New Herdysleep: Good For Ewe, The Farmer & The Environment
New Herdysleep: Good For Ewe, The Farmer & The Environment
Back in February 2017 we launched the award winning Herdysleep mattress: a traditional, pocket sprung mattress, handmade in England, which champions the use of Herdwick wool. Historically Herdwick wool was used in the UK carpet industry because of its inherent properties of resilience and “bounce”. Sadly the decline in the UK carpet industry over recent decades has significantly reduced the market for Herdwick wool. This got us thinking about finding a new, commercially sustainable use for Herdwick wool with benefits for both the customer as well as the farmer. Wool is a natural, breathable, hypoallergenic fibre that regulates body temperature, making Herdwick wool’s natural qualities ideal for a better night’s sleep. Wool is renewable and biodegradable and therefore ticks the environmental boxes too.
The original version of our mattress was designed to be rolled and fitted in a delivery box, however this required an element of foam in its construction.
While convenience is great, the need to care for our environment is even greater so we’re proud to say the new Herdysleep mattress is now foam free, glue free, and 100% recyclable at end of life.
While the removal of the foam means it can no longer be folded and rolled in a box, convenience is still delivered through a dedicated two-person delivery to your room of choice, with your old mattress removed and recycled if you wish.
The new Herdysleep mattress is now foam free, glue free, and 100% recyclable at end of life
The removal of the foam has been made possible by the innovation and technological brilliance of Harrison Spinks, one of Britain’s most established bedmakers. With a string of Queens Innovation Awards, they are an exemplar manufacturer in the bedding industry. The new version of the HerdySleep mattress incorporates their brand new, patented layered Cortec Quad™ spring system. The invention of this innovative spring system means that foam is no longer needed to provide additional support for the springs and can therefore be eliminated from the construction.
Good for ewe
A comfortable, better and more natural nights sleep
With the layered Cortec Quad™ technology in our new Herdysleep mattress, several innovations have been made to the core of the mattress that results in a superior level of comfort and support. On top of that is the unique Herdysleep surface; two separate pads featuring pure Herdwick wool and pure cotton.
The springs in the new mattress are smaller, finer, and more tightly coiled than before. This creates a greater number of individual points of contact with the body, allowing for greater contour accuracy and support. Every part of the body that rests on the mattress is supported, particularly the arches in the neck and back, underneath the knees, and around the ankles. In fact, there are now over 1,000 springs per square metre, providing the user with the ultimate in support and comfort.
The springs are also lighter than normal springs, which cumulatively results in a lighter core. This makes the mattress lighter to handle and transport, and because foam is no longer required in the construction the airflow and ventilation throughout the mattress is improved, providing superior levels of temperature regulation.
Sitting on top of the springs is the Herdwick fleece sleep layer, sustainably sourced at fair trade rates from Lake District fell farmers.
When you buy a Herdysleep mattress not only are you getting a superior product made right here in Britain, you’re also directly supporting the traditional Herdwick farms and sheep of the Lake District. In the last century, with the advent of cheaper synthetic fibres, wool has fallen out of favour as a raw material. As a small population sheep breed with lower value coloured wool, Herdwick especially has been hit hard. We wanted to help find ways of supporting Lake District and in particular find good use for the Herdwick wool.
We have set up a co-operative of traditional, family run Herdwick fell farms in the Lake District from whom we buy the wool direct.
The farms keep small flocks in a lower density, which lessens the impact on the environment.
We pay fair trade rates for the wool, and collect it direct from the farm, which means reduced overheads for the farmer and a better return for them.
It’s not the perfect answer or the perfect solution but it helps. It contributes towards a sustainable future for fell farming communities and hopefully, with the support of consumers, the scheme will grow and evolve to work for everyone in the long term.
A Herdysleep mattress is manufactured entirely in the North of England within a 100-mile radius of where the wool is sourced for the filling. Our ultimate aim is that, once a Herdysleep mattress reaches the end of its life, we will take it back, strip it down to its constituent parts, and feed the materials back into the manufacturing process via a dedicated facility designed to eliminate the need for a Herdysleep mattress ever going to landfill.
The multi-layered Cortec Quad™ spring system in the Herdysleep mattress is a heat-welded pocket spring unit and requires no glue. Historically, the glue used in pocket spring mattresses made the units very difficult to recycle. This spring system doesn’t use glue in its construction making it much easier to recycle.
All foam has been removed from the construction too, as this unique and innovative spring system doesn’t require any additional support that foam would normally provide. Any synthetic, non-woven fabrics used are 100% recyclable. All natural materials used in the mattress are fully recyclable and/or biodegradable. At the end of its life, a Herdysleep mattress can be mechanically stripped down and fully recycled.
By buying a Herdysleep mattress not only are you going to enjoy a comfortable night’s sleep, you can rest easy knowing that you’re also doing your bit for the the Lake District farmer, British manufacturing, and the environment.
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