Omnichannel bedding brand Diamond Mattress is giving new life to waste materials and inspiring young minds to create new products.
Diamond donates scrap materials from its Southern California factory to Child Creativity Lab, a nonprofit group with the mission to cultivate kids’ creativity through science, technology, engineering, art and math. The group uses materials from Diamond that would otherwise be thrown away to develop curriculum and workshops to support educators and parents.
“One of our core values is to leave a positive legacy, and we can’t think of a better way to do that than to provide inspiration to future generations of innovators and makers,” said Breana Pennington, vice president of the Rancho Dominguez, California-based manufacturer.
Materials from the company include fabric, yarn, thread spools, plastic, cardboard cores and zippers. Employees sort and clean the items to ensure they are free of contamination. The materials then go into STEAM-based kits for children throughout Orange County.
Diamond Chief Financial Officer Brian Arnold introduced the donation idea. “Converting and donating scrap material doesn’t just help kids — it also helps the environment by keeping these items out of landfills,” said Arnold, a board member and volunteer.
The organization will recognize Diamond as the 2022 Material Partner of the Year at its 10th anniversary gala on May 20. Tracey Hill, chief executive officer, said that its Depot for Reuse program diverts more than 3 tons of materials from landfills each year, and the partnership with Diamond deepens its ability to support the community.
