New Brunswick can rest easy at night, literally, knowing that an organic, all-natural mattress and home furnishings company in the city is making sleep environmentally friendly.
In addition to mattresses, White Lotus Home, located on 191 Hamilton St., manufactures products ranging from computer pillows to pet beds to massage and meditation furniture, using only 100 percent organic cotton.
Products are made from other natural materials such as buckwheat, a type of recycled cotton called "green" and kapok. Ultracel foam, used to soften mattresses, does not emit a chemical scent when wrapped around cotton. Wool is also utilized, which acts as a natural dust mite repellent and absorbs moisture.
"I like the whole hands-on ethic of the place," said White Lotus Home's Production Manager Ellie Glabau, a Cook College junior who also serves as the head seamstress.
"We don't get anything overseas," she said. "We're a small company. White Lotus Home is like its own little family."
All of the company's furniture is made from hardwood such as maple, ash, poplar and cherry, which is imported from Connecticut, Vermont and Ohio.
"You're directly benefiting people in the area that work here as opposed to going to a big box store with items from places you've never heard of," Glabau said.
Glabau said one of the most popular products is the double futon couch, which she said is ideal for college students because it acts as both a sofa and a bed. The store obtains its variety of fabrics for covers from the Cotton Belle fabric company.
As a native of Peru, Marlon Pando, the owner and president of White Lotus Home, said being green is the way of life.
"I do hold a MBA and I've been to corporate America, but I appreciate [working at White Lotus Home] a hundred times more," Pando said. "You can get cheap organic cotton from China, but the fact that it travels thousands of miles is not a green thing. We try and work with the local folks."
White Lotus Home was founded 26 years ago in New Brunswick. Its current location dates back to the 1800s and was transformed from an old car garage.
Today, there are White Lotus Home stores in 20 different states across the nation with two retailers in Canada.
"Our store also helps children," Pando said. "We make products that are great for kids with autism and other chemical-related diseases."
The company also caters to mothers with newborns, Pando said.
"Studies have shown that a natural mattress can reduce Sudden Infant Death Syndrome," Pando said. "We have a crib specially made to reduce that."
The college town location of the store also benefits the company in terms of employees.
"Most of our staff [consists of] Rutgers students. We have a long history with RU," Pando said.
The shop gives a 10 percent discount to all students and faculty at the University on products.
"I sell White Lotus Home products because of the environmental aspects," said Abby Slayton, the owner of There's No Place Like Home, a store located in Texas.
"The materials that they use are all refurbished natural materials, so it's just better for the environment," Slayton said. "I first found out about the company when I went to a furniture market and bought samples for my store."
"I sell about six different kinds of mattresses, but I let my customers know that White Lotus Home is the most environmentally friendly," Slayton said.
The majority of the shop's products are guaranteed for life, while the hardwood frames have a five-year warranty.
"I personally use their pillows," she said. "I love them."
