KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Parachute is a Venice, California-based home goods brand that sells sustainably made linens like sheets, towels, and loungewear.
- Their bedding comes in stylish colors and materials like linen, percale, brushed cotton, sateen, and organic cotton.
- I tried the percale sheets—they were cool and crisp with a lightweight feel. They held up well in the wash and notably aren’t as soft as other kinds of sheets because of their structure and breathability.
My partner and I live in a pre-war brownstone where we can’t control the heat in our unit—it gushes out of the radiator, withering our houseplants, unfazed by the drafty windows. It’s a sustainability nightmare, really. As anyone who’s lived in one of these old buildings can probably attest, it gets HOT in the winter.
Our solution is often cracking the bedroom window during the cold months when sleeping can get too warm for comfort, even with our lightest sheets. So, when we had the opportunity to try Parachute’s ultra-cooling percale sheets, I jumped.
Ariel Kaye founded Parachute in 2014 when she noticed a hole in the home goods market—she had trouble finding high-quality, consumer-friendly brands. She launched Parachute to try and remedy that gap, selling bedding and other home goods direct-to-consumer. The brand now has brick-and-mortar stores throughout the country in major cities like L.A., Denver, Chicago, Houston, New York, Seattle, and many more.
Their products are made by expert craftspeople in Portugal with top-notch materials like organic cotton. Many of their essentials are GOTS-, Fair Trade™-, or Oeko-TexⓇ-certified (more on that later), and the brand is now Climate Neutral Certified.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF PARACHUTE’S PERCALE SHEETS
I opted for the percale sheet set in the color “sand,” which I thought would go nicely with our sage green Casaluna duvet set. The color ended up looking great, though it was hard not to choose some of their more fun colors, like “clay” or “moss.” Their standard sheet sets come with just a fitted sheet and two pillowcases, perfect for no-top-sheet households like mine, but you can add a top sheet to the package if you’re not a duvet person.
Percale refers to the specific weave used to make these cotton sheets—it’s a one under, one over weave that gives sheets a matte look and an airy feel. It has a similar texture to a crisp button-down shirt, so while it might feel stiffer than other cotton sheets like sateen, it’s known for being the most lightweight, wicking away heat and moisture. The percale sheets, along with Parachute’s entire bedding line, are Oeko-Tex Standard 100 Certified, meaning they’re certified by the independent Swiss Oeko-Tex Association as free of high levels of up to 350 substances that are dangerous to humans and the environment but not necessarily banned federally in the U.S. (like some pesticides and carcinogenic colorants).
The sheets arrived in cute ribbon packaging but wrapped in plastic bags—not the best, but not terrible for 100% cotton sheets from a climate-neutral brand that are supposed to last me forever. There was no noticeable factory smell, so I put them right on the bed to compare how they felt before and after washing.
The fitted sheet has sixteen-inch pockets to easily fit over even deep mattresses without popping off at night. It was easy to get on once I figured out which way was the top (it’s not labeled like some fitted sheets are). The pillowcases have an envelope-style closure, meaning the pillow opening is on the back, so no tags or pillow ends will pop out. Thoughtful yet simple design all around.
A percale newbie myself, I thought the sheets felt rougher than I’m used to—but it seems that’s all in the lower thread count of percale sheets, and that’s how they allow for more airflow during the night. They felt noticeably cool to the touch.
HOW THE SHEETS PERFORMED
As always, we cracked the window before bed, and I woke up chilly in the middle of the night! I swapped my t-shirt for a sweatshirt and sweatpants and crawled back into the cool sheets. This wasn’t the most scientific of experiments—maybe it was a colder than normal night—but the sheets certainly seemed to live up to their breathability claim.
I washed the sheet set the way Parachute recommends—on a cool setting and trying not to overdry them. I’ll have to remember to break out my wool dryer balls next time. The sheets are undoubtedly prone to wrinkling during the wash and after a night of sleeping (as you’ll see in some of these photos). Their pillowcases felt slightly softer after the wash, but the fitted sheet didn’t. The percale is supposed to soften over time, but I’m planning on having this sheet set for a long while, so I’m in no hurry to see a change in its texture.
All in all, these are a great winter or summer sheet set for us—but they might be too chilly in transitional seasons when the apartment isn’t hot. I’d recommend them to anyone who sleeps hot, but they might be too cool for anyone else.
The set I tried goes for $149 for a queen size or $229 with a top sheet added, and some of their sets can get much pricier. Their king-sized full brushed cotton set, including a fitted sheet, pillowcases, and a duvet cover, goes for $539. Parachute isn’t a cheap brand, but the quality of the product and the company’s sustainability practices justify the prices if you’re willing/able to make that investment in your bedding. I’ve also heard that Parachute sheets are occasionally on sale at Home Goods or TJMaxx if you’re lucky enough to find them there.
As for the repurchasing question, my answer is: maybe! I’m excited to see how these sheets get better over time, and I’m also interested in trying out their other materials, like the luxurious-looking Organic Cloud Cotton. I’ve never splurged on linens before since I’ve always been more than satisfied with my Target generic brand bed sheets—but I worry Parachute may have ruined me.
Natalie Gale is a Boston-based freelance journalist. When she’s not writing about art, food, or sustainability, you can find her biking to the farmers’ market, baking, sewing, or planning her next Halloween costume. Say hi on Instagram!
