Sinomax USA® has been named an Innovative Organization Winner in the 2026 Business Intelligence Group Innovation Awards, a global recognition program honoring companies, products, and leaders who are transforming industries through applied innovation, intelligent platforms, and measurable real-world impact.
“The 2026 BIG Innovation Awards winners show that true innovation is no longer about chasing the latest buzzwords,” says Russ Fordyce, chief recognition officer at Business Intelligence Group. “It’s about building intelligent platforms, automating workflows with purpose, and making trust, privacy, and resilience the foundation of every breakthrough. These organizations and leaders are not just keeping pace with change; they are shaping the future of global business.”
Sinomax USA was recognized for its contributions to innovation in manufacturing, driven by the design behind the EZ•Rise™ Universal Cool Gel Memory Foam Bed Pillow, now available on Costco.com. Created to solve the challenge of supporting multiple sleep positions without complicated inserts or adjustments, EZ•Rise relies on ergonomic engineering to do the work naturally. It features sculpted 10-degree side-lift, cradling curve, and dual comfort profiles for targeted support for back, side, and combination sleepers simply by rotating the pillow. The pillow is finished with gel memory foam and a cooling cover for temperature regulation and pressure relief.
“This award is a strong validation of how Sinomax USA approaches innovation by solving real comfort challenges with smart, intuitive design,” says Frank Chen, CEO of Sinomax USA. “The EZ•Rise pillow reflects our commitment to engineering sleep products that are crafted to support the way people actually sleep.”
Sinomax USA joins 159 winners recognized for their contributions to innovation across health, financial services, logistics, manufacturing, and enterprise technology.
Indorama Ventures Announces More Sustainable FR Fibers and Filament Yarn
Global sustainable chemical company Indorama Ventures is making textiles more circular for homes and public spaces by supporting fabric makers in creating a more sustainable version of flame-retardant Trevira CS fabric.
The company is offering its Trevira® FR fibers and filament yarns with 50% recycled textile material.
“This innovation is possible through Indorama Ventures’ joint venture with Jiaren Chemical Recycling,” says Jesper Nielsen, global key account manager, flame retardancy. “The recycler uses textile waste from both consumers and industry to produce recycled polyester chips. From these chips, we make our high-modified Trevira flame-retardant fibers and yarns. Customers who use these fibers and yarns to produce fabrics can then apply for the Trevira CS Eco brand. This way, they combine their commitment to circularity with the strong, permanent flame-retardant performance the Trevira CS fabric brand is known for since 1980.”
Indorama Ventures announced its partnership with Jiaren Chemical Recycling in November 2025. According to a release, this strategic move reflects the company’s ambition to play a leading role in making textile circularity a reality at scale and create more resource-friendly textiles without compromising comfort or safety.
Restonic Is National Best Brand Winner in the American Choice Awards
The American Choice Awards (America’s largest consumer vote) has announced Restonic Mattress is the winner of its National Best Brand Award in the mattress category.
More than 1,500 brands were judged by American consumers in more than 300 categories, such as food and beverage, beauty, household care, health and personal care, home and garden, and kids and pets. Restonic joins American Choice Awards Best Brand winners including Black & Decker, The North Face, Honda, Nestlé, KitchenAid, L’Oréal, and other leading brands. The American Choice Awards are 100% consumer-voted.
The Best Brand Award Seal of Approval can now be found on Restonic mattresses in showrooms nationwide. “The Best Brand Award Seal of Approval provides positive feedback for consumers across America. Busy shoppers cut through the clutter and instantly recognize The Choice of American Consumers®,” says Amanda Martin, American Choice Awards vice president of competition.
Consumers rated Restonic No. 1 for its industry-leading Signature®, ComfortCare®, HealthRest®, and luxury Grand Palais® mattress collections. Survey respondents consistently cited superior craftsmanship, refined materials, and exceptional comfort, with many highlighting Restonic’s exclusive Marvelous Middle® technology for its targeted support and pressure relief.
“This recognition is especially meaningful because it comes directly from consumers,” says Laurie Tokarz, president of Restonic. “For nearly 90 years, our focus has been on thoughtful design, consistent quality, and innovation that genuinely improves how people sleep. From our most accessible collections to our luxury Grand Palais line, Restonic is committed to delivering comfort people can feel and trust. We’re proud to share this honor with our retail partners and licensees who bring the Restonic brand to life every day.”
