Cold hand-washing with mild natural detergents and hanging to dry in the shade is your best bet to ensure your pieces lasts for a lifetime.

We encourage you to wash your RŪPA article separately for the first 3 cycles as our natural dyes are colourfast. This is due to the lack of dyeing chemicals that may result in small colour runs or slight fading.

New pieces that need its first wash will have a better turn-out if a tablespoon of ordinary ground salt is added to the water and left to soak for a maximum of 10 minutes before rinsing under running water. This process will help set the colours and extend the life of your purchase.

We strongly recommend ph-neutral or low-ph natural detergents that are environmentally friendly.

Pre-mix your choice of natural detergent with cold water and create a water bath to submerge your rūpa piece in. 

Do not pour detergents straight onto the fabric, especially for the first wash.

Fabric softener is not necessary as it may leave a film of residue on the surface of the fabric.

Once it’s ready to go, we encourage that you try your best to not tumble dry, twist or wring the fabric whilst removing excess moisture.

The sun is harsh on our clothing, so keep it out of direct light and let it line dry in the shade inside-out. Continuous exposure to the sun can fade the natural plant and vegetable dyes.

Due to their hand-made nature, our handwoven fabrics naturally have a looser weave and this is the reason why we don’t recommend dryer in the ways to care for your RŪPA pieces as they often reduce the overall garment size. Nonetheless, if you feel that there is some give in the sizing, you may use the washer and dryer on a low-heat, delicate setting at your discretion.

Here comes the fun part; a low or medium heat setting on your iron will be the best you can do for your garment if it ever becomes wrinkled – it is especially nice on our hand-drawn batik.

A steamer can be used on our handwoven materials, but make sure it is avoided with our batiks as it may distort the fabric.

Damp places should be avoided when storing RŪPAHAUS textiles and it is recommended that you place your garment in our dust bags provided for each purchase or on a hanger ready to be tucked away for next time.

Every rūpa piece is made with extra love and care to be perfect as it can be, however like any other garments do, it can get old and we at our haūshold champion repairing garments. So here's our go-to tricks to put its glory back into it, should you need them!

Found a snag in your garment?
Place your garment on a flat surface and make sure the snag lays flat. Gently pull the snagged thread back into the weave with your fingertips - start with the vertical grain and followed by the horizontal grain until most of the thread is pulled back into place. If any of the thread protrudes at the surface, you should be able to snip it without leaving a trace.

Have a pulled loop?
You can just snip the loop to be even with the rest of the fabric.

Every RŪPAxKlipoh piece is carefully handmade and therefore delicate.

Please handwash only with cold water, do not use dishwasher. Store in a dry place.

The Kanekes bags are robust and sturdy from its nature, however, cold handwash is recommended if needed.

Store in a dry place.

Once it exceeds its very long durability, these bags can be put back into the grounds, they are completely biodegradable and compostable.