In the next part of our ongoing sustainable series, UK bed specialist Bensons for Beds details how it is working towards a greener future for its mattresses.
Bensons for Beds
In a world where sustainability is becoming ever more prevalent, the pressure is on for bed retailers to come up with greener ways for items such as mattresses to be recycled and reused. Every year, millions of mattresses are discarded, taking up not only a significant amount of space in landfill but also taking decades to decompose, depending on the materials they’re made from.
Bensons For Beds is taking steps to combat this issue through its collaboration with The Furniture Recycling Group to reduce its carbon footprint by recycling mattresses. Since their partnership began, Bensons has rejuvenated over 6,000 mattresses, saving almost 1,000 tonnes of CO2.
In 2023 alone, it recycled 1,343 mattresses and successfully rejuvenated 4,676 mattresses through TFR Group’s services. All the mattresses which are recycled from customers are stripped by hand and each material is given a new lease of life, such as foam going to the carpet industry to be used as underlay, and metal springs being melted back down into sheet metal to be reused.
But what happens to mattresses that have been used but still have years of life left in them, thanks to Bensons “40 Night Comfort Guarantee; a service which allows customers to sleep on their preferred mattress for 40 nights and then change to an alternative if their original selection does not meet their needs? With the help of The Furniture Recycling Group, Bensons for Beds has been able to rejuvenate any returned mattresses for resale, diverting them away from landfill.
Bensons For Beds is also taking steps to ensure that its mattress manufacturing is incorporating as many eco-friendly materials and practices as possible. A large part of this is ensuring that new ranges, such as its Naturals and Artisan collections are manufactured in the brand’s own British Kitemark quality accredited factory in Huntingdon, which also allows them to be supported with a minimum 5-year guarantee.
Being in control of the product design and manufacturing, means Bensons can continue to select more eco-friendly and ethical materials to use in its mattresses and explore more sustainable manufacturing processes. The result is mattresses that truly showcase the expertise and standout skills of its own factory, as well as its suppliers.
So, what’s on offer?
Bensons’ new Staples & Co. Artisan Collection is a range of exquisitely crafted mattresses which combine the highest quality natural materials from around the world, including the UK, with the very highest standards in sustainability and reduced carbon footprint. What’s more, most of these natural fibres are GOTS certified, which stands for Global Organic Textile Standard one of the world’s most widely recognised organic standards, ensuring a high regulation of both economic and social standards as well as full traceability.
The mattresses include luxuriously soft, naturally breathable and durable Wools of New Zealand wool, soft yet strong UK organic alpaca wool, GOTS certified organic British Wool, organic cotton, flax and silk fibres, as well as other beneficial natural materials such as bamboo, lambswool, mohair and horsehair.
All are breathable, naturally temperature-regulating, sustainable and cruelty-free and fully traceable. All have been chosen for their superior softness, resilience, and breathability. What’s more, the exclusive spring system in the Artisan mattresses is made from 65% recycled content and the mattresses are fully recyclable at end of life.
Bensons’ new Naturals by Slumberland range is also handmade to order in its Huntingdon factory. When designing this range, the brand wanted to find a more sustainable way to create better sleep, so it harnessed the power of natural materials. Materials used in this range include organic cotton, which is Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) approved, organic flax, also GOTS approved, and Tencel, made from sustainably sourced natural raw wood materials, which is chipped and pulped, and then weaved into fibres, making it 50% more absorbent than cotton.
The range also includes wool, which not only offers a myriad of benefits for sleep, but is sustainable, renewable and biodegradable, whilst being naturally flame resistant. The durable ‘all seasons’ wool layer keeps you warmer in winter and cooler in summer. There’s also Latex, sourced from rubber trees using a sustainable ‘tapping’ process, and renowned for its elasticity and support, adapting to the sleeper’s body contours, promoting spinal alignment and a comfortable sleeping position.
Bensons said: “We know that shoppers are actively looking for products which help them lessen their impact on the environment, so when we develop new ranges, we are actively exploring more sustainable solutions such as plant-based options, or ways to craft them using carefully selected natural and organic materials that help to not only create the perfect sleep conditions, but that are more sustainably sourced, fully traceable and kinder to the environment.
“Coupled with our increasingly popular mattress recycling schemes, we’re working towards offering all customers a truly comfortable yet responsible sleep solution.”
