Pillows and Pil-highs ... and a few pil-lies!
In the early 1960s, the polyester pillow became the most popular form of pillow. Marketed using such medical terms as "hypo-allergenic" it had a modern, pseudo-scientific edge over boring old-fashioned natural pillows. Over time, it became the standard.
However, most health claims made about these pillows are spurious. Claims that they repel dustmites have scant basis in fact - scientific studies show the reverse to be true. And while some studies have tried to show how hospital pillows are full of "superbugs", this again has little foundation in science.
Today, we're told we need to throw our pillows away regularly to avoid illness and injury. Many people are returning to natural fillings to discover that not only do they perform better, they don't add to the scourge of plastic pollution - you can put it in the compost at the end its life. Win-Win!
It is true that some natural fillings are prone to moulds and mildew. However, if one follows the correct care instructions - which may mean hot washing- or even just regular airing and sunning (here in Australia we are both blessed and cursed with lots of strong hot UV radiation. Not good for weak white skin. Good for dry pillows!) In the Northern Hemisphere, dryers are probably more necessary. The use of protectors also goes a long way to protecting pillows from moisture.
Be aware that a lot of pillows, but particularly polyester pillows, are treated with chemicals to inhibit mould growth (see below).
Anyone who's studied, even casually, how the media works, will know how fear sells, compared to boring old results showing something's safe. This has sometimes been pointed out with regard to any plastic-related study and I'll accept that to some extent. Except that here, it's the industry-backed research that tends to indicate that plastic is benign, if not beneficial, and the independent research indicating otherwise.
Throw them away!
So the media, backed up by industry, churns out these pillow horror stories every few years. Do you know the one about how our pillows double and triple in size and about how we need to throw them away VERY regularly? A small amount of Googling will show this to not be the case.
In the US, stories such as these here and here, quote Dr Robert Oexman of the Sleep to Live Institute as saying that we need to replace our pillows every six months to avoid becoming extremely ill!
The Sleep to Live Institute (STLI) is a bedding industry body founded by Kingsdown Bedding. This industry interest group's scientific credentials are borderline. The fact that Dr Oexman is on the HuffPost payroll and has vested industry interests doesn't seem to be an issue.
In the UK - an almost identical phenomenon. Stories such as these here and here quote studies from The Sleep Council and Ergoflex, a major pillow manufacturer, about how important it is to chuck those pillows regularly! The Sleep Council is, again, an industry body, set up to "help consumers make informed choices".
Here in Australia, leading pillow company Tontine tells us the same thing. Their media releases earnestly advise us that, "these organisms emit toxins which we can breathe in when we go to bed at night". Hmm. Toxins. Spooky! What about the VOCs impregnated in the pillow, to say nothing of the polyester? (see below).
Tontine recently ran a "Pillow Exchange" campaign, where they placed a bright GREEN (think environmental, think recycling!) skip in various squares with actors in green overalls. The idea was to chuck your old pillow in and you'd receive a new one. The campaign was to "raise awareness" of the importance of throwing pillows away regularly.
The real problems with plastic pillows (and they're not solved by throwing them away regularly)
I'm fortunate enough not to be an asthma sufferer or have a family member who suffers. But the truth is, the introduction of these pillows, marketed to solve this issue, hasn't solved the growth in the incidence of allergies -allergies have increased. At the same time, the use of synthetics and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has skyrocketed. Let's look at some of these.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
Volatile means the product has a high vapour pressure at room temperature. In other words, the substance is liable to offgas. Some of the VOCs which may be in a pillow include:
1. Flame retardants
Polyester foam may be impregnated with flame retardants, such as Flame Guard or Firemaster. Up until recently the strictest standards on these were in California. Flame retardants can be added in two ways. The polyester pillow can be dipped in liquid flame retardant, usually PBDEs or, a chemical bonding of flame retardant to polyester can be done at the plastic factory.
2. Formaldehyde
Exposure to formaldehyde has been shown to increase the incidence of asthma. Polyester pillows can sometimes have this added as a preservative to prevent mould and mildew, as well as to prevent wrinkling.
3. Teflon (PFOA)
Perfluronated chemicals can also be added to create stain resistance. If you have purchased a pillow that's stain-resistant, it may have been treated with something like this. A good ticking fabric pillow protector, removable and washable, will protect pillows from stains.