Brooklyn Bedding Product Refresh Is Part of Nationwide Retail Program Launch
and direct-to-consumer distributor of sleep products—announced a major refresh of its Brooklyn Bedding core offerings, designed to drive traffic to retail partners as part of the brand’s all-new wholesale program.
Brooklyn Bedding’s CopperFlex® Hybrid, Signature Hybrid, and Aurora Luxe lines have been fully redesigned with a proprietary blend of memory foam and responsive foam to deliver the signature Brooklyn Bedding feel. The brand also introduced the ThermoBalansce line, a luxury cooling collection built with ThermoPhase foam infused with phase change material, a cool-to-the-touch ThermoCool cover, and a 360-degree airflow design.
The lineup launched with ThermoBalance and ThermoBalance Elite, with two additional latex models joining the collection in March. ThermoBalance offers six layers of high-density and fast-response foams, including a unique 4-pound memory foam, supported by an 8-inch Ascension zoned coil unit. The ThermoBalance Elite adds eight foam layers, featuring both 4-pound and 5-pound memory foams, a layer of VX Responsive Foam, an 8-inch Ascension Max HD coil unit, and zoned lumbar support.
“This new collection represents the pinnacle of our foam technology, made possible through our advanced in-house foam-pouring capabilities,” says Tim Dilworth, president and chief operating officer for 3Z Brands. “By expertly blending fast-response foams with our proprietary high-density memory foams, we’ve engineered a distinct and luxurious feel that sets these mattresses apart. We are confident this collection delivers unmatched comfort, cooling, and performance. Coupled with a strategic pricing model, it offers exceptional value and a broad range that empowers our retail partners to meet diverse customer needs.”
The collection also features upgrades to Brooklyn Bedding’s best-selling models, designed to meet a range of needs. The CopperFlex collection emphasizes value with its signature CopperFlex memory foam. Signature Hybrid serves as an entry-level option, combining high-density memory foam with VX Responsive Foam, and offers an upgrade that includes pillowtop comfort and ThermoPhase Cooling Technology. Aurora builds on this foundation with the same foam blend enhanced by a zoned coil system, plus an available upgrade featuring ThermoPhase Foam and pillowtop comfort for added cooling and support.
“Drawing on valuable insights from our successful Helix retail program, we have refined and enhanced Brooklyn Bedding’s offerings to deliver refreshed, innovative sleep products,” says John Merwin, CEO of 3Z Brands. “This marks a major milestone for our brand, and after a year of focused innovation and development, we are excited to expand the Brooklyn Bedding experience to retail partners across the country, offering consumers a trusted, premium sleep solution with a truly unique feel.”
Brooklyn Bedding’s retail program, like the Helix program, is built to drive traffic into retail stores. The program supports large-scale partners with advantages that strengthen in-store performance, including domestic mattress assembly, in-house production of proprietary foams and coils, and a nationwide manufacturing network. With strategically located facilities across the country, Brooklyn Bedding enables fast, reliable, and cost-efficient coast-to-coast distribution that helps retail partners keep floors stocked and meet consumer demand.
BekaertDeslee Introduces PURIFAIR™ Technology to Reduce VOCs
BekaertDeslee, a mattress textiles and sleep solutions company, has introduced PURIFAIR™, a textile technology designed to significantly reduce volatile organic compounds in mattresses.
As awareness of indoor air quality continues to grow, VOC emissions have become an increasingly important consideration in bedroom environments. New mattresses and upholstered products are among the most common contributors to indoor VOCs, often responsible for the characteristic “new mattress smell” caused by off-gassing from foam and other materials.
Developed in collaboration with a University of Cambridge spinoff, PURIFAIR is BekaertDeslee’s proprietary textile treatment that captures VOC molecules as they escape from the mattress core, binding them within the fabric before they disperse into the surrounding air. Unlike fragrance-based or masking solutions, PURIFAIR works through physical VOC capture, without adding scents or coatings or compromising the look, feel, or performance of the mattress textile.
According to a release, the result is a noticeably fresher first impression, improved perceived comfort, and enhanced confidence for end consumers, all without requiring changes to existing mattress designs or production processes.
