We are pleased to announce that our century-old mills in Washougal, WA and Pendleton, OR are certified STeP by OEKO-TEX® (21001295 HOHENSTEIN HTTI). Both mills have been weaving for over 110 years and are continually updated for sustainability and innovation.
STeP by OEKO-TEX® is a certification system for production facilities in the textile industry. Certification assesses production facilities at all processing stages to allow brands to communicate environmental measures. The Pendleton mills were scored in various areas including, chemical management, environmental performance and management, social responsibility, quality management, and health and safety.
STeP is the First Step
This is a milestone on our path to certified sustainability for all our mill products. The process is long and requirements are stringent. Members of our mill teams have worked tirelessly to collect and submit the needed data, and projects have been identified and initiated to make it happen.
“Pendleton is committed to creating a sustainable product lifecycle. As a vertical operation, the impact we have on the environment is a priority in every process. Certifying the mills for sustainability is a tremendous step in this journey,” explained Rolan Snider, Pendleton’s vice president of textile manufacturing. “The sustainability journey begins with our use of wool as a natural fiber, the long-term relationships with USA wool growers and now continues through the local production in our sustainability-certified mills.”
You can learn more about the process and the path at oeko-tex.com. The Pendleton Woolen Mill located in Washougal, WA is located at 2 Pendleton Way, Washougal, WA 98671 and the Pendleton Woolen Mill located in Pendleton, OR is located at 1307 SE Court Pl, Pendleton, OR 97801. Both mills offer tours year round.
As a brand, Pendleton Woolen Mills offers some unique experiences to consumers, like tours of our working woolen mills in Oregon and Washington (health restrictions permitting). That’s where we weave most of the wool textiles used in our wool apparel and world-famous wool blankets.
Weaving generates a variety of trimmings, selvages, and “headers” (the point where a run of blanket material joins with the next run of a different blanket material). Pendleton has always had a “zero mill waste” policy. Efficient use of all mill products was part of our mission in 1909, when we re-opened a stilled factory in Pendleton, Oregon. It is an even stronger part of Pendleton’s mission today. That means our leftover fabrics and trimmings go to one of our most unique locations; the Woolen Mill Store in Milwaukie, Oregon (just outside Portland city limits).
This store occupies what was Pendleton’s “Foundation Woolen Mill” for many years. Back in the day, “foundations” were linings, and the entire output of this mill was devoted to lining for men’s woolen neckties. Over the years, many other fabrics were woven here, until 1999, when this mill’s operations were merged with our mill in Washougal, Washington. The facility was used for storage until 2008, when the Woolen Mill Store relocated from its original “Little Red Store” location to the Foundation building.
The store occupies 12,000 square feet with 350 rolls of Pendleton fabrics. More than just a fabric store, the Woolen Mill Store sells Pendleton yarn, buttons, notions and patterns. Weekly deliveries from Pendleton’s mills bring multicolored selvage and blanket trimmings, prized by crafters all over the county for rugs and other creative pursuits. The store also offers Pendleton apparel, hats and bags, and one the largest first-quality blanket selections found in any Pendleton store—the blanket wall here is a marvel.
Today’s Refreshed Woolen Mill Store
We have just refreshed this store inside and out. The exterior has a new bold color scheme that recalls a National Park blanket, and lit signage.
Inside, we have an improved layout, expanded classroom space, and a wealth of informational and historical displays. When you visit, you’ll see a one-of-a-kind banner behind the cash wrap that celebrates the materials and craft at the heart of the Woolen Mill Store.
Measuring 8′ x 12′, the banner was designed and created by Pendleton’s Marketing team. The design is based on the Mt Hood graphic on a vintage shirt box, which is also used in our current Born in Oregon logo. The pattern was enlarged onto a full-sized paper pattern using a slide projector.
This pattern was cut apart and used to trace the shape of the mountain and the shoreline.
The sky and lake shape are made from the same fabric – the face and reverse of a wool denim. The 150+ stylized trees were cut from a wide range of plaids, stripes, jacquards, and solid fabric, including our Sunbrella outdoor fabrics.
The richly colored fabrics, all in shades of blue, were appliqued together with a fusible bonding, and then machine quilted with a layer of wool batting and a solid cotton backing fabric. This secured all the fabric layers and created a diamond patterned stitch design over the entire surface. The quilting was done by Nancy at Just Quilting in Portland. You can find her at @justquilting on Instagram.
