Editor’s Note: For the December Beds by Design feature titled, “The Path to Sustainable Design,” we asked industry leaders to fill out a questionnaire about their creative process. Turns out, they were so passionate about the topic that we couldn’t use all their sage insights in the print feature. So, we’ve decided to post the entirety of their Q&A’s online, allowing you, our valued audience, to read all their good answers. This interview with Don Pflug, senior vice president of operations for King Koil, is the third of a seven-part, online-only series that we will post weekly throughout the month of December. Most of all, our sincerest thanks to the executives who participated in the sustainable design feature to help educate the industry about a future defined by a circular economy.
What does sustainable design mean for your company?
Designing sustainably at King Koil means that we consider the entire life cycle of a product, starting with the product development process, all the way through manufacturing to disposal, including recycling and reuse of raw materials. When we sit down to design a product today, we look at how all these different elements will work and fit together.
We see the road to sustainability as an ongoing journey rather than a destination. We began turning to more sustainable raw materials like 100% natural latex, cotton, and wool, recycled fabrics, and bio-based foams a few years ago, with our first step on the path converting to fiberglass-free FR socks. Thanks to (King Koil Executive Vice President of Innovation and Marketing) David Long’s relationships with, and exposure to, European fabric makers like BekaertDeslee, we have been continually inspired to do more and push further, with great insight into advances in Europe, which has been so far ahead of the U.S. in terms of sustainability. As a team, we could sense that sustainability was starting to gather momentum and under (King Koil CEO) David Binke’s leadership, it has become more and more of a priority for us not just in design and manufacturing, but marketing as well.
Our goal is not just to set the pace in sustainability practices as a manufacturer, it is to try and help our retail partners figure this out in a way that makes sense for everyone.
What are your greatest obstacles or challenges when it comes to sustainable design?
The thing we all have to remember is that we still have to design beds that are comfortable and durable. And simply incorporating different raw materials doesn’t necessarily equate to comfort and durability, which at the end of the day, is what consumers care most about. We have to be very cognizant of how the raw materials work together when we are developing different models, and with David Long’s talent as an innovative designer, strike a balance between the appearance of the product and what’s inside. Just because something is green or sustainable or environmentally friendly, doesn’t mean it can’t be visually dynamic at the same time. The fact is, sustainability is a lot more than a green story. There are also changing methodologies and waste factors that require us to be more mindful in how we do things, such as utilizing green adhesives, which break down easier and greatly mitigate over-spray in the air during the manufacturing process.
Additionally, there is still a very large disconnect in messaging between manufacturers, retailers and consumers. Sustainability means something different to each one of these constituencies, and we have a lot of work to do as an industry in terms of getting everybody on the same page. At the recent ISPA Sustainability Conference, I served on a panel that was privy to a survey of retailers and consumers addressing this, and the disconnect was plain to see. For consumers, the most important thing was durability. For retailers, it was the use of harmful raw materials or chemicals, which was much farther down the list for shoppers.
At King Koil, we’re trying to combat this with superior messaging and POP centered around our new Wellness+ Collection, as well as in the training our sales team is doing with retailers and RSAs. We’re really trying to send a clear and consistent message in terms of what our products are offering.
What sustainable products does your company offer?
Our new Wellness+ collection, introduced this summer at the Las Vegas Market, really encapsulates our sustainable offering. Wellness+ brings together under one umbrella and in an exciting retail presentation, three major collections and their stories: Natural, which features Talalay natural latex, cotton and Joma Wool; ReSpun, covered in Everjean post-consumer recycled denim with plant-based foams, steel coils and natural latex; and PureBliss, our latex offering. All are available in multiple models with different comfort levels and constructions.
What is your ultimate goal when it comes to sustainability?
We’re just starting to scratch the surface in all of this, but we see sustainability becoming a part of our everyday lives and how we manufacture products. We’re not treating this as a fad or the next big thing, and we believe it is much more than just the products we’re sleeping on. It’s how we want to live in totality, and I’m proud of the fact that King Koil has incorporated it into our business model, with 12 different KPIs that we are measuring and tracking and reporting to our board of directors and our employees.