PURIFAIR’s effectiveness has been validated through independent laboratory and sensory testing. Comparative studies using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and blinded sensory panels demonstrated:
A measurable reduction in total VOCs emitted by PURIFAIR-treated mattresses
Lower odor intensity and higher acceptance ratings compared to untreated mattresses
A strong preference for PURIFAIR-treated products in simulated bedroom environments
In sensory evaluations, panelists consistently described PURIFAIR-treated mattresses as fresher, cleaner, and more pleasant, while untreated samples were more frequently associated with strong or off-putting odors.
In 2024, PURIFAIR’s approach to improving indoor air quality also earned two German Innovation Awards in Excellence in B2B: Transformative Solutions and Excellence in B2B: Materials & Surfaces.
To support manufacturers, retailers, and industry stakeholders, BekaertDeslee has published an in-depth white paper exploring VOCs in sleep environments, the science behind PURIFAIR, and the results of independent testing, available at BekaertDeslee.com/en/w/How-BekaertDeslee-Creates-Healthier-Sleep-Environments.
Posh+Lavish™ Introduces Hand-Tufted Mattress Collection
When Posh+Lavish™ asked above-average-income consumers how they would distinguish high-end mattresses from mid-range or low-end mattresses, they answered with three overwhelmingly similar responses.
The consumers said that high-end mattresses would be hand-tufted, use better fillings, and be soft to sleep on, yet supportive and long-lasting. When the company asked high-end consumers what a high-end mattress with these features would cost, the range centered around $3,000 to $5,000.
“With that information,” says Kurt Ling, principal at Posh+Lavish, “we set out to build a new luxury collection.”
Posh+Lavish realized that consumers wanted hand-tufted mattresses at price points considerably under $5,000, even though the industry generally sells them closer to $10,000 and more. Hand-tufting is one of the primary design cues of a luxurious mattress for above-average-income consumers. However, only a handful of hand-tufted mattresses are available, and they are sold at price points two to three times higher than the above-average-income consumer expects to pay.
“We were ready to think outside the box and challenge ourselves in ways we never have before,” says Ling. “We were ready to think about these price points differently than we [have in the past] and differently than the industry does. We had three design goals: a hand-tufted mattress, a distinguishable high-end component, and plush mattresses that would last a long time.”
According to the company, mattresses tufted by hand provide significant benefits beyond the extravagance of a luxurious and timeless design with woolen tufts atop. Hand-tufted mattresses have a distinctive resilient, supportive feel, and the tufting process prevents the layers in the mattress from bunching or developing valleys. The hand-tufting process compresses the mattress layers, driving long needles with ribbon binding tape through them, securing these tufts with rosettes on the top.
The Posh mattress collection offers firm, medium, plush, and ultra-plush models in an approximately 12-inch profile, 13.25-inch profile, and 14.5-inch profile, respectively. All four mattresses are hand-tufted, have natural latex rubber, and exclusively use 3-pound and 2-pound high-density CertiPUR-US registered foam for comfort and long life.
Coyuchi Launches the Marin REM Mattress
As Coyuchi—maker of organic home goods—celebrates its 35th anniversary, it has launched its newest mattress.
The Marin Restorative EcoMaterials Mattress is made to order in the United States using sustainably sourced, premium natural materials: GOTS-certified organic cotton, organic New Zealand wool, and GOLS-certified Dunlop latex.
A successor to Coyuchi’s award-winning Natural REM Mattress launched in 2025, the Marin REM Mattress offers a customized experience with two firmness options tailored to different sleep preferences. The plush (4/10 on the firmness scale) features two layers of soft latex for a contouring, cloud-like feel, while the medium-firm (6/10) combines two layers of dense latex to provide extra support without compromising comfort. At a depth of 13 inches, the mattress works with Coyuchi sheets and can accommodate a topper for further customization.
The mattress features nine intentionally designed layers and approximately 2,950 coils (in a queen size) for comfort, durability, and temperature regulation. To meet mattress flammability standards, the Marin REM Mattress uses naturally flame-resistant 100% wool padding, eliminating the need for fireproof chemicals often found in conventional mattresses, according to a release. Coyuchi’s made-to-order model also eliminates excess inventory and resources, thus reducing environmental impact—a reflection of the brand’s sustainability-first philosophy.
“With the launch of Coyuchi’s Marin REM Mattress, we’re expanding our home collection to continue anticipating the evolving sleep priorities of today’s consumer,” says Coyuchi President Vicky Grahan. “The success of our first mattress reinforced that customers are seeking more intentional sleep experiences for the entire family with safe, natural materials. This premium addition to our REM Mattress line reflects our ongoing commitment to innovation, comfort, and conscious design.”
