The PU foam used in traditional and more recently developed memory-variant mattresses is not just harmful to the environment – as “everlasting” materials – but also to our health. Though often contained by fabric, they are riddled with toxic VOCs and other chemicals one wouldn’t want to momentarily expose themselves to, let alone sleep on for multiple years. There hasn’t really been another option till now.
Award-winning British industrial design studio LAYER – lead by the ever-inventive Benjamin Hubert – recently teamed up with innovative Chinese sleep-tech start-up MAZZU to develop a foam- and glue-free alternative – the MAZZU Camping Mattress – but with potential to revolutionize the entire typology, even the mattresses we buy for long-term use. The innovative technology incorporated should, for intents and purposes, render less-than-desirable inflatables obsolete, let alone the cheap, non-biodegradable plastics they’re made of.
Easily compactable and transportable, the paradigm-shifting product also signals a new degree of comfort and sleep health in the oft-overlooked setting of temporary outdoor living; a context more regularly prescribed with the notion of “roughing it.”
How is it fundamentally different? Hubert, his team, and MAZZU’s product leads envisioned an isolated spring mechanism that when systemized in a standard single-sized mattress better contours the body. Ergonomically optimized, the new mechanical technology also lends itself well to being broken down and transported.
The individual elastic spring units – comprising precision-engineered, pre-compressed coils – are encased in durable jackets. The modules snap-fit together and come with paracord lashings. The currently available single palette configuration is made up of 72 of these and is fitted with a slim textile topper for additional comfort out in the wild.
How is it sustainable? The MAZZU Camping Mattress is very much the sum of its parts, especially durable components produced using materials that aren’t fused together, as is common in most comparable gear. These simple, straightforward elements can be easily disassembled, removed, repaired and replaced, or recycled.
In contrast, conventional mattress foam is not only toxic and non-biodegradable, it accounts for far-more energy-intensive production and has a much shorter lifespan. According to studies released in 2018 and 2020, approximately 60 million metric tons of mattresses are discarded worldwide each year and more than 90% of mattress components end up in landfill.
This new fresh offering fires on all cylinders – spring modules – in providing better comfort while camping but not at the additional cost of already well-compromised human and environmental health.
To learn more about the MAZZU Camping Mattress by LAYER x MAZZU, visit layerdesign.com.
Photography courtesy of LAYER.