It is difficult at this point to understand the potential magnitude of the news Westin Hotels & Resorts made this past week, but it could be huge for not only the lodging industry but other industries as well. Be sure to read this entire column and you will understand why. First, to the news. Westin announced the launch of Project Rise: ThreadForward, a sustainability program that collects, processes and reweaves hotel bed linens—transforming them into thousands of pairs of children’s pajamas. The first-of-its-kind, “upcycled” pajamas will be distributed to children in need in cities around the world. Also, guests will be encouraged to purchase a pair of pajamas on westinstore.com to benefit the program.
The pajamas project is a perfect example of what can happen quickly when the right team is put together. The germ of the idea for the pajamas came from Carolyn Thoroski, Housekeeping Director at Westin Trillium House, Blue Mountain, in Blue Mountains, Ontario. Last year Westin introduced a global campaign called Let’s Rise. As part of the campaign, Westin looked to its associates for an idea to empower the communities in which they live and work. More than 325 associates from around the world submitted ideas; Thoroski encouraged the brand to repurpose discarded bed linens that often don’t have a centralized recycling process or recipient.
Finding a solution to bed linen waste is crucial. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, an estimated 15 million tons of textiles are thrown away annually in the United States alone, 11 million of this goes directly to landfills. This has extremely negative effects on the environment. Decomposing linens release methane, a harmful greenhouse gas into the air. In addition, the chemicals and dyes used in the linens can leach into the soil and pollute the groundwaters near landfills.
Pajamas a Difficult Product to Produce
Once Westin had the “linens to PJs” idea, they needed to find an organization with experience in upcycling. They turned to soap recycling expert Clean the World and its Founder and CEO Shawn Seipler for advice. “Westin contacted us and asked what we thought of this. We thought it was an awesome idea but tough to do. PJs are a tough product to create and manufacture. We said we could do it.”
Not having the textiles expertise needed for the project, Clean the World turned to Divergent Energy, a company established to help businesses find solutions to divert their waste streams into revenue producing opportunities. Divergent Energy, along with some other companies and organizations, figured out the fine process of chopping and shredding linens so that the resulting cotton and polyester fibers could be spun into thread and woven into pajamas.
In just five months, 50 Westin hotels around the world submitted approximately 30,000 pounds of bed linens to be sorted, broken down and reweaved into new material.
“It was challenging to get the PJs soft and something kids would really enjoy wearing,” Seipler says. Clothier Design Source, St. Paul, Minn., manufactures the pajamas.
Designed in Westin’s signature color palette, zest, mint and flax (grey), the pajamas feature a whimsical illustration of a child rising over a moon with a book—a nod to a better sleep empowering a better day—and will be created in sizes 2-8. With Delivering Good and their network of community partners, Westin and Clean the World will begin donating the first 1,500 pajamas next month to children in need, who are most prone to suffer sleep anxieties, in markets around the world.
PJs Help Establish a Routine
The connection between PJs and quality sleep for kids is strong. “The majority of children are sleep deprived and that has an impact on life expectancy,” Seipler says. “PJs can help set the routine for a child.”
“Sleep continues to be the foundation of well-being,” said Charles Morin, PhD, President of World Sleep Society, in the press release issued by Westin about Project Rise: ThreadForward. “But despite this, one-third of all adults and most children are not getting enough sleep. Research suggests that, particularly for children, creating and preserving bedtime routines leads to more restorative sleep, which in turn improves physical and emotional well-being.”
Now here’s the big news: Now that Clean the World has the technology and processes in place to upcycle linens, it can begin expanding linen upcycling beyond Westin and potentially to the entire global hospitality industry. Clean the World knows what it takes to build a global collection process for soap and amenities; it can now do the same for linens. Hold off on sending your linens to Clean the World—unless you are part of the Westin program. They are still working on the details of a more industry-wide program. Expect there to be a reasonable fee involved, just as there is with soap.
With less than 1 percent of all linens recycled, the news out of Westin and Clean the World this past week was exciting and yet another example of hospitality taking the lead on a global problem. Consider the potential for hospital linens, nursing homes, prisons…the list goes on.
A “trash to treasure” scenario, Clean the World’s Seipler told me. Indeed.
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