Did you know that Baja hoodies and Falsa blankets are recycled?

Sustainable fashion has become much more prevalent and important to people in recent years as we’re all becoming more aware of how much the fashion industry impacts the environment. So it is not surprising that Baja hoodies and falsa blankets have grown even further in popularity.

These jumpers are a bit of a nostalgia trip as they’ve been around for years. Synonymous with surf culture, they gained popularity with surfers who were chasing waves around the Mexican Baja coast. Once they took them back to California, everyone wanted a piece of that laid back look. Because of their ties to counterculture and as they’re eco-friendly, they have become popular within the hippy community too.

A little bit of history…

The Baja has its roots in Mexico, where it all started with the traditional falsa blanket. These blankets are woven from a thick woollen cloth called "Jerga" and feature simple patterns and stripes. Falsa blankets were, and still are, used all across Mexico, from Oaxaca to Tijuana. There was a natural progression to use the falsa material (or Jerga) to make a jumper; it’s very warm and brushing the inside makes it very soft and cosy, plus the loose weave allows for great air circulation and quick drying.

So, how are Bajas made, and what makes them so sustainable?

The Jerga fabric is actually made from 100% recycled textiles. The factory we buy from collects discarded clothing from all over the country. They then sort them into colours and pulp the fibres down until they are ready to be made into a brand new thread.

They don’t even need to dye the thread, the colour is made purely by colour grading the recycled garments. This not only helps reduce waste, but also saves a lot of energy and resources that would otherwise go into making brand new fabric.

Once the colours have been sorted, they are woven into fabric in all the different stripes and patterns that our Bajas come in. This is done using a traditional method with punch cards fed through a loom machine. There are many newer machines that could do the job more quickly, but the punch card method allows the quality to be more carefully monitored as the fabric is being created, plus, if it works – why replace it?

After the fabric is woven, it is cut and sewn into the shape of the hoodie by skilled artisans who are paid a fair wage. We have visited this factory many times whilst working with them over many years, and it is always quite magical to see the full process, from t-shirt scraps to brand new product, all under one roof!

You can buy Baja hoodies from hippy shops all over the world, but you can also buy them directly from our website. If you buy a Siesta Baja, you can be assured that it is a recycled product made by people who are paid a fair wage.