Natural Options for Pillow Stuffing

This is an update to my original post, Natural Options for Pillow Stuffing. The beauty of making your own decorative and bed pillows is you can customize every detail, right down to the stuffing. Oh what fun you’ll have once you start exploring all of the healthy and eco-friendly options. Say bye-bye to the polyester stuff and hello to sustainable wool, buckwheat hulls, organic cotton, kapok and other natural fiberfills.

 

Read on for my top 3 resources for natural stuffing and why I no longer use polyfill pillows.

 

I’ve never been a fan of polyester fill. It’s a synthetic fiber made from petroleum, a non-renewable resource and very energy intensive to produce. 

 

It's always been a mystery to me why I experience nasal and throat irritation when sleeping on poly fiberfill pillows. Since my symptoms occured when the pillows were new I ruled out dust mites and suspected it was from chemical outgassing. Most new pillows contain PET fiber, which is made using ethylene glycol, a toxic chemical. However, I learned from a trusted industry expert, this fiber is manufactured in such a way that it does not contain volatilizing ethylene glycol. I'm not able to find any scientific research that proves PET fiber out gasses VOC's.

 

Because I'm physically irritated by PET fiber, I use natural pillow fills. Here’s what I like best:

 

Wool: ideal for pillows because it’s naturally resistant to dust mites and it’s flame-retardant without the use of toxic additives. Look for chemical-free processed fiber from sustainably raised sheep. One of my favorite suppliers is Kinkoona Farm in Wisconsin. The best way to reach owner, Suellen, is by phone 608-897-3983. Form a wool batt (or batting) into your desired pillow shape and encase it in organic cotton or hemp muslin. Wool batt is fluffy and springy at first but will compact slightly over time so don’t worry about over stuffing.

 

Buckwheat hulls: a by-product from buckwheat milling. Use them to fill an entire pillow or just in the core with a wool batt wrap. Buckwheat hulls are weighty and especially good for bed pillows, as they conform easily to your neck and head. As a guide, you’ll need about 5 to 6 pounds for a standard size bed pillow. There are several U.S. producers. Check their growing practices before you buy. Try buckwheathull.com.

 

Organic Cotton: stuffing made from U.S. grown organic cotton is available at NearSea Naturals. Form your desired pillow shape and encase it in organic cotton or hemp muslin. Cotton stuffing will compact over time making a dense, firm pillow. Add some spring and natural flame-retardant by wrapping the cotton with wool batting before you encase it. Note to allergy sufferers: cotton stuffing tends to attract dust mites over time.

Comments

[Karen]

Hi Chelsea,
I would recommend kapok fiber for your recyled wool suit pillows. Kapok is a soft silky fiber that allows you to achieve any level of firmness. It works great in decorative throw pillows. It has a subtle sringyness so no matter your desired firmness it won't feel too hard. It's also very good at detering dust mites and moisture. A good eco-friendly fiber that is processed without chemicals. Here's one retail source I know of:
http://www.zafustore.com/products/Kapok-Fibers.html

Kapok is less expensive than woolly bolas (my favorite!) but more expensive than cotton fiber. Cotton fiber might be more enonmical but it will result in a hard feeling.

Hope this helps.

Karen

[Chelsea]

Hi,
Thanks for the info about stuffing! I'm making a series of pillows using recycled wool suits as the fabric and want to use a natural and eco friendly stuffing as well. I want the pillows to be fairly heavy so I need a dense stuffing, but I don't want them to be rock hard or bean bag feeling. Do you have any suggestions for a soft but dense stuffing that would give some weight to a pillow without having to cram it so full of stuffing that it's way too hard? Firm is fine, but not hard. These are not sleeping pillows by the way, more like for on the couch, or a big pillow nest on the floor so they don't have to be quite as perfectly stuffed as a bed pillow. Ideally I would like something affordable because I'm making quite a few of them, but I realize that I can't have it all ways...
Thank you!
Chelsea

[Karen]

Hi Angelita,

Wooly Bolas, small felted bits of wool, will make a healthy, comfy stuffing. It's more springy and lofty than wool batting. However, expect your bean bag chair to feel more like a big, lofty pillow instead of a rollie-pollie, squishy bean bag. Wool fiber stuffing will compact over time making the feel of your chair more dense. Wool won't move around or weight the chair down like styrofoam beads or grain hulls. You might also consider buckwheat hulls. They will perform more like the styrofoam beads.
Check out wooly bolas at www.nearseanaturals.com.
Karen

[Angelita]

Is wool good for filling up a whole beanbad chair?
Thanks!

