How the Kipli mattress is manufactured

Made in Italy

After working for twenty years making natural latex mattresses, I wanted to design the Kipli mattress based on what I imagined an ideal mattress to be. We spend about one third of our lives sleeping which is why the Kipli mattress has been designed to offer unparalleled comfort coupled with responsible production which respects both mankind and the planet.

Mario, co-founder of Kipli

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Manufacturing the core of the Kipli mattress

Our aim wasn't simply to manufacture mattresses but also to create a product that is made entirely in Italy.. Other brands make claims about 'local manufacturing' when in fact, it is only at the end of the production chain that a local contribution is made to the product, whereas Kipli has abided by the decision to manufacture locally.

There aren't many factories in the world that are able of producing natural latex mattresses as the manufacturing process is quite complex. To be precise, there are actually only three in Europe: one in Italy, one in Belgium and one in Bulgaria…

Unfortunately, in Spain there aren't any factories with the ability to transform liquid latex into a solid product and therefore, the production of natural latex mattresses is quite limited. Frequently, natural latex mattresses that can be found on the market, state that they are "Made in Spain," but this only refers to the production of the core and the cover and omits to mention the origin and where the latex has been processed.

More often than not, natural latex cores are imported into domestic assembly facilities from production factories in Asia or from another European factory where they have simply been enveloped in a cover.

A EUROLATEX certificate provides the assurance and a guarantee that the natural latex in solid form from which the mattress is made, has been produced in a factory within the European Union.

Making the core of the natural latex mattress is a delicate process. Without the strict security and quality requirements decreed by E.U. standards, there is a possible risk of contamination or the appearance of manufacturing defects and an inferior quality product.

Different aspects in the production of the core of a natural latex mattress must be taken into account.

The initial aspect that requires close attention is the transformation of the liquid latex into foam and the subsequent solidification process which is called vulcanization.

This process must unequivocally be carried out under strict controls to avoid any form of contamination from chemical or toxic agents which, when mixed with the natural latex, could alter its properties.

In order to prevent this from happening, it is vital that great attention is paid to cleaning the molds into which the natural latex will be emptied for the vulcanizing process once it has been transformed into foam.

In order to carry out this process, vulcanizing agents are an absolute necessity. Elements such as zinc and sulphur facilitate the vulcanization of the natural latex foam.
The mixture must then be carefully distributed to facilitate the artisanal vulcanization process which enables the maximum percentage of natural latex to be obtained in the final product which, in our case, is higher than 95%.

Another important stage in the production process is drying. Once the vulcanization process has been completed, the mattress core will be washed with cold water and dried. If the natural latex doesn't dry properly, this can affect the final product and may result in the emission of odours.

The drying process that we carry out in our factory is done in two stages. The first stage is carried out inside a type of oven and the second is done through micro-wave drying. Both stages facilitate thorough drying, resulting in the absence of any emissions from the final product.

The final stage, and by no means the least important, is quality control. This is done for each mattress made in our factory. The controls that are executed pertain to the weight and density of each item. Each batch has a unique traceability code against which the associated production data is recorded. This enables us to intervene immediately in the event that any manufacturing defects are identified.

The production cycle of the core of our natural latex mattresses takes approximately 4 hours.

The staff employed in our factories abide by and enjoy the respect to which they are entitled, under European standards, in terms of employees' rights.. This means they have had the necessary training to avoid accidents or any risks in the workplace at every level throughout the manufacturing process.
The norms applied for European production are stricter than those that apply to production in Asia, both in terms of conformance to standards and the quality of the end product. Therefore, the conditions under which the workers are employed are significantly better than in other parts of the world.
For these reasons, the core of the Kipli mattresses is made entirely in Italy.

Manufacturing the
Kipli mattress cover

A mattress cover is an important component and not simply a decorative item. The Kipli mattress covers are made in Italy in a traditional workshop by craftsmen based in the province of Turin.

The most important characteristic of a good mattress cover is its useful lifespan. The useful lifespan of a natural latex mattress is 10 to 15 years. That's why the cover should have a similar lifespan as that of the mattress core. A durable cover needs to be made from quality materials. When it comes to the Kipli mattress cover, this is made from a fabric composed of 39% Tencel© and 61% organic cotton. The filling itself is 100% wool.

From the beginning, our goal was to create a cover that was made entirely from natural materials, whilst also paying great attention to the finish and the final aesthetics of the cover. Each cover is created with a design that is able to adapt to the size of the mattress. It is both ergonomically and aesthetically pleasing. Making the Kipli mattress cover requires a contribution from 12 members of staff whose work is split into 3 teams for a period which lasts a total of about 45 minutes..

The decision to use organic cotton was obvious. Conventional cotton has a very high environmental impact accounting for 16% of insecticies used and 7% of the pesticides sold worldwide.

Water consumption in the cotton industry is also very high as 2,700 litres of water are required to make a single T-shirt. Organic cotton, on the other hand, doesn't use chemical or toxic products and requires 91% less water to grow than conventional cotton.

Together with the organic cotton, we have chosen to use Tencel© (Lyocell), both for its properties and its low environmental impact. In general, the fibres used to make standard mattress covers are mixed with petroleum derivatives. That's why we opted for natural raw materials. One of the main characteristics of the wool padding we use is its high resilience capacity compared to ordinary cotton and other materials. Wool also has a very high level of breathability, which contributes significantly to greater coolness and better temperature regulation as you sleep..