Ecolinde natural latex mattresses, the handmade cotton duvets, pillows and the bed are all 100% plant based and therefore biobased. Only some screws in the bed and the zipper of the mattress are not plant based. These allow reuse or replacement of parts. At Ecolinde they speak of 100% natural latex because the mattress cores are baked without the addition of synthetic latex.
Every year, 1,5 million mattresses are being discarded in the Netherlands. This shows the urgency for a sustainable alternative.
Made of
- Ecolinde 100% Natural Latex (FSC) is made of the juice from the rubber tree Hevea Brasiliensis. The plantations are inspected by the international Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) for environmental requirements of sustainable forestry and good working conditions.
- The mattress cores are baked without the addition of synthetic latex.
- Ecolinde Natural latex for the mattress comes from Southeast Asia, the organic cotton and kapok for the mattress cover, duvets and pillows mainly come from India. The untreated Zirbe (Alpenden) wood and the linoleum based on linseed for the Lyniu (designed by Dormiente) come from Europe.
Production Process
- Juice from the rubber tree is harvested by draining and collecting it.
- Rubber juice is collected and goes to Europe
- Rubber juice is whipped and baked (vulcanized) with the help of sulfur and soap into mattress cores of 100% natural latex.
- The Ecolinde Natural Latex Mattress is made by hand in NL: the mattress cover is made of 100% organic cotton jersey and filled with carded organic cotton.
- After the customer has received the mattress from Ecolinde at home, the old mattress is taken away. Retourmatras recycles the mattress. The recovered raw materials are used as insulation material in sports mats and recycled textiles.
Applied
Ecolinde supplies consumers throughout the Netherlands with handmade, organic and fair trade mattresses, duvets, pillows and solid wooden beds.
Environmental impact
- Rubber trees absorb CO2 and give off a lot of oxygen.
- By using natural rubber, no petroleum is needed as a raw material for synthetic foam, or rubber.
- No pesticides and pesticides are needed when growing organic cotton and kapok and rubber tree (FSC).
- Organic cotton cultivation saves water.
- Natural latex, like synthetic latex, is not compostable.
- A mattress lasts 15 years. A solid wooden bed lasts a lifetime and is the antique of the future.
- Ecolinde only works with suppliers who can comply with the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) to ensure the production of organic agriculture and good conditions in the textile industry are adhered to.
- The plantations are inspected by the international Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) for environmental requirements of sustainable forestry and good working conditions.
Growth opportunities
Growth of rubber trees is limited in Asia and labor intensive, while demand for natural latex is increasing. Possible solution is the Russian dandelion. Rubber can be extracted from the roots of this flower. dr. Ingrid van der Meer, Wageningen University, indicates that everything from the production of the plant, to scaling up of the patented extraction process, to testing the quality of the natural rubber and testing in products such as car tires, has been carried out in the large research project DRIVE4EU. However, the chain for production and harvest, extraction and use has not yet been set up in Europe. Investors are now mainly needed.
Health
- Thanks to the Ecolinde beds and mattresses, there are no longer any toxic fumes in the bedroom.
- No heat in bed and night sweats as with memory foam and cold foam and polyether mattresses.
- The biobased materials are naturally anti-allergic.
- It offers good support for every sleeper due to the elasticity of natural latex.
- The scent of untreated Zirbe (Alpine pine) wood promotes a good night’s sleep.
- Because no animal raw materials such as down and wool are used, not only animal suffering is prevented, but also allergies, vermin and moths are prevented.