Archive for February, 2009
What bedding is ‘Made In The U.S.A.’?
Frequently, we will be asked this question from customers wanting to buy American bedding only. The answer is tricky, because most fabrics are woven in China, with some higher-end fabrics woven in Germany or Western Europe. Just like buying a car, your bedding contains elements from across the globe - whether it is the origination of the yarn material (Supima cotton vs. Egyptian cotton vs. just plain cotton), to the fabric finishing location, to the filling process. In this blog entry, we will try to cover each of the elements that result in a finished piece of filled down bedding.
It’s all about the Yarn
The predominant material used in bedding is cotton. Cotton is grown across the globe, with the majority of it grown in the U.S., India, China, etc. Superfine cottons - Supima, Egyptian - are grown in unique locations. Notably, Supima is long-staple American-grown cotton, and Egyptian cotton is grown in Egypt. Please note that just because a cotton is Egyptian does not mean it is long-stapled.
Weaving
Most fabrics (90% or more) are woven in China due to the high labor cost involved in the milling process. Some fabrics are woven in other countries - Portugal, Italy, Germany, etc. When cotton is first woven, it has a rough texture like muslin. This unfinished woven cloth is called “greige” cloth or “greige” goods. Most fabrics woven in China are greige cloth. The appearance of this cloth is off color and speckled - more organic looking. While most greige goods are usually finished in China, a small percentage are finished abroad in Germany, Japan, etc.
Finishing
The finishing process involves mechanical and chemical treatments to improve the feel and/or performance of the cloth. The finest feeling fabric in the world tends to be German or Japanese goods (Korean too).
Assembling
Once woven and finished, it goes next to the assembly of the pieces. Most ‘cut and sew,’ as it is called, is handled in the finishing country (so if finished in China, it is cut and sewn there; if finished in Germany, it is finished there or a nearby country - Ukraine for example). This assembled material is now ready for filling - whether it is down or a down alternative.
Filling
Natural fillings (down, feathers, etc.) come from two locations - China or Eastern Europe. Usually, this is where the meat is consumed and the down or feathers are a byproduct of the poultry industry. The filling for most DOWNLITE products is processed in the United States - approximately 75% or so of all bedding we make.
In Summary
As you can see, filled bedding is an international effort, with materials from several countries. I often have a consumer seeking an all-American product, but the reality is that what I consider American still involves materials from around the globe. The underlying issue is that consumers are looking for products not made in China. In this case we recommend some of the European down comforters we make with fabric finished in Germany. The hand and feel of the fabric is quite amazing - our best comforter features a batiste cotton fabric filled with 800-fill-power Canadian white goose down.
Some of our retailers insist on only the finest fabrics for their bedding collections, such as the ‘Flair Down Pillow‘ series we make for Bloomingdales private label collection.
Posted in How To Buy on Sun, February 15th, 2009 at 4:26 am. No comments.
eco Impact of Down & Feathers Versus Polyester
Often we get a question from a concerned consumer about the eco impact of their buying decisions. In this case they want to know which bedding has the least eco impact. So we will discuss the two options we know pretty well - natural down and feathers versus polyester.
We’ll start with the easy one - polyester. Polyester filling can come from virgin polyester or reclaimed polyester. Virgin polyester comes from petroleum. Reclaimed polyester comes from recycled polyester from plant scraps (remnant fiber from carpet manufacturing is one example). Some polyesters are carcinogenic in some form and can off gas. Polyester fibers used for bed fillings can have some distinct advantages - they can be made hypoallergenic and with the right materials - antimicrobial.
Natural fillings are a by product of the poultry indsutry in China and Eastern Europe. They are renewable, sustainable and breakdown (like hundreds of years later). Natural fillings can also be reclaimed by simply washing the fibers and sanitzing them again. Down and feathers can be washed to such a clean state as to make them hypoallergenic like our RestAssured process.
Both filling materials can be used with various cloths like cotton or TENCEL blends for an extra green solution. Both down and down alternative fillings can keep you warm. Down, however being natures best insulator does a more efficient job at it. Therefore - to lower your home heating bill you can use quality down bedding to allow the thermostat to go down and still keep you warm and snuggly.
That is the green truth!
Posted in Energy Savings on Sat, February 7th, 2009 at 5:33 am. No comments.