[Karen]

Mary,

Evaluating shrinkage of loose cotton fiber is a bit tricky compared to woven or knitted fabric. However, I've used US color grown organic fiber (loose fiber) in a stuffed toy project and found no significant shrinkage using cold wash and warm dry. Key steps: I stuffed the fiber tightly and I preshrunk my organic cotton fabric before making the shell.

For your crib bumper I suggest spreading the loose fiber evenly and securing it to the 2 layers of fabric with some type of hand or machine stitch similiar to what is used for a quilt. This will prevent the fiber from clumping and and shifting during wash/dry and help distribute fiber shrinkage evenly. Preshrink your cotton fabric before you get started.

Hope this helps. Please me know how your project turns out.

Karen

[Mary Lud]

I am stuffing baby bumper for newborn crib. How does the U.S. grown organic cotton wash up? The bumper fabric is cotton.

Thanks,

[Karen]

Hello LL,

I'm not aware of a resource based in England. I suggest searching for a regional online retailer who sells kapok fiber and/or wool bolus by the pound. Both of these natural fibers make excellent stuffing for toys and pillows. They are breathable, deter dust mites and have a very good loft. If you don't find a resource near you check out these US online retailers at www.nearseanaturals.com for wool bolus and www.zafustore.com for kapok.
Have fun with your projects!
Karen

[LL]

Hello, I am in search of nautral stuffing for toys aswell as for pillows in england and wondered if you know of any that are reasonable in price but also quality? as I understand from reading the Q&A's these products can be expensive.

I thank you in advance for your attention.
LL

[Karen]

Kirsten,
I suggest using 100% natural latex foam for your cushion inserts. It's made of sap from the rubber tree, a renewable resource. The resiliency and comfort is just as good or better than synthetic foam. There's 2 types of natural latex: Talalay and Dunlop. The difference boils down to manufacturing methods. In brief, Talalay runs softer, Dunlop runs slightly firmer.Both will offer the support you need. You can get custom cut natural latex cushion inserts at www.foamsource.com.
Good luck with your project. --Karen

[Kirsten]

Hi Karen, I work for a restaurant/event space which is very conscientious about the products they use. I am sewing long sitting cushions for the banquets and want to use a non synthetic stuffing, which could keep up to constant use, in shape and comfort. Do you have a resource for something like this in the US?
Thank for your info, Kirsten

[Karen]

Hi Annabeth,
I agree eco-friendly pillows are expensive. Making your own from organic materials can be costly too. I suggest reworking an eco-friendly store bought pillow to save money.

For instance, the West Elm catalog sells an alternative down filled standard size pillow with organic cotton cover for $29. The pillow stuffing is made of recycled soda bottles (polyester called PET). I understand this fiber doesn't off-gas harmful VOCs. I find this pillow to be over stuffed, which is perfect for dividing into 2 pillows! Here's how:

Rip out the stitches at one end of the pillow cover. Remove the rectangle shaped pillow form and divide it into 2 by taking off some of the top layers. Put the original pillow form back in it's cover. Shape the loose fibers into a rectangle shape and make a cover. You can upcycle one of your bed sheets or pillow cases that already have been washed and out-gased(it's free!)or buy cert. organic cotton yardage to make the permanent cover. If you opt for the free method each pillow will cost approx $15.

If your new pillow seems too flat wrap one layer of organic cotton or wool batting around the fiber before inserting it into it's permanant pillow cover

Here's the link to West Elm's Organic Chamber Pillows http://www.westelm.com/products/organic-chamber-pillows-b503/?pkey=cmattresses-bedding-basics

I hope this helps and let me know how it works out.

