A good night’s sleep makes all the difference. With ethical bedroom essentials you can sleep with a clear conscience about where your products are made and what they are made of. Whether you are looking for new bedding or want to redecorate the whole room, we have some ideas for your home.
Are duvets recyclable?
Most of us sleep under a duvet at night, but did you know that most duvets are not recyclable. They can’t be put in the recycle bin and they can’t be taken to recycling centres. That’s because they are bulky and made of mixed materials, and they’ve sometimes been treated with fire retardants.
Although some stores have take back schemes, and some individuals repurpose them or donate them to charity shops, the vast majority go to landfill. 61,900 tonnes of duvets and pillows were binned in 2010 and 116,100 tonnes are produced each year (The Alliance for Sustainable Building Products: Bio-Circ Project).
There are better options. Ava Innes makes duvets that are biodegradable. They’re padded with cashmere guard and wool and covered in cotton. They can be composted. Ava Innes also makes wool pillows, mattress toppers and wool blankets.
Wool blankets
Wool blankets are an alternative to a duvet, if you don’t want to use a product that can’t be recycled. Wool blankets can be recycled, repurposed or broken down into yarn and reused. They’re naturally breathable and are a natural insulator.
Melin Tregwynt in Wales is a wool mill that has been making blankets in the traditional way for over a century. They make lambswool cloth blankets in intricate patterns that are designed by their in-house team and you can buy matching cushions.
A good bed
The Natural Bed Company sells bed linen to complement their wooden bed range. Their range includes mattress toppers, wool cotton & down duvets, pillows, throws and quilts.
But the basis of a good night’s sleep, is of course, a good bed. The beds are made from wood that is ordered specially for each order placed, so there is no wastage. They are made in-house in their workshop in Sheffield.
Redecorating the bedroom
With lighting, there is so much to choose from. Soho Lighting and Spark & Bell make brass pendants, reading lights and table lamps. Coldharbour Lights make decadent feather lampshades. Clar makes simple, minimalist lampshades. Rocworx makes marbled lampshades. Peter Lanyon makes natural greenwood lamps.
Paint the walls with natural paint from Edward Bulmer or clay paint from Earthborn Paints. Paper the walls with the incredible designs from Newton Paisley or Fiona Howard. Drape the windows with Vanessa Arbuthnott or Newton Paisley fabrics. Pick out furniture from the many makers in our directory.
Accessorise with cushions from Madder Cutch & Co, Judi Archer or Juliette O Designs. Add rugs from Alternative Flooring (or ask them to make one for you), Wools of Cumbria, Flooring By Nature or wood flooring from the British Wood Flooring Company.
Find ethical bedroom essentials in our ethical directory so you can sleep with a clear conscience.