$168,061 raised out of $25,000
Overview
Platform
Indiegogo
Backers
2
Start date
Apr 20, 2022
Close date
Apr 21, 2022
Concept

Next-level sustainability meets 5-star luxury.

Story

We are Nebia. Creators of the world’s best and most sustainable showerheads and bathroom accessories. 

We’re passionate about making everything in your shower ritual more thoughtful, more enjoyable, and better for the planet. So we teamed up with two of the world’s leading textile companies to create the most luxurious and sustainable towel. 

This is our 5th Kickstarter campaign. To pre-order Nebia Towels and bring this campaign to life, back this project. 

 

Our backers have been asking us to make towels for years, but we didn’t see a way to make a meaningful improvement over standard towels. More importantly, we did not want to contribute to the world’s massive textile waste problem. 

On top of that, 1.5 trillion gallons of water is used to produce those textiles. To put that in perspective, that’s 2,500 Olympic swimming pools. 

We knew that, if we were to make a towel, it had to be a product with good design, great user experience, and better for the planet. That’s why we set out to create a new kind of sustainable towel. One that gives you everything you want from a towel, and more.

After years of searching, we came across a sustainability-minded luxury towel manufacturer, Venus, and a pioneering textile company from Austria called Lenzing. Together, we set out to make the world’s first towel made from repurposed pre and post-consumer recycled textiles.

For years, Lenzing has been refining a new upcycling textile process. The result is a material that is made with the breakthrough REFIBRA™ technology, which takes textiles destined for the landfill and combines it with sustainably harvested wood and cotton to create a surprisingly soft, and extremely robust, new fiber.

Lenzing has a history of working with other groundbreaking textile companies such as Patagonia, Lululemon, and Levis… but the fibers have never been soft enough nor possessed the right qualities for a towel, until now. 

 

The Nebia Towel is helping to radically transform how we create new textile products as a society. It’s made from a combination of 30% upcycled REFIBRA™ textiles and 70% sustainably grown cotton and is soft on the skin, absorbs water effectively, and is perfectly plush. 

And this is just the start.

Our goal is to increase the percentage of upcycled material in our towels. If we are successful, together, we can usher in a new textile economy, one that is circular instead of linear, and drastically reduce the volume of textiles that end up in landfills every year.

  • Materials: Made from 70% sustainably grown cotton and 30% upcycled fibers using REFIBRA™ technology. 
  • Made in India: The cotton used in the towel is 100% farmed and procured from spinning mills from the western state of Gujarat. Most of the cotton grown in India is rain-fed cotton and minimal amounts of irrigated water is used.
  • The Dying process: Our towels are dyed in a Zero Liquid Discharge facility which recycles and reuses 85% of the water during processing. The waste that is generated (called “sludge”) is then used as raw material for a cement factory in India.
  • Certifications: 100% certified safe by OEKO-Tex to ensure no harmful materials, chemicals, or dyes were used in the production of our towels.
  • Density: 630 GSM 

What does GSM mean?

The weight, or density, of a towel is measured in GSM, grams per square meter. Low GSM towels (200-400 GSM) are light and thin while high GSM towels (600-900 GSM) are thicker and heavier. 

Premium luxury towels are made with a higher density, from 600-900 GSM, in order to be thick, soft, and absorbent. However, high GSM means heavier towels that have a much longer dry time and usually must be washed in a smaller load by themselves. At 630 GSM, the Nebia Towel hits the sweet spot. It has the feel of a plush, luxury bath towel while still being quick to dry and highly absorbent. 

Fun fact: REFIBRA™ fabric is much faster at drying than traditional cotton.

The Nebia Towel has been receiving rave reviews from some of its early testers. Hear what they have to say in the video below!

 

 

 

We are a team of passionate engineers, designers, and creative folks who care deeply about the future—we also love to make everyday products better in every way.

Nebia was born on Kickstarter. In the summer of 2015, we launched our first campaign out of a garage with big dreams. Thanks to the amazing support of over 8,000 backers on our first campaign, this community brought to life a breakthrough new water-saving technology. 

Fast forward 7 years… We have successfully launched four Kickstarter campaigns and received backing from over 21,000 backers. Our products are in over 70 countries and more than 100,000 homes, and our community has saved over 400 million gallons of water!

And we are still just getting started.

 

While our origins are in water savings, over the past three years we have re-imagined other vital parts of the shower experience, ranging from shower curtains made from recycled water bottles to bath mats made from an organic quick drying stone-like material. The Nebia Towel is our most important innovation in years, and we couldn’t be more excited to launch it on Kickstarter, where we got our start.

We are a team of 15 people based in San Francisco and Mexico City. If you are interested in joining the team, send your resume to jobs@nebia.com.

We are working with our manufacturing partners to ensure rapid delivery of all pledges despite global supply chain congestion. Nebia Towel pledges in the United States will begin shipping in mid-May and all colors will begin shipping at the same time. Pledges outside of the U.S. will begin shipping between August and September.

Please note that your delivery date will depend on your backer number, in addition to some other factors. For example, certain regions might ship before others, and we will not ship your pledge until you have completed your post-campaign survey. That being said, we will do everything in our power to deliver your pledge as soon as possible!

