Unable to stand the mystery any longer, Matt caved and cut open his pillow that sports a tag saying it contains 100% of “TEXTILE FABRICS OF AN UNKOWN KIND.” Now we know what’s inside these pillows: a heterogeneous mixture of shredded clothing and fabric factory leftovers. Mmm, downy soft sweet dreams. Don’t worry, this isn’t some scam, “Textile fibers of unknown kind” are a legally accepted industry label meaning, “new material consisting of a variety of fibers that has been reduced to a fibrous state.” Still, it’s crazy to think that’s what you might be sleeping on. More pics, inside.
§ 303.14 of the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act says:
Where a textile fiber product is made from miscellaneous scraps, rags, odd lots, secondhand materials, textile by-products, or waste materials of unknown, and for practical purposes, undeterminable fiber content, the required fiber content disclosure may, when truthfully applicable, in lieu of the fiber content disclosure otherwise required by the Act and regulations, indicate that such product is composed of miscellaneous scraps, rags, odd lots, textile by-products, secondhand materials (in case of secondhand materials, words of like import may be used) or waste materials, as the case may be, of unknown or undetermined fiber content
PREVIOUSLY: Nobody Knows What This Pillow Is Made Of
(Photos: Blitzcat)
I once saw a pet bed that was made of 100% recycled material. Wondering what was filling it, I opened up the cover, and discovered that it was basically finely shredded (think fine threads) pop bottles. It was soft, and I’d rather have that than this mess of stuff… it’s just gross!
If the label states “new material” then it is byproducts of manufacturing, NOT shredded donated clothes. (Shredded donated clothes are used in some things. Those things are not labeled “new” though.)
@textilesdiva: I at first thought “oh my god that person is crazy” but given your username I guess you’re just really, really into fabric
That’s pretty disgusting-looking, but as long as it’s clean, what’s the big deal? It’s normally inside the pillow, after all.
@songbird6: For people with allergies to certain fabrics or materials, what’s inside the pillow is important.
i used to work in a company that purchased scraps from gildan, hanes, fruit of the loom, etc.
they were sorted by color and fabric type. once sorted, they were shredded, and respun to make new cloth for sweater and t-shirt making.
bits that were received really mixed, and all the bits that fell on the floor, which was covered by an inch of “dryer lint” were tossed into “mixed bins”
this was shredded to make what you find in that pillow.
basically fabric mulch.
this is used for many things including: automotive insulation, speaker box insulation, moving blankets, etc.
it is actually a common material. it is clean, its not like it contains anything other than shredded fibers, and its used for all kinds of things.
pillows is new to me though….
consider it as responsible industrial recycling.