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Sleep Foundation recognized Cariloha bamboo pillows in their highlight of the “Best Bamboo Pillows,” focusing on how to choose a bamboo pillow, what to what to consider when purchasing a bamboo pillow, and what are the pros and cons to a bamboo pillow. Sleep Foundation is a leader in sleep education and sleep product reviews and recommendations, receiving more than 4.9 million unique monthly visitors.
Best Bamboo Pillows
By Daniel Noyed
As more sleepers are seeking out natural materials for their bedding, bamboo pillows have enjoyed a surge in popularity. Bamboo has many advantages over other traditional pillow fabric and fill materials.
The process of growing and harvesting bamboo can be more sustainable than other textile crops like cotton, which require larger amounts of water, fertilizers, and pesticides. Bamboo materials are also naturally durable, cooling, antimicrobial, and hypoallergenic.
However, bamboo pillows can vary widely from brand to brand. This includes their general construction as well as the type of bamboo fabric and interior fill used. With a higher price tag than your average pillow, it’s important to know exactly what sets the best bamboo pillows apart.
Our comprehensive guide will cover everything you need to know so you can determine whether a bamboo pillow is right for you. We’ll break down the different bamboo fabrics, common types of fill material, differences in pillow constructions, and how to tell if a certain pillow will work for your unique comfort preferences.
Softest
Cariloha Retreat Pillow
The Cariloha Retreat Pillow combines the softness from bamboo-derived viscose with pressure-relieving memory foam. This material has a more responsive feel that side sleepers on our team thoroughly enjoyed. The cover material is naturally breathable and wicks away moisture, making it a strong choice for hot sleepers as well.
The outer cover is composed of 100% bamboo-derived viscose, while the inner lining is made from a blend of microfiber and viscose. These materials stay breathable while providing exceptional softness. Charcoal-infused memory foam makes up the middle fill, contouring to relieve pain and pressure points in the neck and shoulders. Combining the memory foam fill and the medium firm (6) feel supports the head to promote healthy spinal alignment and prevent pain.
Cariloha offers free shipping to the contiguous U.S. for all orders of $100 or more. If you are not satisfied with the Retreat Pillow, you can send it back to the company within 30 days of delivery.
Price Range: $129 – $139
Fill: 100% bamboo charcoal memory foam
Firmness: Medium Firm
What is a Bamboo Pillow?
With more consumers interested in bedding made from natural plant and animal fibers, bamboo pillows have enjoyed increasing popularity in recent years. Bamboo pillows typically contain a memory foam or bamboo fiber fill encased in a woven outer cover made with fibers derived from bamboo, a fast-growing grass. This creates a plush yet firm and supportive pillow with a cover that is soft to the touch but still durable.
Bamboo pillows with memory foam fill may either be solid or shredded. Shredded memory foam, memory foam that has been torn into small pieces, allows sleepers to more freely adjust the loft of their pillow depending on their preferred sleep position.
The bamboo-derived pillows covers are made from 100% bamboo fiber. Bamboo is frequently touted for its benefits over other common materials such as cotton and synthetics. Bamboo is naturally hypoallergenic, antimicrobial, lightweight, and cooling.
However, bamboo is often combined with other materials to create a hybrid woven material for the pillow cover. This can improve the softness of the material while retaining the best features of bamboo fabric.
How is Bamboo Fiber Made?
Bamboo belongs to the family of Poaceae plants more commonly known as grasses. While all continents except Antarctica and Europe have their own native bamboo species, it grows especially well in warm and moist areas including both tropical and temperate climates.
As a grass, bamboo grows very quickly. Its fast growth makes bamboo well suited to commercial use. After harvesting, plants that have been cut can regrow back to full height in a short time. Unlike cotton, bamboo requires little in the way of fertilizer, pesticides, or irrigation. This also makes bamboo an environmentally friendly crop that can help restore degraded land.
Once harvested, there are two common methods to create bamboo fiber.
Mechanical Processing: the woody stem of the plant is crushed using machinery and then a natural enzyme treatment helps to break down the bamboo walls. The result is a mushy mass that can be combed through to extract the plant fibers. Plant fibers are then spun into yarn. The result is often referred to as bamboo linen which is highly durable, requires minimal processing, and readily takes up dyes, but is very expensive.
Chemical Processing: this is a more affordable method for creating bamboo-derived fabrics. Also referred to as the viscose process, this method uses strong chemicals to dissolve bamboo stalks to create a thick liquid. The liquid can then be filtered to separate the bamboo fibers, which are spun into a thread to create bamboo-based rayon fabric. Lyocell bamboo involves a similar process but uses less harmful chemicals.
Read the entire article from Sleep Foundation here.