4. ACTIGARD fungicide, pesticide
Swiss company Sanitized AG is a world leader in coating this fungicide on pillows to repel moulds, dust mites and ticks. (They seem to have changed the name from Actigard to just Sanitized. I guess since chemical behemoth Syngenta manufactures Actigard as a fungicide to use in agriculture too, it doesn't sound too good!)
Bear in mind natural pillows may also contain some of the above chemicals. So be sure to choose organic (which should get rid of the cruelty risk connected with feathers and wool. See my post on this).
Energetically active
Have you ever seen sparks coming off a synthetic blanket in the dark? Or if you take synthetic clothes off? Why is that? In short, the long chains in synthetic polymers build up a static charge; the fabrics emit electrostatic energy. Natural fibres have much shorter chain molecules and so remain energetically inert.
OK, so I know anecdote isn't evidence, but here's a wee story for you. My neighbour's friend took his watch to the watchmaker's as it kept stopping. Finally, the watchmaker asked him if he was sleeping on polyester sheets, to which he answered, yes. The watchmaker told him to choose a natural fibre and after that the watch was fine! That story sticks in my mind!
Plastic is petrochemicals
How often should I really throw my pillows away?
The following are recommendations I've found around the place, based on common sense, and based on following proper cleaning and care instructions for the pillow. There is an issue of neck alignment, which I haven't really gone into in this blog, but again, I would say it's very much driven by industry.
Conclusion
We lived without polyester pillows and any of the above chemicals for thousands of years. We have lived with dustmites and mould for all this time. While no one wants an explosion of dustmites or mould in their homes, common-sense old-fashioned cleaning and airing will keep these to a minimum. A house that breathes, with natural carpets and building materials will prevent damp. The safety of anti-mite, anti-mould, anti-fungal and anti-static chemicals are dubious to say the least.
Even if there was any real evidence of polyester somehow being superior, at the end of the day, plastic simply has no exit strategy. It's going to sit in landfill for thousands of years or end up as plastic pollution.
And it's hard to sleep at night thinking about that!
Further Reading
https://web.archive.org/web/20160126173015/http://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/health/health+advice/is+your+pillow+hurting+your+healthr,11283
Handbook of Preservatives, p616
http://products.mercola.com/wool-bedding/
Related posts
Alternatives to plastic pillows
Persistent Organic Pollutants
However, most health claims made about these pillows are spurious. Claims that they repel dustmites have scant basis in fact - scientific studies show the reverse to be true. And while some studies have tried to show how hospital pillows are full of "superbugs", this again has little foundation in science.
Today, we're told we need to throw our pillows away regularly to avoid illness and injury. Many people are returning to natural fillings to discover that not only do they perform better, they don't add to the scourge of plastic pollution - you can put it in the compost at the end its life. Win-Win!
 |
| You give me a freaking pillow for Mother's Day? What in God's name do you think I am? A bed? This pillow was made of latex foam, just before synthetic pillows took off. |
The plastic pillow arrives
The first attempt at "modern, scientific" pillows were latex foam, which have made a comeback in recent years.
With the rise in plastic production in the '60s, it wasn't long before the plastic pillow appeared. In Australia, Tontine (then David Galt) released "Australia's first polyester pillow" in 1963.
Are plastic pillows really "hypo-allergenic"?
With the rise in plastic production in the '60s, it wasn't long before the plastic pillow appeared. In Australia, Tontine (then David Galt) released "Australia's first polyester pillow" in 1963.
Polyester, (polyethylene terephthalate (PET), plastic no. 1), pillows captured the market in two main ways - they were cheaper to produce and sell than the conventional wool, cotton or feather pillow. And they touted their hygiene credentials. Indeed, I learned the word "hypo-allergenic" as a kid reading a pillow label!
While there's been an explosion in "pillow awareness" in the last ten years, (first-world problems, much?), with all manner of weird and wonderful fillings making a comeback, polyester has remained the most popular filling for the past 40 years.
While there's been an explosion in "pillow awareness" in the last ten years, (first-world problems, much?), with all manner of weird and wonderful fillings making a comeback, polyester has remained the most popular filling for the past 40 years.
Are plastic pillows really "hypo-allergenic"?
