bett1.de Combines Climate Protection and Social Commitment
Cooperation with International Aid Organisation GAiN
“If you understand sustainability as your corporate responsibility, you have to rethink – from production to returns management,“ explains Adam Szpyt, founder and CEO of bett1.de. We have been thinking sustainably at bett1.de since the company was founded and are integrating more and more production and delivery steps into our concept.
In the course of the Ukraine war, we began a donation cooperation with the globally active aid network GAiN from Gießen. The heart of the cooperation: we donate part of our stock and returned mattresses to refugees. “We have provided more than 10,000 mattresses to people in need, giving them their own comfortable bed again,“ explains Szpyt.
Mattresses Give Refugees a Home
We currently deliver mattresses weekly to the distribution stations for GAiN's aid projects. Deliveries are made to Moldova, Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine itself. Klaus Dewald, Managing Director of GAiN, is also pleased about the cooperation. “bett1.de is our only partner that donates mattresses on such a large scale. The refugees are very grateful for this, because mattresses and a bed of their own are simply a place to regenerate, retreat and take a deep breath.“
“We want to donate even more mattresses,“ Adam Szpyt plans. “It is important for us not only to help the environment, but also to do something for people in need. We would like to keep the concept of providing those in need with our mattresses, which are still in very good condition and no longer come into normal sale, on a permanent basis.“
Only Tested Quality
Only products that pass our quality management check are sent to GAiN. Although the return rate is comparatively very low anyway, the disposal of almost unused mattresses has long been a thorn in the side of the company's founder: “Up to now, we have recycled everything that could be reused and disposed of the remaining components properly. Nevertheless, I personally found this downside of our fast-moving throwaway society unbearable.“
That's why bett1.de is increasingly breaking new ground: even at the production stage, we rely on manufacturing in Germany or in nearby European countries. In this way, we keep the distances short, take into account high standards and use only tested materials. “The fact that the core is foamed in Germany and the mattresses are also finished here is decisive for us. This saves the environment unnecessarily long transport routes with bulky goods and also secures regional jobs,“ Szpyt emphasises.
Handy, Clever, Good
To ensure that transport to our customers is as efficient and resource-saving as possible, we have been compressing and rolling the mattresses for years. This means that we can deliver the mattresses – regardless of their size – as a package to the door of your home, eliminating the need for time-consuming shipping by a forwarding company.
We have also changed the previously white cardboard boxes: since December 2021, we have been sending brown cardboard boxes made from recycled material. In addition, we work with suppliers who provide cardboard boxes from FSC-certified, sustainable forestry, among others.
A New Approach to Sustainability
Last but not least, we attach great importance to the fact that BODYGUARD® Mattresses last for eight to ten years: the sophisticated QXSchaum® Mattress Foam keeps its shape and the HyBreeze® Cover is always fresh because it can be washed at up to 60°C on the delicates cycle.
It is not only the material that determines whether a product is sustainable, but above all its quality and lifespan. A good product that people can use with satisfaction for many years always beats a low-quality product that is designed solely for mass consumption and a throwaway mentality – regardless of the material.
The speed at which plants grow again can hardly keep up with our mass consumption. Supposedly green natural products are therefore all too often accompanied by mass cultivation and monocultures – ecologically not the last word in wisdom. For a serious discussion of the topic of sustainability and climate protection, the reduction to the question of materials therefore falls short. For example, it is elementary for recycling whether the materials can be separated by type or whether they are composite materials that can only be broken down into their original components with a high energy input or not at all.
We follow the latest advances in material innovation, recycling technologies and optimisations in production and logistics and constantly incorporate these findings into our processes. For us, sustainability is a path that must be constantly followed in order to come closer to the goal of overall social responsibility.
“In the end, it's quite simple: only products that can be used for a long time are really sustainable. If perfectly good returned mattresses are even given a second life by people in need, this creates a meaningful cycle,“ Szpyt knows.