Englander International Licensees Share Best Practices and Market Insights
Mattress manufacturer Englander hosted licensees from Asia, the Middle East, and Central America at a summit during the Winter Las Vegas Furniture Market, where attendees shared best practices on how they are maximizing the performance of Englander in their markets and the brand discussed new initiatives planned for the year.
“I have done licensing in the sleep products space for years, and what makes our Englander licensees so unique is that they are highly engaged in their countries,” says Lou Paige, president and CEO of Englander. “They come to the table with a vast amount of knowledge and experience. Through the sharing of ideas, each of them can come away from a meeting like this with new concepts and programs that can grow their businesses.”
“The brand and design are very well received in the Gulf because of its heritage of technology and innovation. We carry many different international brands, but American products are sought after by our customers because of their quality and prestige,” says Ateeb Shaffi, director of Diamond Group of Industries/Symbol, which has held the Englander license in the United Arab Emirates, other Gulf Cooperation Council countries, and Pakistan for 10 years.
“It is an honor for us to have worked with Englander now for 20 years. It has been a very successful brand for us, and we have learned and shared a lot of great information with our international colleagues,” says Jack Chen, president and CEO of Bedding World, which is the China and Taiwan licensee of the group.
Luis Pedro Solares Jarquin, the general manager of Ultra Industries, which holds the Englander license for Guatemala, told the group that the new programs and products on the horizon for the brand will be well received by his customers.
“In the first 10 years of bringing Englander to Guatemala, we have grown the business tremendously. New products, marketing, and the expertise that people like Lou [Paige] bring to this relationship help us grow our business even more,” he says. “We see a lot of growth potential for Englander in our market.”
Foam manufacturer and supplier Carpenter Co. has developed its new ZIPR™ mattress, a patent-pending, adhesive-free design that aims to make recycling easier.
“The ZIPR mattress represents several years of development work, drawing from multiple areas within the Carpenter organization,” says Chris Bradley, Carpenter’s vice president of consumer products. “It not only represents our ability to engineer new solutions but also illustrates our commitment to developing more sustainable solutions.”
He adds, “The key feature of the ZIPR mattress is the glue-free assembly. Being very close to the mattress recycling industry, we became aware that adhesives can interfere with the recycling process—both the chemical recycling process and when it comes to layer separation within the traditional recycling process. The adhesive-free design allows for very quick disassembly of an end-of-life mattress.”
Meanwhile, interlocking rails provide edge support while the multilayer design allows for individual components to be replaced whether it be for comfort or wear. The ZIPR mattress is available as a two-layer or three-layer mattress for a customizable sleep experience.
New DIN SPEC Standardizes Method to Assess Environmental Impact of Textile Fragments in Soil
With the publication of DIN SPEC 19296, Hohenstein has made its test method publicly available as a standard for evaluating how textile fragments behave in soil under realistic conditions.
Textile products made from synthetic fibers, as well as other finished or dyed materials, release fiber fragments into the environment throughout their life cycle. According to a release, DIN SPEC allows results to be compared across products by providing a common reference for assessing biodegradability and potential ecological effects in soil, focusing on textile products and the fragments released during use, abrasion, or disposal.
Testing is conducted in standardized soil under defined climatic conditions for up to 180 days. The method assesses both biodegradability and ecotoxicological effects. A respirometer system measures oxygen consumption by soil microorganisms during degradation to quantify biodegradability. Plant growth tests using cress seeds evaluate potential effects on vegetation after degradation. Earthworms serve as sensitive bioindicators, with survival rates and changes in body mass used to assess potential toxic effects.
These parameters assess whether textile fragments degrade in soil and whether residues affect soil health or biological function.
“Textile fibers and fragments are released into the environment, not only during washing, but also during everyday use. Making this testing approach publicly available as a DIN SPEC provides a common reference for comparing how different textile materials behave in soil,” says Juliane Alberts, project manager at Hohenstein. “That consistency is critical when companies evaluate materials or substantiate environmental claims, such as ‘compostable.’”
DIN SPEC 19296 was developed by Hohenstein in cooperation with Goldeck Textil GmbH and OceanSafe AG and is publicly available. By combining biodegradability and ecotoxicological testing, the specification helps determine whether soil continues to function as a habitat for plants and organisms after textile fragments degrade. •