Once quilted, the layers of needle felted trees and the logo were added on top, and the banner was bound on all sides in felt by store staff. The logo was created using 3-D logo letters wrapped in wool yarn and sewn to the sky area of the banner. Shading on the lake is created with airbrushed fabric paint, the only element not sold at the Woolen Mill Store. The larger trees at the bottom, are created by freehand needle felting.
Here’s a behind-the-scenes movie of the process.
This is a celebration of hand crafting, and a fitting salute to our quality materials and the work that our customers create. Here’s a closer view, and we hope you’ll visit us to see it in person soon.
Pendleton Eco-Wise Wool® passes strict standards of sustainability and stewardship. That sounds admirable, doesn’t it? But those lofty words would mean nothing at all if Pendleton Eco-Wise Wool® products weren’t soft, richly colored and delightful to touch.
Pendleton Eco-Wise Wool® is an innovation in the Umatilla wool we’ve woven for over a century. With a great deal of trial (and a reasonable amount of error), we produced Pendleton Eco-Wise Wool® that we could guarantee for quality. So maybe you want to wrap yourself up in environmental responsibility this year, or maybe you just want something beautiful, wooly and Pendleton. In either case, we have plenty to show you.
All the Blankets
Our washable bed blankets for 2013 are offered in ten plaids, eight of which are shown below.
Love those blanket-stitched edges. These are washable, and get softer with each trip through the spin cycle.
The solid blankets (18 colors) and matching shams coordinate back to the bed blanket plaids so they can be used together, or used alone for a clean, contemporary look. Here are eight of the shades:
Wool is a perfect choice for top-of-bed. There is a subtlety to the texture, nothing shiny or artificial about it, and the color will remain true forever. You can add accent interest with pillows or maybe the fringed Eco-Wise Wool Lambswool Throw.
This is actually a lambswool/merino blend, and if you know your wools, you’ll appreciate what merino does for the hand. It is soft. The plaids coordinate back to both the plaid and solid bed blankets, or stand on their own in any room of your home.
There are accent pillows, fabric by-the-yard, window panels and more available in Pendleton Eco-Wise Wool®.
Along with springtime, the Northwest Flower & Garden Show is coming soon. From February 8th through 12th, the Washington State Convention Centerwill host a beautiful array of events and vendors.
The display gardens will be amazing!
Pendleton Woolen Mills has partnered with the show in supporting the Seattle Children’s Play Garden, through the sale of a special edition of our Counting Sheep blanket.
This child-size blanket is made of our Pendleton Eco-Wise Wool, and features a special patch.
Support the Garden
The Seattle Children’s Play Garden is a place where children of all ages and abilities can enjoy the unique pleasures of playing outdoors among growing things. So cuddle up for a good cause! And while you’re there, please enjoy the flowers.
…Pendleton Eco-Wise Wool® passes strict standards of sustainability and stewardship. That sounds admirable, doesn’t it? But those lofty words would mean nothing at all if Pendleton Eco-Wise Wool® products weren’t soft, richly colored and delightful to touch.
Pendleton Eco-Wise Wool® is an innovation in the Umatilla wool we’ve woven for over a century that uses nontoxic biodegradable dyes. With a great deal of trial and a reasonable amount of error, we produced Pendleton Eco-Wise Wool® that we could guarantee for quality.
So maybe you want to wrap yourself up in environmental responsibility this year, or maybe you just want something beautiful, wooly and Pendleton. In either case, we have plenty to show you.
Our washable bed blankets are offered in four plaids.
Love those blanket-stitched edges. These are washable, and get softer with each trip through the spin cycle.
The solid blankets and matching shams coordinate back to the bed blanket plaids so they can be used together, or used alone for a clean, contemporary look. Here are a few shades:
Wool is a perfect choice for top-of-bed. There is a subtlety to the texture, nothing shiny or artificial about it, and the color will remain true forever. You can add accent interest with pillows or…
…maybe the fringed Lambswool Throw.
This is actually a lambswool/merino blend, and if you know your wools, you’ll appreciate what woven merino does for the hand of this throw. It is soft. The six plaids coordinate back to both the plaid and solid bed blankets, or stand on their own in any room of your home.
We also offer it in white …
…which we brought back after a consumer clamor. Calm down! It’s back! The perfect shower/wedding gift is available again!
There are accent pillows, fabric by-the-yard, window panels and more available in Pendleton Eco-Wise Wool®. Give us a visit and see all our colorful ways to be green.
