People Are Now Willing To Pay For Functional Fabrics

Functional fabrics
Of course it’s not enough for fabrics to look good, suppliers say. They also need to be functional, especially as bedding manufacturers use fabrics to extend key features, like cooling, from a mattress’ core and comfort layers to the surface — and use the surface to extend even more benefits to sleepers.
Cooling is still big, but it’s become a baseline rather than a trend. Cooling used to be an add-on. Now components have to provide cooling.
Many fabrics “in one way or another” provide cooling. Some have yarns that wick moisture away, some have topical treatments that provide cooling, some have PCMs (phase-change materials). And some combine features.

Health and hygiene
Part of the reason white has been such a perennially popular mattress color is that it connotes cleanliness and good health, and fabric suppliers offer products with antibacterial, antimicrobial, anti-allergen and other hygienic properties that consumers value.

With the Covid-19 pandemic increasing consumers’ concerns about health, demand for wellness products is growing, too. The health and wellness trend was in place before Covid. With the pandemic, it’s accelerated. Hygiene is the most important consideration when a mattress is concerned. Products developed in line with the hygiene concept have become even more important in these days.

And with the novel coronavirus continuing to circulate, suppliers of mattress fabrics have joined makers of other consumer products in a quest to add antiviral properties. These antiviral fabric treatments may be most useful for hotel beds or store floor models and in other settings where many people may have contact with the sleep surface.

In recent years, fabrics made of organic cotton, Tencel (made of cellulose fibers from trees) and bamboo from rayon also have been popular — and remain so, suppliers say.

Sustainability is going to be bigger and bigger. Some manufacturers, especially specialty players, have always wanted organics, and others were interested before they saw the price tag. People are now willing to pay for it.