how Silentnight is leading the way in sustainability

Many of us don’t really give much thought as to how the mattress we sleep on every night is made and sustainability may not be the first thing that comes to mind when it comes to beds and bedding. Choosing a mattress and duvet that’s been made in an environmentally-friendly way is one step that you can take to be more sustainable and help protect our precious environment. Read on to find out how Silentnight is leading the way in sustainable sleep solutions and how there’s more to it than just the materials used.

why is sustainability so important?

Sustainability is important for protecting ecosystems, preserving natural resources for future generations and improving the quality of our lives. We all have a moral obligation to sustain the planet and living more sustainably means that we make ethical choices that ensure a safe and livable future for everyone. 

Silentnight’s sustainability achievements

At Silentnight, our commitment to eco-friendly design guides our product development.  We are dedicated to having a positive impact on our planet and committed to creating a greener environment. 

We’re all too well aware of the devastating effects of deforestation - habitat loss, wildlife extinction and it is the cause of approximately 10% of global warming. So that's why we're committed to sourcing materials from sustainable areas and all the wood used in our divans and headboards is FSC® Certified FSC® C104461. Furthermore, in conjunction with Carbon Footprint, we invest in sustainability and social projects, both in the UK and around the world, by supporting tree planting in UK schools, as well as in Kenya and the Amazon to help counter deforestation. 

We are also a member of the Furniture Industry Sustainability Programme and are winners of the Sustainability Award by the Furniture Makers’ Company.

To help ensure our oceans are healthy, pollution free and protected, we support the Marine Conservation Society, further demonstrating our commitment to sustainability. We have taken part in beach clean up events, where we have collected plastic waste and rubbish that would have ended up entering the sea on the Lancashire coastline. 

the first sleep brand to commit to the Climate Pledge & Science-Based Targets

We have become the first and only sleep brand to commit to The Climate Pledge - a commitment to being net zero by 2040 - 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement - and are incredibly proud to be leading the way for sustainable sleep in our industry. Joining The Climate Pledge reinforces our commitment to sustainability and we have teamed up with like-minded companies, so we can all work together towards a solution. 

What’s more, we have also become the world’s first sleep brand to commit to the Science-Based Target initiative, reducing our emissions to help keep global temperature rise to within 1.5°C. The Science-Based Target initiative is one of the world’s leading decarbonisation initiatives and we have made amazing progress with our sustainability goals in the last decade, reducing our carbon emissions by 49% in the last 4 years alone. This has been achieved through various initiatives, including sourcing 70% of raw materials close to our Lancashire-based headquarters, using 100% renewable electricity and cutting 1 million kilos of carbon in 5 years through reduced fuel consumption strategies.

Silentnight - a zero to landfill business

Each year, a staggering 26 million tonnes of waste is produced in the UK, with 14 million tonnes of that going to landfill sites, where harmful toxins and gasses are released into the atmosphere. At Silentnight, we are committed to making sure that none of our waste goes to landfill. 

Our mattress disposal service sees mattresses stripped back, metal melted, foam crumpled and repurposed into children’s playmats, while comfort fillings are made into protective clothing. Also, generated waste such as food, foam, paper, card and polythene film all goes to local and national recycling companies and even wood waste and chipboard gets chipped and sent off to make pet bedding.

the Silentnight Eco Comfort range

Each day another one million plastic bottles are made. There’s no need to keep taking raw materials from the earth, producing stuff and then discarding them, when we can make use of what we already have and prevent further plastic pollution.

The Silentnight Eco Comfort bedding range and mattresses are a great example of sustainability and demonstrates how plastic bottles can be put to use, rather than seeing them entering our oceans and going to landfill sites. 

Every year, the equivalent of 105 million recycled plastic bottles are used within our Eco Comfort fibre layers and during the first 6 months of 2021, we used the equivalent of a colossal 55.6 million plastic bottles and are on track to over 111 million by the end of the year. The Eco Comfort fibre layer is made using recycled plastic, including bottles, which are ground into flakes. These flakes are washed, dried and melted, so they can be spun into new polyester micro fibres. The flakes are then stretched and crimped into high performance Eco Comfort fibre layers. 

For every Eco Comfort duvet and mattress topper that’s made, each prevents the equivalent of at least 30 plastic bottles from going to landfill or into the ocean, whilst for every Eco Comfort pillow, it’s around 17. And the equivalent of 150 plastic bottles go into each and every Eco Comfort Breathe mattress.

Take a look at our "what’s the problem with plastic" article for more information on how plastic is causing damage to the planet.

At Silentnight, we look forward to taking further action to help limit the impact of climate change and doing all we can to help protect our planet.