Organic wool

Organic wool has been used as a bedding material for centuries, primarily for blankets, but also as a filler in pillows, duvets (quilts) and even mattresses.

Organic wool has a number of advantages and also a number of disadvantages when it comes to use in bedding. In many ways it has been superseded by a number of the more modern mattress and pillow making materials like memory foam.

Features of organic wool

For some people the simple fact that wool is organic and renewable is enough to make it appealing, however these are not features that you should consider when determining the surface on which you sleep. Political correctness can be good in some situations, but the health of your body is perhaps not one of them.

Organic wool is intrinsically warm to the feel. It retains heat and for this reason it can be a very effective quilting or duvet material. It can also be fluffed up (like feathers and down) and it is possible to shake the wool out of one area and into another to make the quilt lighter or heavier (cooler or warmer).

When it comes to applications as a mattress material organic wool is less successful. It may have good heat retention properties, however it flattens when it is compressed and most of the sponginess and bounce is removed. The result is that as a material to lay on it can feel hard and lumpy at best and even very uncomfortable at the worst.

Naturally this is a matter of personal preference, but most people will find an organic wool mattress very different and probably very uncomfortable when compared to a more conventional bed.

Uses for organic wool in bedding

Whilst organic wool has a restricted application as a mattress filler, it is much more effective when it comes to quilts or duvets, pillows and even mattress toppers.

An organic wool pillow will feel very similar to a feather pillow and the same can also be said of a duvet.

A mattress topper made from organic wool will offer a similar feel to a feather and down topper and, being made from natural wool, all of these bedding items will be washable. This is always a plus point with bedding items.