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By: Dale T. Read, Editor-in-Chief

“Green, sustainability, all-natural” . . . These are terms that home furnishings and mattress/bedding companies are embracing, and to some degree tossing the terms around confusing the consumer. In fact in the past few weeks several publications, industry associations, group meetings and perhaps even government agencies concerned about truth-in-product offerings have begun to call for a clarification of such terms as “all-natural”, “natural”, “organic”, sustainable”, “recyclable” and to a lesser extent environmentally-friendly. We may all agree that the entire green movement is laudable with suppliers and manufacturers exploring ways to reduce the use of synthetic, petroleum-based products as well as offering hypoallergenic and health supporting sleep systems; however “green” or “natural” really do seem to mean different things to different companies.

ENGLANDER has taken its commitment to providing a truly natural rubber latex very seriously for many decades. ENGLANDER has focused on natural products and has been hiking along the “Eco-Friendly” path for a long time. ENGLANDER has been developing ecological-friendly mattresses for the last decade. In fact they introduced their original “Laytex” program long before most companies ever considered making and marketing latex mattresses in the US. ENGLANDER developed a strong relationship with a Sri-Lankan based, all-natural rubber supplier whose rubber was imported into the US from a plantation with over 5.5 million rubber trees. “Our natural rubber latex cores are made from the sap of rubber trees. This is nothing new for ENGLANDER. We have the experience and the know-how that allow us to create “eco-friendly” products. We’ve been doing this for years,” says Mark Savel, the company’s chairman of the national marketing committee. “It is very important for consumers to understand that our natural rubber latex derived from rubber trees is not a synthetic petrochemical-based product. We all applaud companies that add natural rubber to their petro-based synthetic latex cores and toppers. It is a move in the right direction. However we have chosen since day one to offer natural rubber cores or components in our line of latex beds. ENGLANDER’s Nature’s Finest Collection is made of 100% rubber from rubber tree plants grown on plantations in Southeast Asia,” states Savel.

ENGLANDER’s Eco-friendly commitment goes beyond their natural rubber beds to the company’s extremely popular Fusion Foam Synergy™ Collection. ENGLANDER likes to refer to this combined latex and memory foam line as “When science and nature work together” making your dreams come true. Synergy mattresses combine ENGLANDER’s advanced memory foam technology with 100% pure, natural rubber latex. The combination of Visco-elastic memory foam and the pure natural rubber allow for the luxurious conforming qualities of the foam rubber while also providing the heat responsive and pressure sensitivity of visco-elastic memory foam. Equally as important, the synergy of both materials creates a more eco-friendly product with less overall reliance on petroleum-based visco foam.

An ENGLANDER spokesperson points out that two of the ultra-premium Synergy beds feature natural rubber latex as well as soy-based quilts, soy based poly bases and luxurious renewable cashmere wool covers. One of the beds features two inches of a natural rubber latex box top, on top of the visco base, and the other bed features two-inches of 8 lb. visco on top of a natural rubber latex base.

ENGLANDER’s commitment to being a greener company goes beyond its natural rubber latex and its Synergy Bedding program. “We are committed to a more environmentally responsible approach to our operations as well,” states Savel. “We actively search for materials that are eco-friendly in all aspects of our production. Whenever possible we choose materials that are natural, renewable and processed without toxins,” says Savel. Some of these include:

Natural fibers: ENGLANDER has recently developed a full line up of natural fiber products including wool, bamboo, organic cotton, and Visil to be used throughout various bedding collections.

Soy-based foams are now being used throughout the company’s lines to significantly reduce the amount of petroleum being used in every mattress, helping the Earth to conserve limited resources.

Savel points out that the company conducts regular energy usage audits resulting in more energy efficient lighting throughout ENGLANDER’s factories. “We are even printing our brochures and other sales and training materials on recycled paper whenever we can,” says Savel. “We are also pursuing more earth-friendly packaging solutions for shipping and storing mattresses, and we are recycling foam, materials and paper scraps wherever possible.”

“We truly are the right source to help retailers create, manage and market an ecologically-friendly bedding line. We have years of experience designing and selling these types of products.”

“ENGLANDER is a nationally branded mattress line, owned, managed and operated by bedding executives who work directly with our retail customers. Perhaps most important of all we have never lost sight of comfort, performance, value and quality for the consumer. Our logo motto says it all, ‘Better Sleep, By Design’.”

Retailers interested in learning more about the Eco-friendly environmentally responsible mattress line by ENGLANDER, please contact: (800) 83-SLEEP www.englander.com