U.S. Backers – We will need to collect sales tax from backers located in select states. Sales tax will be charged/collected after the campaign ends.

For Rest of World – Recipients of orders shipped outside of the United States will be responsible for any and all costs associated with import taxes, customs duties, or fees levied by the destination country. Any such charges will be collected directly at the time of the delivery by the carrier. Nebia has no control over such charges and cannot estimate the exact amount. Please contact your local customs office for more information. If you decline to pay these duties and taxes due to the carrier upon delivery of your order, the package may be considered abandoned, destroyed, or returned to the United States (at an extremely high cost charged to Nebia). Under these circumstances, we, unfortunately, cannot consider requests for replacement shipments or refunds.

 

Warranty  and Support

For all units sold, Nebia provides a 1-year warranty from the original date of delivery. The warranty is non-transferable but extensive, covering the full replacement cost of all defective units, excluding shipping costs and tax or import fees. Nebia will provide the replacement necessary. Nebia will not be responsible for labor charges, nor for incidental or consequential damages.

We are a US-based support team. Our hours are 9 am to 6 pm Monday to Friday, Pacific Time support@nebia.com

 

Supply Chain:

We have learned not to take anything for granted. As much as we try to plan for the unknown, things happen. Pandemics happen, power goes out, the wrong parts are delivered, machines and tools malfunction. We have full confidence in our manufacturing partners and supply chain but want to acknowledge the fact that an unforeseen incident could affect the time in which we are able to build the products to the standard that we strive for.

 

Shipping Risks:

The world is as connected as ever, and we have worked really hard to make the shipping process as smooth as possible. That being said, forces outside of our control could arise, resulting in a shipping delay.

 

Act of God:

We’re based in San Francisco and Mexico City, two thriving cities with incredible cultural backgrounds and many moving parts. Our main goal is to do right by ourselves and our customers so that we can keep building innovative, sustainable products for you and the world.

  • What material are the towels made from and where are they manufactured?

The Nebia Towel is made from 70% sustainably grown cotton and 30% upcycled fibers. These upcycled fibers are made with REFIBRA™ technology which takes textiles destined for the landfill and combines them with sustainably harvested wood and cotton.  The cotton used in the towel is 100% farmed and procured from Indian spinning mills from the western state of Gujarat in India. The factory that makes the towel is also in India, located in the town of Perundurai, in the state of Tamil Nadu.

 

  • How often should I wash the towels? How should I care for the towels?

Washing frequency: We recommend washing your Nebia Towel about once per week.

 

Care guidance:

  • Wash before first use.
  • Towels may be washed with cold water and dried with medium heat.
  • Wash with like colors
  • Wash separate from regular clothing
  • Avoid using fabric softeners as much as possible – once every few washes is okay.
  • Do not iron towels.
  • Do not bleach.
  • Hang towels properly after each use to dry effectively.
  • Make sure towels are dry before throwing them in a hamper.

 

  • Are the towels pre-washed/pre-shrunk or will they continue to shrink with each wash?

Our towels are not pre-washed nor pre-shrunk and they will shrink a bit in the wash/dry cycle. Being a 70% cotton product, you should expect a shrinkage of around 5% in the width and about 8% in the length, depending on how the towel is washed/dried.

  • Are the towels hypoallergenic for people with sensitive skin?

Generally, Lyocell-based fibers are considered more hypoallergenic than cotton. Our towel is made of both types of fibers (TENCEL™ Lyocell fibers made through REFIBRA™ technology + cotton). If your skin handles cotton well, you should have no issues with our towels. Our Towels are also Oeko-TexⓇ certified, ensuring they are free of harsh chemicals.

 

  • How long will my Nebia Towel last?

All towels will wear down with more use. Most towels last only 2 to 3 years. If properly cared for, ours will last over 5 years.

  • Are the towels antimicrobial and antibacterial?

Yes.

Antimicrobial: We tested for this specifically in an accredited lab that specializes in textiles (Intertek). The antimicrobial test is AATCC 100 and our towels passed with a nearly perfect score (>99.5% reduction). A typical “good” threshold test result is only at >95%.

Antibacterial: Since our towels contain a significant percentage of TENCEL™ Lyocell fibers made with REFRIBA™ technology, which contain antibacterial qualities, the environment for bacteria growth is reduced greatly when compared to a standard cotton towel.

 

  • How much water is saved during the fabrication compared to a regular towel?

The REFRIBA™ process uses 95% less water in production than traditional cotton.

Also, the virgin cotton used in the towel is farmed and procured from Indian spinning mills in the western state of Gujarat, India. Most of the cotton grown in India is rain-fed cotton and minimal amounts of irrigated water is used. This differs from the cotton grown in the USA which uses mostly irrigated water which is not as sustainable since much of its water is wasted in cultivation. 

Furthermore, our towels are dyed in a Zero Liquid Discharge facility which recycles and reuses 85% of the water during processing. The waste that is generated (called “sludge”) is then used as raw material for a cement factory in India.

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