Elastica is a well-known Austrian mattress manufacturer, with circularity as one of their top goals. Their mission: better products with good care for the environment and reuse of raw materials.
The challenge: from the bedroom to the incinerator
Mattress covers are made of textile. To make this part circular, the different fiber compositions form a big problem.
A mattress cover can consist of cotton, polyester, and polyamide. These composite materials cannot be separated after use, so often is “from the bedroom to the incinerator” the only solution.
Our challenge: how do we change this to “from the bedroom to a new product”?
The solution
Products made from 100% monomaterial can be fully reused. Especially polyester is a sustainable choice as this material can re-granulated (bring it back to the raw materials) with little energy and all kinds of new products can be made: mattress covers, but also fleece sweaters and sportswear.
Our approach
Step one of the circular loop is, of course, sustainable production.
A mattress cover consists of five to ten components, like the textile exterior, the sewing threads and the zipper. For full reuse, each of these components must be made from 100% monomaterial.
We tested Elastica’s mattress covers per component. In case we discovered a different fiber we helped Elastica in adjusting or changing this component until it was 100% monomaterial.
The next step is recycling after use. Mattresses last at least ten years, so they must be well traceable.
For each Elastica mattress cover, we therefore provide a unique RFID tag. This digital label tells which materials have been used, without reading sensitive business information. This makes it easy to separate the mattress cover from other materials and re-granulate it in the right factory.
The result: 100% circular mattress covers
Elastica’s mattress covers are now 100% sustainable. The covers go to the right factory after use, and the granulate can be used for new textile products.
This whole process is as simple as it is effective: by using monomaterial and RFID tags, a large part of the mattress becomes circular right away.
