What does this brand sell?
Yumeko is a social enterprise founded in 2010 that creates bedding and bath towels of high quality, with a transparent and ethical supply chain that contributes to a positive change for the environment, the people and the animals. Less than 1% of bedding globally is made of organic cotton, and only 0.07% of global cotton is certified Fairtrade. Yumeko prioritises their impact and adopts their model called Yumeko’s Theory of Change. Here, they create products with ethical and transparent FairChains, inspire their costumers, and transform the industry. Transparency is key for Yumeko, and they have an elaborate website including impact reports, a big FAQ section, a blog on their materials and products, and detailed information about their materials and production.
“To change the world sleeping – making the industry more sustainable by creating bedding giving attention to the environment, the people and the animals.”
Many milestones can be found in their annual impact reports, including a 350% increase in linen between 2020-2019, increased use of Tencel (TM), and creating a blend of organic cotton and Tencel (TM).
Creating recycling schemes for cotton, and yearly plans are laid out in their impact reports
One big plan is to work on their packaging, currently, they use reusable organic cotton for pillows and duvets, paper for hot water bottles, and no packaging for items such as socks. Plastic is used for other packaging, which will be reduced once they find a suitable alternative.
There is a showroom in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Address: Herengracht 418sous, 1017 BZ Amsterdam
There is a showroom in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Address: Herengracht 418sous, 1017 BZ Amsterdam
Packaging is recyclable, for some items like pillows and duvets, the packaging is made from organic cotton.
Packaging is recyclable, for some items like pillows and duvets, the packaging is made from organic cotton.
Flax grows in West-Europe
Organic cotton sourced in India, Turkey, and Tanzania
Down from duck farms in the Netherlands or just across the border in Germany
Down from eider ducks in Iceland
Eucalyptus wood from sustainably managed replanting projects in South-Africa and European forests
Sheep – Europe
Kapok – Indonesia
Natural latex sourced from rubber trees – Vietnam
Portugal, the Netherlands
Duvet recycled down all seasons = EUR 429.00
Pillowcase = EUR 19.95
Alpaca plaid = EUR 199.95
By using biofuels for overseas transportation and compensating with the Good Shipping Program, they prevented 44,59 tonnes of CO2 from being emitted in 2020 alone. Using certified natural latex, as opposed to synthetic latex made from petroleum, CO2 emissions are reduced as the rubber tree used for latex absorbs more CO2 than the production of the mattresses emits. Other alternative materials they use, including Tencel (TM) have a lower carbon footprint – making a duvet from their cotton-Tencel blend saves almost 15 kilo’s of CO2 compared to a 100% cotton duvet.
Since 2012, they have saved over 2.4 million kg of CO2e (2024)
No information on this is provided by the brand.
Conventional cotton requires a lot of water, whereas organic cotton requires less as rainfall is the primary water source. Moreover, Yumeko uses linen, which is made from the flax plant as well as Tencel (TM) made from eucalyptus and birch trees. Less water is used to grow flax, eucalyptus and birch compared to cotton (90% less water is needed for linen compared to cotton).
Since 2012, they have saved over 440million liters of water (2024)
No pesticides or artificial fertilisers are used for the cotton or flax production. – animal welfare: The ducks and geese used for their down are certified by a third party, assessing the animal welfare. They are never force-fed or plucked live. The down is traceable to the farm the animals came from. Various products include recycled down where possible. They also include down from wild eider ducks in Iceland, which use their own down to build nests. After the breeding season, the down is collected to use in duvets. The majority of Yumeko wool is GOTS certified, coming from free-ranging sheep and alpaca’s.
Yumeko tries hard to reduce waste, which first of all can be demonstrated by their ReNew scheme where they collect old pillows, mattresses and duvets to recycle them into new items. The 62 recollected old mattresses handed in in 2020 were used to make moving blankets and sport flooring. Out of the recycled down, around 85% could be recycled, and the remaining 15% was used as natural fertiliser in agriculture. Moreover, they aim to make their processes as circular as possible. As such, the solvents that are needed to process the Tencel (TM) fibres are not flushed away, but reused (almost 100% gets reused!).
Through using organic cotton and the GOTS certification, there are strict regulations Yumeko complies to ensure no pesticides or artificial fertilisers are used for the cotton production. They also use flax to make linen, which naturally requires little pesticides and fertiliser. Also during dyeing and packaging, rules are applied – only natural dyes are used. In 2020 alone, by using certified cotton they avoided using around 135 thousand kilo’s of poisonous substances, and prevented polluting about 1,35 billion liters of water (Impact report 2020).
In many production countries, the working conditions are unsafe or unethical – there are no agreements on minimum wages, minimum working age, or maximum working hours. Also, health insurance, equal rights for men and women, education and basic needs are often not guaranteed. The Fairtrade certification ensures that Yumeko pays their workers fairly and guarantees safe working conditions across their entire supply chain, and furthermore they financially support the farmer cooperations. In 2020, 645 Indian farmers were funded by Yumeko. In addition to the social responsibility they carry for the workers in developing countries, they also work together with the social workplace Kunst om de Hoek, where these people helped Yumeko by filling organic lavender sachets that get delivered with each order.
Yumeko also has their own certification (Yumeko says OK), which they only give out when checking the product’s origin, environmental impact, animal welfare, and social standards.
Since 2012, they bring out impact reports yearly. You can check them out here.
In 2020, a Life Cycle Analysis was conducted by Green Story to understand the impact of cotton, linnen and Tencel (see 2020 impact report p. 48)