More than 30 years ago Bo Weevil was at the beginning of working with organic cotton. Since then a lot has changed, but not our mission: by making fabrics and products made of GOTS-certified organic cotton easily available we remain committed to a more sustainable world. Good for people and planet, guaranteed.

How it all started ….

In the eighties of the last century, Jan Schrijver and Michel Willems often visited Turkey for the projects of the Good Food Foundation. The purpose of these visits was trade in nuts and dried tropical fruits from organic cultivation. During these visits they noticed all kinds of other crops, including cotton. They realized how bad the situation was: cotton cultivation was increasingly dependent on pesticides and fertilizers. Bad for the people, the animals and the soil.

Together with Agro Eco, an agricultural consultancy, they investigated if organic cotton cultivation was possible. In 1989, the first organic cotton was grown, entirely at their own expense in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, certified by SKAL and supervised by Agro Eco.

And that was the start of Bo Weevil. It was a leap of faith, because there was no solid business case yet. All kind of products were made with the first harvest: yarns, fabrics and clothing, but also pleated cotton wool and cotton wool pads.

Eco and fair

In the 1990s, attention for the environment was growing as well as the resistance against the consumption society. As a result, the demand for organic and fair trade products grew. This prompted Bo Weevil to launch the Ecotton brand for a collection of organic cotton products. Global Organic Textiles Standard (GOTS) certification was introduced in 2006 and Bo Weevils fabrics and products have been labelled with the GOTS label ever since. This label guarantees the entire production chain is controlled. From field to end product.

A new focus

In 2003 Iris Komen joined Bo Weevil after several years of experience in the textile industry. She took over the company from Jan Schrijver in 2014. Jan Schrijver knew that she could take over his mission to contribute to a more sustainable textile industry. The mission for Bo Weevil was continued: to make it possible for small companies and designers to buy organic cotton fabrics at reasonable prices and make smaller quantities easier to process. This started with online sale of fabrics from stock and gradually grew into the current collection.

Where does Bo Weevil stand in 2023?

Fortunately, sustainability has become more mainstream, but it is certainly not self-evident yet. The textile industry has still a long way to go. Bo Weevil therefore remains committed to changing the textile industry. We do this by offering a versatile collection of high-quality fabrics and products to professional buyers - from starting labels to well-known (web) stores. In the Netherlands and abroad, for affordable and fair prices. It's challenging, but after more than 30 years we still believe in products that are good for people and planet.