Precision Textiles, a leading supplier of coated fabrics, nonwovens and laminations for the bedding, automotive and healthcare industries, is experiencing increased demand for its fiber products as mattress manufacturers grapple with industry-wide foam shortages. The fiber products can be used in a mattress’s top comfort layer as well as an alternative to firmer foams that support spring units. Using a combination of both can result in a reduction of foam up to five inches, reducing bedding manufacturers’ reliance on the volatile raw material without sacrificing the feel of the mattress.

“Raw material availability, particularly in foam, is perhaps the most serious challenge our industry is facing today,” says Gerry Welkley, national sales manager of Precision Textiles. “As consumer demand for home furnishings and mattresses continues to grow at a rapid pace, we have been fielding calls from our customers looking for fiber products that can be used instead of  traditional foam used in quilted comfort layers as well as alternatives to the firmer-support foams used as support layers deeper inside the mattress build. As these raw material shortages and allocations on foam prevail, retailers and consumers alike are looking for manufacturers that can supply them with products in a timely fashion. Precision Textiles has three solutions in stock and available to help our partners bridge the supply gap without sacrificing the comfort feel of the mattress.”   

Engineered to perform as a foam alternative, Precision Textiles’ ECOLOFT, ECOLOFT LUXE and its line of Vertically Lapped Densified Eco-Pads provide the necessary “spring back” and support that foam products offer.

“In addition to being a suitable alternative to bridge the gap, these three products offer increased breathability, providing a cooler night’s sleep, and offer inherent self-extinguishing FR properties,” Welkley adds. “Additional benefits include non-allergenic and recyclable attributes.”

ECOLOFTis a high-quality quilting fiber made by combining conjugated spiral crimp pillow fill with bicomponent polyester. It reduces the amount of combustible materials in a finished mattress by eliminating the traditional polyurethane foam layer behind the fire-resistant (FR) barrier. The lofty polyester fibers in ECOLOFT also create an added dimension of luxury to mattress panels and borders, while serving as an easy-to-quilt product.A top layer of a mattress constructed with ECOLOFT can displace one quarter of an inch up to three quarters of an inch of foam.

The fiber in ECOLOFT LUXE is produced by combining down alternative pillow fill with bicomponent polyester. Like ECOLOFT, it reduces the amount of combustible materials in a mattress by doing away with the polyurethane foam layer behind the FR barrier. ECOLOFT LUXE is also an easy-to-quilt product that creates an added depth of luxurious silky dimension to a mattress’s panels and borders. A top layer of a mattress constructed with ECOLOFT LUXE can displace one quarter of an inch up to three quarters of an inch of foam.
Vertically Lapped Densified Eco-Padsare formulated to maintain indentation load deflection longer than any conventional fiber pad. Their vertical orientation, as opposed to the common horizontal orientation of other fiber pads, gives a mattress more spring-back for greater support and resilience. They also contain a lower level of volatile organic compounds than conventional foam.Using Eco-Pads can reduce the thickness of an inner support layer of foam by one to four or five inches.