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pillow vegan home decor magicful homeHi, it's Veronika there!

Long time no see, so much work needed to be done in order to prepare my very own pillow cover line!
It's amazing, all round eco and vegan - check it out in the shop =)

And with pillows comes responsibility - the insert.

When I started looking into vegan designs and specifically into pillows, I found out it's a whole big chapter to discover and understand.
I read people's blogs talking posh about pillows like it's the only thing that matter in the world. Of course, pillows can make and break the looks, but I'm not going to stuff them with goose dawn just because someone said it's in.

If something, it's barbaric. Geese want their feathers as same as we want our hair. Similar story, although not always so obvious, is with sheep wool.

So let's move to vegan, ideally eco options for our pillows.

Number one: Use your own old pillow!
Sounds obvious, but yes, I know some people didn't know you can take off the old cover (perhaps donate it to your local charity) and reuse the insert. Sometimes, the old cover doesn't have a zipper. Which is fine, if you know you will not need or want the old cover, simply cut it open and get yourself a nice re-used insert.

Number two: Find a pillow bargain!
This is quite a clever idea in case you don't have or don't want to use your own old pillows. Find an old pillow in sale in your local charity shop, doesn't matter if you like the cover or not, it will end up in charity shop again anyway, you just want the insert. Only look at the size, ideally, you're looking for a bit bigger than what the pillow cover is, to make it look puffy, not empty and sad =) It's certainly economical, as new inserts may cost a lot, but also I would avoid buying any dawn or wool, for obvious reasons mentioned above.

Number three: Recycled plastic bottles
First thoughts may be either wow or nah... What's good about rPET inserts? Obviously, they're recycled. Hooray! But do you want to be getting comfy in between something that was used to be plastic bottles? You may be actually surprised what are plastic bottled used for, after recycling. And the feel is very soft, it's not just crunched, munched bottles, surely not! But it's still made of plastic and some sources say it could even go the other way and demand for rPET could increase the demand for virgin bottles at the end. I'm not sure about that, yet I cannot bring data to support this thesis.
So make your own decision here, what feels right for you in terms of rPET inserts. But they are surely better than inserts from virgin polyester, we can agree on that.

Number four: Organic cotton
Pros of cotton: plant-based, easy to source, gives feel for a classic pillow as we imagine in the old days.
Contras of cotton: not the best choice for pillows as it can get infested (unlike some other materials, which are less prone to that or even immune), absorbs more moisture, therefore, can get mouldy easier.
Why choose organic: Mass produce of cotton calls for high usage of pesticides. Organic cotton, on the other side, cannot be treated with pesticides. Clearly, even though higher priced, when there is an option to go for organic, I'd say we should do our bit for the planet and go for the organic option.

Number five: Kapok seeds
Quite a new type of pillow stuffing (at least for me). Kapok is a tropical tree which seeds are filled with fiber-like fluff which gives the amazing feel. It's supposed to be quite a tough species which doesn't need pesticides, grows naturally and when sourced for the seed filling, it can protect these trees from harvesting for lumber instead. Apart from higher price, kapok inserts seem to be the best choice I found so far.

Number six: Buckwheat hulls
While buckwheat is a delicious source of carbohydrates, its hulls can be poured in a bag and turned into a pillow. The only downside is that pillows with such filling obviously don't hold the puff shape we expect from sofa pillow, they rather form unusual alternatives to bean bags, which are great for sensory needs and actually makes great sleeping pillows too.
You may just rather avoid it for your sofa pillows and try buckwheat hulls in your bed pillows instead.

plant based pillow fillings magicful home

Now I owe you also an explanation, why do we sell only pillow covers, without insert, when I may now look like a pillow expert (which I'm not =)
Simply there are so many options and everyone can have different idea, we couldn't cater for everyone. And from the eco-way. We do not manufacture nor stock pillow inserts, they would need to be send to us, then sent to you. Probably from the same manufacturer at the end. That seems like a waste of CO2 for all the extra transport. Sending only one small package with pillow cover looks more eco-friendly. Getting a suitable insert for our pillows should be now, once I showed you a variety of options, very easy for you.

The conclusion is: The best idea is to stay in line with RRR(RR) - reduce, reuse, recycle (and also recover and repair).

And if you are still unsure, please drop me a line, I'd be happy to give you additional advice on how to stay eco-friendly and yet comfy when it comes to pillows!

Hi, it's Veronika, your vegan friend and content creator of Veronika Honestly (no, not my surname).
I'm mathemagician (making money as maths tutor! ?), a bit of an artist (well, trying to get back to art) and also animal and adventure lover.
Get to know me on my About page and make sure you sign up for my newsletter to get my free printable greeting cards for vegans I made for everyone to use and spread the vegan word!

See you around and on my social media - stay in touch!

Thank you for reading this whole article =) I have a few things to mention here:

Firstly, if not already mentioned in the article, I would like you to know about my Honest Language Disclaimer (no, it's not about profanity) - in case you were wondering why my English is so weird and not Oxford-dictionary perfect (whose English is, anyway...)

Secondly, my post may contain affiliate links. Namely Etsy and Amazon links. If you click through and buy anything there, I will get a small commission, so you are basically helping me to reach the goals, to raise funds for animals sanctuaries. All of that at no extra cost to you or the seller. It's a win-win =)

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