Most of us weren't that worried about our pillows until the pillow industry told us we ought to be. Most studies seem to have been done by the pillow industry, with scant independent, peer-reviewed research. OK, it's not the world's most pressing problem...
"Hypo" meaning low and allergenic - causing allergies. The word seems to only be used in the bedding industry. So that's what polyester pillows are, right? Well, not really...
Dustmites
Mildew and mo(u)ldDustmites
Dustmites are considered to be a
major source of allergens. Allergy and asthma sufferers have often been advised to avoid feather pillows due to the presumed increased presence of the house dust mite allergen (Der p 1). However, according to a 1996 study from the British Medical Journal, the reverse is true. The study showed that polyester pillows contained more than 8 times the total weight of Der p 1 and 3.57 times more micrograms of Der p 1 per gram of fine dust than feather pillows! A study in 1999 found similar results. In other words, after six months of use, feather pillows had eight times fewer dust mites than synthetic pillows.
There is a small number of people, however, who are allergic to bird dander, who would not be able to use a feather pillow. Other fillings, such as wool, have been proven to be naturally dustmite resistant.
 |
| Sca-aaaary and revolting. Pass me the chemicals! |
There is a small number of people, however, who are allergic to bird dander, who would not be able to use a feather pillow. Other fillings, such as wool, have been proven to be naturally dustmite resistant.
It is true that some natural fillings are prone to moulds and mildew. However, if one follows the correct care instructions - which may mean hot washing- or even just regular airing and sunning (here in Australia we are both blessed and cursed with lots of strong hot UV radiation. Not good for weak white skin. Good for dry pillows!) In the Northern Hemisphere, dryers are probably more necessary. The use of protectors also goes a long way to protecting pillows from moisture.
Be aware that a lot of pillows, but particularly polyester pillows, are treated with chemicals to inhibit mould growth (see below).
"Superbugs"
A 2011 article in The Daily Mail, "How your pillow is the perfect breeding ground for gruesome array of pests and diseases", found that pillows could breed "superbugs MRSA ... C.diff ...flu, chicken pox and even leprosy".
However, the "scientists" were paid by pillow protector company, Gabriel Scientific, (now Sleep Angel). The company secured contracts with British international hospitals once they got this scary story out to the media. The product is now available to individuals as the Sleep Angel pillow in Australia through Tontine.
If you do any serious reading, it turns out that hospital pillows may not make you sick. Dr. Allison McGeer, Director of Infection Control at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto says "people are not more likely to get an infection from their pillows than they are from their furniture or even car seats. If someone ill with an infection coughs on (the pillow) moments before you put your face on them, there is a theoretical possibility that you could get the infection, but even that would be very rare.”
A 2011 article in The Daily Mail, "How your pillow is the perfect breeding ground for gruesome array of pests and diseases", found that pillows could breed "superbugs MRSA ... C.diff ...flu, chicken pox and even leprosy".
However, the "scientists" were paid by pillow protector company, Gabriel Scientific, (now Sleep Angel). The company secured contracts with British international hospitals once they got this scary story out to the media. The product is now available to individuals as the Sleep Angel pillow in Australia through Tontine.
If you do any serious reading, it turns out that hospital pillows may not make you sick. Dr. Allison McGeer, Director of Infection Control at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto says "people are not more likely to get an infection from their pillows than they are from their furniture or even car seats. If someone ill with an infection coughs on (the pillow) moments before you put your face on them, there is a theoretical possibility that you could get the infection, but even that would be very rare.”
Anyone who's studied, even casually, how the media works, will know how fear sells, compared to boring old results showing something's safe. This has sometimes been pointed out with regard to any plastic-related study and I'll accept that to some extent. Except that here, it's the industry-backed research that tends to indicate that plastic is benign, if not beneficial, and the independent research indicating otherwise.
Throw them away!
So the media, backed up by industry, churns out these pillow horror stories every few years. Do you know the one about how our pillows double and triple in size and about how we need to throw them away VERY regularly? A small amount of Googling will show this to not be the case.
In the US, stories such as these here and here, quote Dr Robert Oexman of the Sleep to Live Institute as saying that we need to replace our pillows every six months to avoid becoming extremely ill!
The Sleep to Live Institute (STLI) is a bedding industry body founded by Kingsdown Bedding. This industry interest group's scientific credentials are borderline. The fact that Dr Oexman is on the HuffPost payroll and has vested industry interests doesn't seem to be an issue.
