Date
26 October 2022
Devon duvets have taken a number of steps to improve the sustainability of their business, including making improvements to the building that they operate from. This has involved the installation of reversible air-to-air heat pumps. They discussed the motivation behind these improvements, alongside the process of installing them.
What was your motivation to install air heat pumps in your building?
It is an important part of our commitment as a brand to operate as sustainably as possible. This starts with the way we source or raw materials, right through to our operational procedures. It made sense to find a way of regulating the temperature in our production areas in the most sustainable way we could.
What was the process of installation and what processes did you have to go through as a result of being a tenant in a building you don’t own?
Managing Director, Dick Beijen, emailed our landlord and asked if permission could be granted to install reversible air to air source heating units in the building. He had no problems in getting this permission as the landlord could see the benefits for us as a leaseholder, with regards to saving energy costs and being more sustainable.
How have you financed these improvements?
We have paid for the improvements through our own cashflow.
What is the expected payback period of this improvement? Is it less than your lease?
Reversible (i.e. heating and cooling) air to air heating systems have a higher expenditure up front than many heating/cooling systems, but conversely have lower running costs. In approximately 6 years the investment will have been paid back. However, if energy prices continue to rise then this return could be earlier. Our lease is 15 years.
What benefits do you expect to gain from their installation?
The key benefits are the saving on energy bills and also having better climate control within the building for our employees.
What other actions have you taken to improve the sustainability of Devon Duvets?
Sustainability and responsible sourcing is right at the heart of our business. This, together with finding a way to support British farmers, was the building block for the development of our products, right from when Dick and Pauline first started developing our products—and this has been carried through the years.
Sustainability is considered at every level of our business. In addition to responsible sourcing of sustainable materials for our products, we also have waste and recycling management policies and this is part of our Zero Waste policy (almost achieved, other than kitchen waste).
We have firm policies regarding ethics, including the suppliers we use, the retailers that we supply (such as John Lewis) and our operational policies generally, including how we treat our staff. We are ethically audited on a regular basis.
Some examples of the responsibly sourced, sustainable materials that we use for our products are:
WOOL
100% British Wool filled duvets, mattress toppers and pillows: The wool is sourced from British farmers we know and fully traceable back to the farms. It is certified as fully traceable British wool by the British Wool organisation, the only independent body that is able to provide official certification. Our famers get paid over the market value for taking part in the traceability scheme. Fleeces come from live sheep, from spring and summer shearings, when the sheep need to lose their heavy winter fleeces. It’s a wonderful sustainable fibre, because the fleece regrows every year. We purchase only high grade natural white wool, so it doesn’t have to be bleached. The wool is cleaned in British mills, without the use of chemicals, and is then needled to trap air (creates ‘loft’). At our workshops, the wool is placed inside 100% cotton covers (BCI cotton). BCI = Better Cotton Initiative, which encourages better socio-economic and environmentally-friendly cotton farming practices. Each duvet, topper and pillow is individually handcrafted by our seamstresses here in Devon. Once the time comes to replacing our duvets, toppers or pillows, they won’t sit in landfill for decades to come, but will biodegrade harmlessly into the environment, and actually releases nutrients in the process. We also advise customers that if they are keen gardeners, they can compost the wool or, alternatively, put it in the bottom of veg or flower beds.
ALPACA
100% British Alpaca filled duvets: The alpaca wool is sourced from British alpaca farmers and certified by the British Alpaca Society. Alpacas are sheared once a year and also there are a lot less British alpacas than there are sheep, so we get a limited amount each year. Again, this is a sustainable fibre as the alpacas regrow their fleeces every year. We only ever purchase natural white alpaca fibres so that we don’t have to use bleach to turn it white. The alpaca is cleaned in British mills without the use of chemicals. We use the same BCI cotton for the casings and the duvets are individually handcrafted. The same points mentioned about wool regarding biodegradability also apply to our alpaca products.
BOTANIC
This is our 100% plant-based duvet range: It is made with fibres from sustainable wood sources (FSC managed). The wood is turned into fibres through an ECO award-winning process. The same 100% plant-based fibres are also used to create the fabric casing for the duvets. This is the only product of its kind that is approved by The Vegan Society. These are fully sustainable products, which will also harmlessly biodegrade when it’s time to get rid of the duvet and buy a new one.
Concerning office suppliers, printers, IT support companies, marketing agencies etc., we try to use local/South West suppliers wherever possible.