United Feather & Down Partners With Portico, Maas

-- Home Textiles Today, 3/7/2010 12:00:00 AM

Des Plaines, Ill. —

United Feather & Down has inked deals with 'green’ innovator Portico Home + Spa and sleep expert Dr. James B. Maas. The new partnerships extend UF&D’s stake in the eco-friendly and wellness arenas.

The Portico Home + Spa offerings will feature pillows and pads that meet stringent eco-requirements in manufacturing and raw materials, according to Bob Hickman, senior vp, UF&D. “We had already been doing eco-friendly products,” he noted. “The difference is that Portico is presenting it in a new way, using Summer Rayne Oaks — a well-known eco-blogger — as an ambassador of sorts. This is the first time I’ve seen it all put together so creatively. It allows retailers to really show their green product lines.”

Pads and pillows will be available in natural and white, the latter using eco-friendly peroxide whitening.

The company is also partnering with Dr. James Maas, a professor from Cornell University and an expert in sleep studies. This is the first time Maas — a frequent speaker and in-demand media personality — has lent his name to a product, the company said. The range of pillows will have his endorsement for better sleep performance. Dr. Maas is a leading researcher on the relationship between sleep, performance and critical thinking.”

In other news, UF&D is expanding its Villa Di Borghese spa, travel and bedding collection with a new line called Dolce Notte. It features luxury fabrics and Borghese’s signature Botanic Down or Botanic Down Alternative Blends. The collection will feature pillows and comforters with new botanical-inspired colors and treatments, coordinating sheet sets and spa quality accessories. The company will also present new looks from its Joseph Abboud and Eileen West collections.