Design Centre Stories

A Recycling Revolution

When Rested announced that it would be launching a ‘circular’ bed at Focus/20, there could easily have been some misunderstanding about what that entailed: in fact, the adjective describes not its shape but its ability to be endlessly recycled.

Auping’s ‘Evolve’ mattress is revolutionary and a model of sustainable design. It’s estimated that 30 million mattresses are thrown away in Europe annually, yet the ‘Evolve’ can be broken down into its individual materials and completely recycled, again and again. Auping had already developed the first ever ‘cradle to cradle’ mattress a decade ago, where every element was capable of being recycled at the end of the product’s life, but the onus was on the homeowner to make sure it was done. With ‘Evolve’, Auping has taken on the responsibility to collect every mattress so that it can go back to the factory to be reborn. “A true circular product [creates] no waste along the way, and can be turned into a product of similar quality. That is a very difficult thing to achieve, but that is what Auping has done,” said Rested’s managing director Toby Walzer, talking about the mattress as part of Focus/20’s virtual programme.

The problem with many mattresses is that they are made from glued-together foam, which is almost impossible to separate and recycle. To create ‘Evolve’, Auping got rid of the foam and used only two materials – metal for the springs, and polyester everywhere else. When heat-activated, the glue softens and allows the layers to easily come apart; the polyester can then be removed then returned to granulate form to potentially be endlessly reused. The material is naturally fire-retardant, which means no chemical spray-finishing, and the mattress is the most aerated that Auping has ever designed, to ensure a comfortable sleeping temperature.

See Rested’s Toby Walzer talk more about the product here.

Rested, Third Floor, South Dome

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