The Better Bed Guide: The Best Mattresses, Sheets & Pyjamas For Eco Sleeping

We spend a third of our lives in our bedrooms sleeping. We use this time to relax, rest, and rejuvenate for the next day ahead. But somehow, many of us continue to feel deprived of sleep and struggle to feel fully rested despite spending hours in deep slumber. Some of us struggle to stay asleep or fall asleep at all. Considering how important sleep is for our overall health and wellbeing, now’s the time to invest and give yourself the quality sleep you need. Here’s how to upgrade your bedroom – the eco-friendly way, of course! 

Mattress

To ensure you get a good night’s sleep, you need a supportive and comfortable mattress. A good mattress will keep your spine in a neutral position – no matter what position you sleep in – which helps ensure you feel energised rather than sore and groggy the next day. 

One of the best well-constructed mattresses out there is Heveya‘s award-winning organic latex mattress. The Hong Kong-based company makes its mattresses out of organic, pesticide-free latex sourced from sustainable rubber tree plantations. Not only can natural latex provide the proper spinal support for comfortable sleep, it is also washable, breathable and hypoallergenic – making it suitable for absolutely everyone. 

Sheets & Bedding 

Sheets are often overlooked when considering all the factors that contribute to high-quality sleep. Some say they are your night “jacket” – they provide you with warmth and comfort. The right kind will keep you insulated, but it should still feel breathable and allow you to move. If not, you might be tossing and turning, too hot or too cold, and struggle to get uninterrupted hours of restful sleep. 

Passionate about the power of great sheets is Sunday Bedding, an Asian ethical bedding brand that wants to pair every customer with the perfect linens. Focused on quality and personalisation, the brand offers sheets, pillow cases, duvet inserts, duvet covers – all of which are made from organic cotton, bamboo lyocell or French linen derived from sustainable flax. The entire range is produced in Hong Kong using only safe, toxin-free chemicals, and is free from all synthetic ingredients. And in addition to ensuring comfortable, natural and eco-friendly sheets personalised just for you, Sunday Bedding are committed to pay people fairly for their work, which recently won them the “Made in Green” certification by OEKO-Tex. 

Another brand that creates sustainable sheets and bedding is Naked Lab. The Hong Kong company creates 100% bamboo, organic and toxin-free bedding. Their OEKO-TEX certified organic bamboo silk blend is vegan, hypoallergenic, naturally repels dust mites, mould and mildew, as well as naturally antibacterial, which makes it 30% less susceptible to odours than cotton. By opting for bamboo, the brand is also reducing its environmental footprint – compared to cotton, bamboo fibres require less than a tenth of the water to harvest, and the company sources from suppliers that recycles and reuses water to minimise water waste as much as possible. Recently, due to Covid-19, the brand has also decided to donate 40% of its earnings to charity HandsOn to provide elderly and low-income families with face masks and sanitisers. 

Pyjamas 

How can we forget about sleepwear? Good pyjamas will help you regulate your body temperature over the course of your entire sleep, should not feel irritating and help you feel cosy for deep slumber. 

Some of the best non-irritating fabrics that will ensure breathability and no rashes is natural cotton and organic muslin. Malabar Baby is known around town for crafting comfy sleep apparel for kids and mothers using quality materials, all of which are GOTS-certified organic. Their designs are also beautiful, such as their traditional block print patterns that are hand-screened and stitched by local artisans in India and China. 

Silk is loved by many for its temperature regulating and hypoallergenic qualities – but you may be concerned about the ethical aspect of the fabric. Indeed, silk is not compatible for vegans, but for others who are looking for silk sleepwear, you can choose brands that are committed to nonviolent and cruelty-free manufacturing methods. Ethical Kind, for instance, creates silk pajamas from sustainably farmed, pesticide and toxin-free GOTS-certified organic “peace” silk, where silkworms are allowed to complete metamorphosis to become butterflies. Their 100% transparent supply chain ensures that their silk is created ethically and sustainably, and is sourced directly from fair trade mills in India that ensure their workers good working conditions and decent wages. Silk itself is also a renewable resource and 100% biodegradable, and Ethical Kind plants a tree for every order made to offset the delivery emissions. 

Lead image courtesy of Sunday Bedding.