Most clothing comes with no story. A label that says "Made in" somewhere, a fibre content, a washing instruction. The journey from raw material to finished garment — the farms, the mills, the hands involved — is invisible. At MIKA & MILO, we think that journey matters. Here's ours.
It Starts in the Field: Organic Cotton Farming
Our organic cotton begins on certified organic farms — fields where no synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or genetically modified seeds are used. Organic cotton farming relies instead on natural methods: crop rotation to maintain soil health, composting to build fertility, and biological pest control that works with the ecosystem rather than against it.
This approach produces cotton that is cleaner from the very start — no synthetic chemical residues carried through from the field into the fibre. It also produces healthier soil, cleaner waterways, and safer working conditions for the farming communities involved. The environmental benefits of organic cotton farming are real and significant.
And on the Steppe: Cashmere Sourcing
The 5% cashmere in our blend begins on the grasslands of Inner Mongolia, where Capra hircus goats grow extraordinarily fine undercoats to survive winters that reach -40°C. Each spring, during the natural moulting season, the undercoat is combed — gently, by hand — by herding families who have practised this craft for generations.
Each goat produces only 100 to 200 grams of usable fibre per year. The scarcity is real, and it's why responsible sourcing matters: the pressure of cheap cashmere demand has caused genuine damage to Mongolian grasslands and herding communities. We source with attention to animal welfare, herder livelihoods, and the long-term health of the land.
Processing: Spinning and Blending
Once harvested, both fibres go through processing — cleaning, sorting, and spinning into yarn. For organic cotton, this process is governed by GOTS certification (Global Organic Textile Standard), which covers not just the farming but the full supply chain: the chemicals used in processing, the working conditions in the mills, and the environmental management of the facilities.
The cashmere is dehaired — the coarser outer fibres removed — and sorted by fineness before spinning. The finest grades, measured in microns, produce the softest yarn.
The two fibres are then blended and spun together into our 95/5 yarn — a combination that brings together the breathability and durability of organic cotton with the softness and temperature-regulating quality of cashmere.
Knitting: Where the Fabric Becomes a Garment
Our yarn is knitted into fabric and then into finished garments by skilled makers working with fine-gauge knitting machinery. The construction of a quality knit — the tension, the stitch structure, the finishing — is where craft knowledge makes the difference between a garment that holds its shape and one that doesn't.
Each piece is finished by hand: seams checked, edges tidied, the garment washed and blocked into its final shape. This finishing process is what gives our pieces their characteristic softness and structure — it cannot be rushed or automated without compromising the result.
Quality Control: The Standard We Hold
Before any piece leaves the production process, it's checked against our quality standards: the fabric surface, the seam integrity, the colour consistency, the overall shape. Pieces that don't meet the standard don't go out. This is not a marketing claim — it's the basic discipline of making things properly.
To You: The Final Step
The last step in the journey is the simplest: the garment arrives with you, and your child wears it. Everything that came before — the organic farm, the Mongolian steppe, the spinning mill, the knitting machine, the finishing hands — is present in the fabric. That's what provenance means in practice.
When you choose a MIKA & MILO piece, you're choosing the full story. We think that matters — for your child's comfort, for the people who made it, and for the world they're all growing up in.
