Local mattress brand Naturalmat is becoming a popular choice across the world thanks to its organic and recycled materials, discovers GEMMA CLAPP

Great British Life: Naturalmat make their mattresses in Odhams Wharf, near TopshamNaturalmat make their mattresses in Odhams Wharf, near Topsham (Image: Archant)

Set up in 2000, Devon-based mattress brand Naturalmat was originally founded “on the high seas”. As keen sailors, Peter Tindall and Mark Tremlett hated the synthetic mattresses found on most yachts and decided to make their own. Using natural, breathable fibres, the duo were able to design high quality, comfortable mattresses made to unique shapes to fit in a boat’s awkward spaces.

Naturalmat’s marine mattresses were hugely popular in the industry – boating was then becoming an increasingly fashionable hobby and, like Peter and Mark, sailors soon grew tired of the damp, uncomfortable mattresses found on board and searched for an alternative.

When Mark’s wife fell pregnant, Naturalmat grew to include cot mattresses. “Mark found that the mattresses had no ventilation and limited support,” explains Peter. “You wouldn’t want to sleep on it, so why make your baby?

“We realised we could make better products for the baby market and this is where Naturalmat really took off.”

Using organic fibres and materials – all chemical free – Peter and Mark developed a range of made-to-measure cot mattresses using lambs wool, which made the mattresses fire retardant. They were the first people to develop such a range, although others have since followed suit.

Parents soon began to ask where they could get similar mattresses for themselves, thus inspiring Peter, Mark and their small team to begin developing an adult mattress range. A large hotel contract soon snapped up the mattresses, with other chains also getting on board.

To date, Naturalmat have supplied chains such as Yotel and have mattresses in hotels in Amsterdam and New York as well as here in the UK. In Devon they supply hotels such as The Magdalen Chapter, Abode Exeter and The Salutation Inn, so many of us have already experienced the luxurious comfort of a Naturalmat bed.

“Although we have mattresses all over the world, we really are one of the industry’s best kept secrets,” says Peter, although with demand increasing it would be surprising if it stayed that way for long.

Many of the materials are locally sourced too, including the lambs wool which is bought direct from farmers across Devon, Somerset and Dorset. They are now looking into recycled materials, e.g. scraps of denim from the clothing industry, to keep everything eco-friendly.

“If it’s not organic, it’s recycled; you’ll find no synthetic foams here!”