whereas silicone does not. And while only some plastic is recyclable, and degrades quickly, pure silicone is recyclable without quality degradation.

More About Silicone Here

Since our products are made of 100% Silicone, they are absolutely recyclable! These CAN NOT be placed into your regular recycling bin, as silicone recyclers are few & far between, so we've set up a special recycling program just for our products. Just send us back the damaged & unusable silicone products, and we'll make sure they're recycled!

Most other silicone products are made with plastic fillers & mixed materials, meaning they can't be recycled. These fillers will easily contaminate an entire batch of silicone at the recycling center, making the whole thing unusable. Please only send back Simple Ecology Silicone Products, thank you!

Send Damaged Silicone To:
Simple Ecology
C/O: Silicone Recycling Program
P.O. Box 191
Los Gatos, CA 95031-0191

We always has tons of new ideas and products in the works, but we would love to hear what is important to you! If you’re curious about a product or an idea, send us an email, we would love to know what sort of eco-friendly products you’re looking for.

While our full catalog is available right here on our site, we love having our products available at other small businesses! Check out our Stockists page to find local refilleries, markets, and shops that carry some Simple Ecology products. Know of a shop that we should be selling in? Send us an email with your favorite local spot and we'll reach out soon!

We try our very best to minimize any negative environmental effects as a company, especially when getting our products to you. All of our large-scale shipping is moved by ships, as this is the mode of transportation with the lowest carbon emissions. Most materials we receive from shipping are either reused and repurposed, composted, or recycled. We NEVER use excess packaging in storing or shipping products, and all packaging is either reusable, recyclable, or compostable.

More About Our Sustainability Efforts Here

We want our products to be as affordable as possible, so we sell directly to consumers. We do sell our products to select organizations, farms, markets, and stores that specialize in zero waste and natural goods. If you have an inquiry about bulk ordering, please contact us directly for further information.

We can do custom printing on select bags and styles of images, logos, and designs, which are typically used for advertising or promotional purposes. However, we do have limited capabilities for designs and quantities, so if you have an inquiry about custom ordering, please contact us directly for further information.