On the Upswing

Softer, brighter and more affordable, organic bedding means sweet dreams

By Dawn Klingensmith
CTW Features

Image courtesy Pottery Barn

Down-filled comforters, body-conforming foam mattresses and soft, easy-care sheets may be comfy, but no matter the fill power or thread count, some people can't cozy up to this style of bedding and catch a peaceful night's sleep. Concerned for their health and the planet, more and more well-heeled shoppers are opting for organic bedding, driving a trend toward luxury lines of eco-friendly linens.

"Definitely, the quality level continues to go up as more manufacturers offer organic bedding, which was a specialty product that's gone mainstream," says Rachel Hulan, interior designer with Path Design in Santa Ana, Calif. "Increasing competition is creating a more refined product."

It's not as though organic bedding ever only consisted of cheek-chafing, burlap-like fabrics, but eco-friendly dyes and manufacturing techniques have advanced to produce softer, smoother, silkier textures and a full spectrum of colors. On the high end, Dallas-based retailer Anna Sova Luxury Organics' Eco Silk collection includes lustrous solids, like raspberry and marigold, while Ralph Lauren's mid-priced Spa line of 400-thread-count organic cotton sheeting offers indigo sky and sand castle.

For patterns, the extraordinary potential of eco-friendly dye is played up on Pottery Barn's organic bedding, perhaps most strikingly in the Woodland design, featuring virtually every color in nature. Hidden among an intricate pattern of trees and flowers are poetic-sounding color names like "bleu du midi" - French for blue noon. Certified 100-percent organic cotton and linen bedding is made from fibers grown without chemicals, synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. Wool also can be certified organic if the livestock is raised to certain standards, as can silk. Nontoxic bleaching, dyeing and finishing processes are used to manufacture organic textiles, verses conventional fabrics, which are treated with everything from beef tallow to formaldehyde.

"One of the main advantages of organic bedding, other than the sustainability factor, is decreased chemical exposure," says Hulan, who also blogs about green housewares. "My advice to my clients is that they're spending eight hours in bed, so it's important to have organic, chemical-free bedding. Some of those chemicals can be absorbed through your skin."

Those who are truly intent on banning toxins from the bedroom are "greening" their beds from the frame up, says Barry Shapiro, co-founder of Furnature, a Watertown, Mass.-based producer of organic furniture, including bed frames made with unstained, sustainable lumber. With more organic mattresses available, people have a choice of materials and construction techniques. Furnature's organic mattresses have a natural rubber core and a quilted organic cotton cover with wool batting, which is naturally flame-retardant.

Organic pillows come stuffed with soft, fluffy wool or shredded rubber. Unlike goose down or other fillers, neither harbors dust mites, which trigger allergies, Shapiro says. Beyond sumptuous organic sheets and blankets, top-end shoppers heap on finishing touches that are the height of luxury, such as shimmering, iridescent pillows and fringed throws by Lulan Artisans, based in Charleston, N.C.

"Their stuff is mostly silk, and they have some organic cotton. It's all beautiful and very eco-friendly," Hulan says.

Losing sleep over the economy? You don't have to create what Hulan calls a "Taj Mahal bed" to experience a little bit of earth-friendly luxury. "Even the organic cotton sheets that Target sells feel really soft," she says. "I think there's something in everyone's price range now."

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