Gold Bond Focuses on Cotton For Mattress Cushioning as Other Raw Material Costs Soar

Furniture World News Desk on 4/5/2018

Gold Bond Mattress recently announced that as mattress manufacturers face steep increases in the price of foam, steel and other raw materials, the family-owned producer is relying on cotton as an alternative.

Producers have used cotton as a cushioning material in mattresses for more than a century, but its use has declined in the 21st century as companies have turned to various types of foam and other fire-retardant (FR) barriers.

“As the cost of raw materials, especially polyurethane foam, continues to increase, cotton is a fantastic alternative,” said Robert Naboicheck, president of Gold Bond Mattress. “Not only does it help a manufacturer keep costs under control, it helps meet the consumer’s desire for more sustainable and natural materials in products.”

Gold Bond has a distinct advantage when it comes to obtaining cotton suitable for mattress cushioning. Its Hartford, Connecticut, factory has six cotton garneting machines that process more than three million pounds of cotton annually. Gold Bond is one of only a handful of U.S. companies that still does its own cotton garneting – a process that removes impurities and other foreign materials from raw cotton – and the recent spike in use has kept the machines humming steadily.

“There aren’t many of us left, but our ability to do our own garneting allows us to respond quickly to consumer demand for natural products, and adjust our product specifications as the price of foam and steel continues to climb,” said Naboicheck.

The company obtains raw cotton from sources in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.
As a pioneer in the development of futon mattresses in the 1980s and 1990s, cotton always has been a major part of the Gold Bond story, and its current lineup of futon mattresses include models certified organic by the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). But today, Naboicheck is seeing increased cotton use in all types of innerspring mattresses.

“It’s a wonderful cushioning material, and with the cost savings it can provide, I think you will see it used more and more,” he said. “And there’s no sacrifice in quality or comfort.”

More about Gold Bond: Founded in 1899, Gold Bond is one of the nation’s largest family-operated independent mattress, specialty sleep and futon manufacturers. The company is a leader in mattress manufacturing techniques and more than a century of experience bring product innovations, high manufacturing standards and executive leadership to the industry. Handcrafted in Connecticut with the majority of the raw material made in America, Gold Bond products incorporate the latest comfort technologies in their futons and mattresses, such as Talalay Latex, encased coils and visco-elastic memory foam. Gold Bond currently ships to 40 states and five countries, and its products are available at more than 500 retail showrooms. For more information, visit www.goldbondmattress.com.