Cupro

Cupro, also sold as Bemberg, is a regenerated cellulosic made from cotton linter waste dissolved in Schweizer's reagent, a copper-and-ammonia solution, then re-spun and regenerated in acid baths that strip out the copper and ammonia.

On the body, cupro is genuinely kind. Its fibers have an almost perfectly round cross-section, so it sits smoothly and tends to irritate less, and it is often described as hypoallergenic. It is highly breathable, more so than silk, cotton, acetate, nylon, or polyester, and its crystalline structure pulls moisture off your skin and releases it, holding a lot of dampness before it ever feels wet. The processing concern is upstream, not on your skin: the copper-ammonia method requires careful capture of copper and ammonia, which is a manufacturing and discharge issue rather than something that lingers in a washed, finished garment. As always, the dyes and finishes on the final cloth are the residue question, so finished-garment certification still matters.

Look for Bemberg (made by Asahi Kasei) as the established, controlled-process cupro, and an OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 label confirming the finished fabric was tested for harmful substances.

It is made from cotton-processing waste, though the copper-ammonia chemistry demands strict effluent control at the mill.