#14 Bath & Bedding Products

 

Bath & Bedding Products

Gina Christopher

Bath Textiles:

Cotton dominates the market for towels. Cotton is highly absorbent and soft, features that make it attractive and efficient for towing. Flax, which has slightly higher moisture absorption and produces less length than cotton, is also used, but in small amounts. The harsh hand and lower abrasion resistance of flax preclude its use in bath towels, and the comparatively high cost of the fiber limits its use in dish towels. Stable colorants are important to have with textile bath products to make sure they have good color fastness to laundering, color fastness to crocking, and color fastness to light. Textile bath products are often wet, so it is important to make sure that there is no color transfer when rubbed against the body or other fabrics.

The humid conditions present in bathrooms are an inviting breeding ground for unwanted microbes, such as bacteria and fungi. Manufacturers are responding to the growing concern of professionals in the healthcare, hospitality, and educational fields, as well as homeowners, regarding microbes and the problems associated with them, including illness, odors, mold, and mildew. Towels, bathrobes, and shower curtains are now available with microbe-resistant properties and are labeled with various trade names. AATCC offers a number of test methods used for testing antimicrobial performance. Several related ISO standards are also used in the testing of textile resistance to bacterial and fungal growth.

Bedding Textiles:

Most textile bedding products are subject to the labeling mandates set forth in the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act (TFPIA) and its accompanying set of rules and regulations. Specifically, the scope of the TFPIA includes all bedding, which is defined to include sheets, covers, blankets, comforters, pillows, pillowcases, quilts, bedspreads, pads, and all other textile fiber products used or intended to be used on or about a bed, not including furniture, mattresses, or box springs, or the outer coverings on these items. Cotton is valued for its pleasing, soft hand and because it is easy to clean and care for. Since it is a staple fiber, cotton is always spun, which contributes to its appealing surface texture. The use of acrylic for blankets is popular because it insulates well and is lightweight but bulky. It resembles wool, but without the problems of moths and dry-cleaning costs.

In mattresses, fillings provide support for the body; in bed pillows, they cushion the head; in decorative pillows, they impart and maintain a distinctive form. They must be resilient to regain their original loftiness after being compressed in order to be effective for these applications. To improve loftiness and insulate a value of fiber fill without increasing the weight, textile fiber chemists have engineered fibers with hollow interiors. The open interiors of the fibers in the air pockets surrounding them provide a great deal of insulation. Down and feathers offer the advantage of being inherently lofty and lightweight, but their limited supply in comparison to demand and the labor involved in their retrieval make them comparatively expensive. Wool has excellent resiliency, but the fibers are comparatively heavy and expensive. Polyester is lofty, lightweight, economical, and non-allergenic.

 

One Step Further:

For my one step further section, I decided to research Purple pillows. This is a brand that caught my eye due to its strange structure. This pillow has a honeycomb GelFlex grid that boosts cooling and aids pressure relief. The Talalay latex core offers an airy, bouncy feel with medium firmness. This pillow comes in different height options for different types of sleepers, such as stomach, back, or side sleepers. The latex core offers unique performance and comfort characteristics but is expensive. I personally have a hard time getting quality sleep and have tried a variety of pillows, and I can say that this pillow is worth the cost. The material makeup allows for the head and neck to be fully supported and comfortable. It is interesting to look at products like this that are made out of materials you would not think of for their desired application.

Although I enjoy this pillow, latex pillows do have drawbacks. Some people report a mild odor when the pillow is new, commonly referred to as off-gassing. Latex is also a dense material, which results in pillows that are substantially heavier and bulkier than those filled with down or polyester fiber. This weight can make the pillow more difficult to maneuver and adjust during the night. The firmness of latex is a specific attribute that may not suit every preference.

 

References:

Are latex pillows good? pros, cons, and how to choose. Engineer Fix. (2025, December 28). https://engineerfix.com/are-latex-pillows-good-pros-cons-and-how-to-choose/

Purple harmonyTM pillow. Purple. (n.d.). https://purple.com/pillows/harmony

Yates, M., & Concra, A. (2019). Textiles for residential and commercial interiors. Fairchild Books, Bloomsbury Publishing Inc.

 

Extra Credit Links:

Buying the Right Towels | Consumer Reports

Linen vs. Cotton: Which Should You Buy?