Karen

[Annabeth Goss]

Karen,
Thank you for this post.
I am so overwhelmed. For Christmas this year I wanted to buy my children new pillows. The ones they have are old and need to go. But before I bought new pillows, I thought I would look into any 'natural' options, as I had a feeling the typical pillow was laden with chemicals or chemical processes.

Phew. Now I know that I cannot buy them any pillow from the store for 5.00. But all my research is showing me that the 'fill' or pillows are 30, 60, even 90.00 each!!! Aiy, yai yai!! I have 5 kids!!! I can't afford that!!!
I wondered if you have any ideas or helps for me to go about getting organic fill in a more economical way? I am SO willing to sew my own pillows, or create smaller sizes (since they don't need 'standard' size anyway).

I do not have any preferences of buckwheat, wool, cotton, etc; I just want a simple fill for pillows! Without taking out another mortgage!
Help?!
Thank you so much,
Annabeth

[Roy Green]

Regarding your reactionn to pillow with PET filling: You may actually be having a reaction to meriad of chemicals used to make commercial pillows fire retardant.

[Karen]

Bamboo is an amazing sustainable resource but I don’t recommend bamboo textiles (including batting) if they are produced via the standard viscose production process. This process uses harmful chemicals including carbon disulfide and sulfuric acid, which is released into our waterways as untreated effluent. I believe these chemicals have a negative impact on wildlife and find their way into our bodies. In terms of the finished product, Oeko Tex certifies these chemicals do not remain on the fabric.

Bamboo batting and fabrics can be eco-friendly when the is fiber certified organically grown, naturally retted and the mill makes the effort to capture emissions and treat effluent during the fiber and fabric processing. It’s important to ask the batting manufacturer how their bamboo fiber is grown and harvested and how their batting is processed in order to determine just how “green” it really is.

The founders of O Eco Textiles feature this informative post on their blog:
http://oecotextiles.wordpress.com/?s=bamboo

Learn more about Oeko Tex certification: http://www.oeko-tex.com/oekotex100_public/index.asp?cls=02

Thanks for your question. I hope this helps.

Karen

[Yaga]

I have lately come across 100% bamboo batting - would you recommend it?

[Karen]

Christina, hi and thanks for your question.
Your non-organic cotton stuffing is conventionally grown. That means toxic chemicals are used to farm, harvest and "clean" the fiber. It sounds like it's in a natural state, you can still see what we call trash i.e. bits of stem and leaf flecks. This does not mean the stuffing is pure and free of toxins. Chemical residue remains in the fiber after it's picked. Coyuchi, a well respected organic cotton producer, features this eye opening video about conventionally produced cotton:
http://www.coyuchi.com/about-gallery.php

I suggest healthier alternatives such as certified organic cotton stuffing and organic wool bolus. Both of these can be found at www.nearseanaturals.com.

And to learn more, Harmony Art, another top-notch organic cotton fabric producer shares this helpful chart comparing organic and conventional production methods.
http://www.harmonyart.com/organic-textiles/OrganicVSConventional.html

I hope this helps.
Karen

[Christina]

Hi Karen, we use a lot of non-organic cotton stuffing at home for the children's stuffed toys and pillows. Is non-organic cotton stuffing still full with pesticides? I could not find any information if the loose cotton is cleaned before it is packed as often there are bits of twig and other bits in it. The colour is creamish and I pay about $3 for a pillow-sized pack (which is very light).

Thanks!
Christina

[Karen]

Hi Gretchen,

Thank you for your question. My comments regarding ethylene glycol are based on my experience working with polyester fiber during my career in the textile industry, as well as, a personal health problem that I discovered is directly related to sleeping with polyfill pillows. I can't say my findings are scientifically proven. I should of prefaced my statements. I'm challenged by your quest to gather factual information. Let me do some digging around in the industry. I will email you directly and also post my findings here.

Karen

[Gretchen]

I've been looking for info on the safety of polyester fiberfill. Here you say ethylene glycol offgases from ployester and gets absorbed by our bodies. Could you share the sources for these two statements? Thanks!