In the UK - an almost identical phenomenon. Stories such as these here and here quote studies from The Sleep Council and Ergoflex, a major pillow manufacturer, about how important it is to chuck those pillows regularly! The Sleep Council is, again, an industry body, set up to "help consumers make informed choices".
 |
| Clean and green. Yes, chuck it away to landfill. |
Here in Australia, leading pillow company Tontine tells us the same thing. Their media releases earnestly advise us that, "these organisms emit toxins which we can breathe in when we go to bed at night". Hmm. Toxins. Spooky! What about the VOCs impregnated in the pillow, to say nothing of the polyester? (see below).
Tontine recently ran a "Pillow Exchange" campaign, where they placed a bright GREEN (think environmental, think recycling!) skip in various squares with actors in green overalls. The idea was to chuck your old pillow in and you'd receive a new one. The campaign was to "raise awareness" of the importance of throwing pillows away regularly.
The real problems with plastic pillows (and they're not solved by throwing them away regularly)
I'm fortunate enough not to be an asthma sufferer or have a family member who suffers. But the truth is, the introduction of these pillows, marketed to solve this issue, hasn't solved the growth in the incidence of allergies -allergies have increased. At the same time, the use of synthetics and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has skyrocketed. Let's look at some of these.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
Volatile means the product has a high vapour pressure at room temperature. In other words, the substance is liable to offgas. Some of the VOCs which may be in a pillow include:
1. Flame retardants
Polyester foam may be impregnated with flame retardants, such as Flame Guard or Firemaster. Up until recently the strictest standards on these were in California. Flame retardants can be added in two ways. The polyester pillow can be dipped in liquid flame retardant, usually PBDEs or, a chemical bonding of flame retardant to polyester can be done at the plastic factory.
2. Formaldehyde
Exposure to formaldehyde has been shown to increase the incidence of asthma. Polyester pillows can sometimes have this added as a preservative to prevent mould and mildew, as well as to prevent wrinkling.
3. Teflon (PFOA)
Perfluronated chemicals can also be added to create stain resistance. If you have purchased a pillow that's stain-resistant, it may have been treated with something like this. A good ticking fabric pillow protector, removable and washable, will protect pillows from stains.
4. ACTIGARD fungicide, pesticide
Bear in mind natural pillows may also contain some of the above chemicals. So be sure to choose organic (which should get rid of the cruelty risk connected with feathers and wool. See my post on this).
Energetically active
Have you ever seen sparks coming off a synthetic blanket in the dark? Or if you take synthetic clothes off? Why is that? In short, the long chains in synthetic polymers build up a static charge; the fabrics emit electrostatic energy. Natural fibres have much shorter chain molecules and so remain energetically inert.
OK, so I know anecdote isn't evidence, but here's a wee story for you. My neighbour's friend took his watch to the watchmaker's as it kept stopping. Finally, the watchmaker asked him if he was sleeping on polyester sheets, to which he answered, yes. The watchmaker told him to choose a natural fibre and after that the watch was fine! That story sticks in my mind!
Plastic is petrochemicals
At the end of the day, if you're sleeping on polyester, you're sleeping on petrochemicals with added synthetic chemicals. Now, we also have the NASA-designed viscoelastic polyurethane, memory foam. A massive chunk of plastic with added chemicals.
How often should I really throw my pillows away?
 |
| Old-fashioned cotton pillow-ticking tightly-woven cotton which dustmites can barely penetrate. |
Conclusion
We lived without polyester pillows and any of the above chemicals for thousands of years. We have lived with dustmites and mould for all this time. While no one wants an explosion of dustmites or mould in their homes, common-sense old-fashioned cleaning and airing will keep these to a minimum. A house that breathes, with natural carpets and building materials will prevent damp. The safety of anti-mite, anti-mould, anti-fungal and anti-static chemicals are dubious to say the least.
Even if there was any real evidence of polyester somehow being superior, at the end of the day, plastic simply has no exit strategy. It's going to sit in landfill for thousands of years or end up as plastic pollution.
And it's hard to sleep at night thinking about that!
Further Reading
Handbook of Preservatives, p616
http://products.mercola.com/wool-bedding/
Related posts
Alternatives to plastic pillows
Persistent Organic Pollutants
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