Tara Olivo, Associate Editor06.25.20
The creators of Beantown Bedding, nonwoven-based biodegradable and compostable bed sheets, are set to launch a line of essential oil-infused pillowcases to deliver sleep with benefits.
Like the company’s original laundry-free bed linens that launched in 2012, Infusionzzz are made of a hydroentangled splunlace fabric that is USDA Certified as 100% biobased. The fabric is made with Lenzing’s Tencel fiber in a 99.7% non-toxic closed-loop process. The fibers use 20 times less water and 70% less land to grow, and offers 10 times the yield of cotton. The sheets can be used for days or weeks, and discarded or composted instead of laundering; saving time, water and energy.
To make Infusionzzz pillowcases, the fibers are bonded together with high-pressure water and infused with microcapsules of various essential oils.
“Infusionzzz are Beantown’s latest creation, born from research underscoring the all-important role that pillowcases play, and the explosion of essential oils in consumer products,” says Kirsten Lambert, CEO and co-founder of Beantown Bedding.
The first scents of Infusionzzz pillowcases, which debuted through the crowd-funding site Kickstarter, are Booze Snooze for hangover relief, featuring peppermint and rosemary—known as a natural way to relieve headaches and hangover discomfort; Face Time, infused with sea kelp to promote clear skin; and Inhale Yeah, which features the healing scents of menthol and eucalyptus for cold and flu relief.
Beantown plans to roll out more scents of Infusionzzz with benefits for beauty, health and wellness.
Lambert and Beantown Bedding co-founder Joan Ripple thought up the idea for eco-friendly disposable bed sheets after they sent their children to college and were appalled to learn that their kids rarely took time to wash their dirty sheets. “Knowing that dorm beds are breeding grounds for bacteria and allergens, [we] came up with a healthier and easier alternative: eco-disposable sheets,” says Lambert. “The compostable, ‘laundry-free’ bedding is not only a time-saver for college students, but a subscription service helps ensure that clean sheets are always at hand.”
Since its launch eight years ago, Beantown had expanded the business B2B to serve hundreds of college campuses for summer housing and events, but now with empty dorms and campuses due to the covid-19 pandemic, most of Beantown’s business in this category is evaporating, Lambert adds.
“Our pandemic pivot involved leveraging a new online platform to capture an emerging opportunity in healthcare,” she says. “Before the outbreak, a handful of high profile hospitals had begun using Beantown for infection control and emergency management. With covid-19, surge capacity is absolutely critical, and now we’re able to reach exponentially more healthcare customers through a self-serve model online. Already we’ve surpassed our strongest year to date. So, we’re very thankful to be able to serve the healthcare community at a time that’s demanding so much from them.”
Like the company’s original laundry-free bed linens that launched in 2012, Infusionzzz are made of a hydroentangled splunlace fabric that is USDA Certified as 100% biobased. The fabric is made with Lenzing’s Tencel fiber in a 99.7% non-toxic closed-loop process. The fibers use 20 times less water and 70% less land to grow, and offers 10 times the yield of cotton. The sheets can be used for days or weeks, and discarded or composted instead of laundering; saving time, water and energy.
To make Infusionzzz pillowcases, the fibers are bonded together with high-pressure water and infused with microcapsules of various essential oils.
“Infusionzzz are Beantown’s latest creation, born from research underscoring the all-important role that pillowcases play, and the explosion of essential oils in consumer products,” says Kirsten Lambert, CEO and co-founder of Beantown Bedding.
The first scents of Infusionzzz pillowcases, which debuted through the crowd-funding site Kickstarter, are Booze Snooze for hangover relief, featuring peppermint and rosemary—known as a natural way to relieve headaches and hangover discomfort; Face Time, infused with sea kelp to promote clear skin; and Inhale Yeah, which features the healing scents of menthol and eucalyptus for cold and flu relief.
Beantown plans to roll out more scents of Infusionzzz with benefits for beauty, health and wellness.
Lambert and Beantown Bedding co-founder Joan Ripple thought up the idea for eco-friendly disposable bed sheets after they sent their children to college and were appalled to learn that their kids rarely took time to wash their dirty sheets. “Knowing that dorm beds are breeding grounds for bacteria and allergens, [we] came up with a healthier and easier alternative: eco-disposable sheets,” says Lambert. “The compostable, ‘laundry-free’ bedding is not only a time-saver for college students, but a subscription service helps ensure that clean sheets are always at hand.”
Since its launch eight years ago, Beantown had expanded the business B2B to serve hundreds of college campuses for summer housing and events, but now with empty dorms and campuses due to the covid-19 pandemic, most of Beantown’s business in this category is evaporating, Lambert adds.
“Our pandemic pivot involved leveraging a new online platform to capture an emerging opportunity in healthcare,” she says. “Before the outbreak, a handful of high profile hospitals had begun using Beantown for infection control and emergency management. With covid-19, surge capacity is absolutely critical, and now we’re able to reach exponentially more healthcare customers through a self-serve model online. Already we’ve surpassed our strongest year to date. So, we’re very thankful to be able to serve the healthcare community at a time that’s demanding so much from them.”
