Water Preservation
Our bamboo grows in the Shunan Forest in South Sichuan, China, where it receives so much natural rainfall that it requires no additional irrigation beyond what Mother Nature provides. Zip. Zilch. Nada.
About Yala
YALA is a women - owned, women - led small business that produces incredibly soft bamboo bedding, sleepwear, and loungewear. We prioritize comfort, quality, environmental sustainability, and social responsibility in every choice we make and empower our employees with generous compensation, benefits, and flexible schedules to encourage work - life balance. We aspire to elevate the lives of everyone who takes part in producing, promoting, and enjoying our products.
Our Story
YALA Co-Owners and besties, Rachel and Tif, are former YALA employees who worked their way up in the company for over a decade before taking ownership in 2019.
Growing with YALA from seed to successful business gave us the foundation and philosophy that we guide YALA with today. Our goal is transparency so that you know we are a brand you can trust. 
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Sustainability is a journey, a learning process. We'll make mistakes, but the important thing is that we learn from them, make the changes necessary and keep moving forward.
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That's the plan.
Why Bamboo?
We aspire to leave a gentle footprint on the planet. To do so, we've considered every natural fabric available and experimented with several of them. Modal, tencel, organic cotton, recycled polyester, hemp, and flax all have their benefits and drawbacks. Still, for over sixteen years, we have continuously chosen bamboo as our primary fabric for reasons that are mostly exclusive to this single, prolific plant
Agricultural Resources
The dense forest that our bamboo grows in is unsuitable for farming, which means that bamboo production does not compete with precious food production.
Renewable Resource
Bamboo is the fastest growing woody plant on earth, growing so rapidly and abundantly that it needs thinning every 2-5 years to prevent die-off from overcrowding.
Organically Grown
Because bamboo is so hearty, it doesn't require any chemicals or pesticides to thrive and does not leave any chemicals behind in the soil.
Air Quality
Bamboo absorbs carbon dioxide and produces 35% more oxygen than an equivalent stand of hardwood trees.
Soil Protection
Bamboo roots remain in place after harvesting, where they prevent soil erosion and maintain nutrients like nitrogen in the ground for continued growth and healthy soil.
Economic Development
Bamboo gets selectively harvested by hand. This harvest provides jobs that employ local people in a rural community where work opportunities are scarce.
Closed Loop Processing
Our bamboo is processed in a closed-loop system, where 98% of the water used in the viscose process gets captured, cleaned, and re-used, reducing demands on local water resources and minimizing water pollution.
Feel and Function
There are many benefits to wearing and sleeping in bamboo fabric. It is silky soft to the touch, lightweight, and breathable. It is also temperature-regulating and moisture-wicking, keeping you warm in the cold, cool in the heat, and dry where other fabrics fail. Our bamboo fabric is also naturally high in UPFs, protecting your skin from the sun.
Our Production Partners
YALA has worked closely with the same production team in China for over 17 years. Before becoming a co-owner, Tif traveled there five times with YALA to understand the entire production process, tour the facilities extensively and work beside our production partners to finalize new designs and refine popular styles.
During these visits, work transactions blossomed into friendships. Each time Tif returned, the welcomes became warmer and goodbyes more bittersweet as our hosts, partners, and garment makers went out of their way to share the beauty of their culture through food, tours, and traditions.
This long-standing relationship is why our definition of sustainability extends to the care of everyone involved in making our products. We can assure you that the people who make your YALA garments are paid fairly, treated well, and work in a safe and comfortable environment.
Because of this, our workers stick around. Many of them have been with us for over ten years now, in an industry where it is more common for people to quickly shift from factory to factory in search of safer conditions or better pay.
Our recent inspection by Oeko-Tex, a leading certifying organization in the textile industry, achieved top marks for safety and social responsibility due to our fair trade practices.
Unfortunately, a global pandemic has prevented travel to China and kept Tif and Rachel from carrying on the YALA tradition of frequent visits as Co-Owners. But when the opportunity resumes, the 'Welcome Back' will be that much sweeter.
Our Certifications
Oeko-TEX 100 Chemical Free
Certifies that no residual chemicals are present in our garments and bedding when they reach the consumer.
Oeko-Tex STeP
Certifies that our partner facilities use sustainable methods in the production of bamboo fiber from source to loom.
ECOCERT GLOBAL ORGANIC TEXTILE STANDARD (GOTS)
Ensures that our bamboo is grown organically, in accordance with organic farming standards recognized by the Organic Content Standard (OCS), and is USDA Certified Organic. Products have been processed in accordance with the OCS.
FOREST STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL 100%
All YALA bamboo comes from responsibly managed, FSC-certified forests. A chain of custody verifies that no non-organic bamboo makes its way into our manufacturing processes. Products with the FSC 100% label contribute most directly to FSC's mission to ensure thriving forests for all, forever.
CONTROL UNION COUNCIL GLOBAL ORGANIC TEXTILE STANDARD (GOTS)
This certification ensures that the cotton in our blended fabrics is organic.
Responsible Wool Standard
Ensures that the New Zealand Merino sheep that produce our wool get treated humanely.
Bluesign
Ensures worker safety and environmental responsibility at every production stage in our partner facilities in China.
Our overall philosophy is creating sustainable and comfortable clothing that supports every human life it touches from our production partners throughout our supply chain, to our crew here in Ashland, to the end consumer. Tif and I are changing the way we think about how much fabric we create, how many pieces we produce, and how often. We are inspired by the evergreen idea, so instead of putting out two huge lines a year, we are creating much smaller limited runs, more often. This way we don’t end up with a ton of overstock. It’s cleaner and it makes more sense for a sustainability-minded brand and company.
~Rae