Frequently Asked Questions

Our pillow fabric is 100% plant-based: made from USDA Certified Organic Texas-grown cotton.  

Our fill is made right here in the USA too from recycled BPA-free plastic water bottles.  It's hypoallergenic, eco-friendly and sustainably made.

 

There are several reasons for this, most significantly is the large volume of water, energy and chemicals required to grow and process cotton woven fabrics compared to the low-inputs necessary for making a jersey knit.  Additionally, the jersey knit is super soft, breathable, cool and more form-fitting on a pillow.  In summary, it's simply a more scrumptious and sustainable fabric.

No, it actually doesn't.  Our 100% cotton knit has excellent breathability which is what helps make it superb at staying cool. This is also why, when it's hot in the summer, we reach for a cotton t-shirt over a woven (even short sleeve) woven button down.

All of our products are made-to-order and usually ship within 3 - 5 business days. Estimated carrier shipping times listed at checkout are in addition to that. If you need your order sooner, please make a note at checkout or email us and we will be glad to move you to the head of the queue.

NOTE: Due to our rural location, actual carrier expedited shipping is not available.

We do ship internationally to most countries with DHL.  We do not, however, know how much duties and taxes may be at the recipient's end.  That value is assessed in-country and not available to us.  The shipping rate you see is the exact calculated rate from the Carrier.

NOTE: As of September 2021, we will no longer be shipping to Canada due to continued issues issues at Customs.  Many of our shipments are being returned to us by Customs officials with no explanation given so until we can work out the issue, we aren't going to be able to fulfill any orders to our dear Canadian neighbors.

UPDATE 6/28/2023: We tested the above Canada issue with a selected customer and once again the shipment was unable to be delivered due to Customs.

 

We are pretty flexible with our return policy.  Officially it's 90 days but we are willing to work with you any way we can if it's over that and you have a special need. Do please contact us first however before you return something.  Getting a pillow or case in the mail without some prior notification is a bit maddening. 

Once an item is received, you can expect the refund to be issued within 1 - 2 business days.  We will also send a confirmation email of receipt of the item and then one of the refund itself.

Exchanges are treated as returns/refunds. Then you are welcome to reorder at your convenience.  

We cover return shipping charges if you paid for outbound shipping.  If the order originally received free shipping, then return shipping is your responsibility.  Of course, if there was an error on our side, then we will cover both ways.

For self-serve returns within the 90-day period, sign in to your account here.

We cover return shipping charges if you paid for outbound shipping.  If you chose our free shipping option at checkout, then return shipping is your responsibility.  It boils down to this: we will pay one way and you pay the other.

We can also provide you with a return label to use (using our discount with the the Post Office and UPS) which we will then deduct from your refund.  Of course, you are more than welcome to shop around with other carriers, if you prefer.

Using any detergent, machine wash on cold.  No need to wash on warm or hot.  Modern detergents work equally, if not better, on cold.  Hot temperatures can also cause some residual shrinkage of the 100% cotton we use.   The same rule applies for machine-drying: choose a low or medium setting for best results.     

Adding a couple of tennis balls or dryer balls to your dryer will help loosen the fill and allow it to dry faster and more evenly. 

Once out of the dryer, reshape the pillow by grabbing two corners and vigorously thumping it; repeat with the opposite corners.  Roll or knead to finish the fluffing and reshaping. 

• Baby's First Pillow (10x16) 18 - 24 Months
• Toddler Pillow (13x18)  2 - 4 Years
• Child Pillow (16x22) 4 - 6 Years
• Youth Pillow (18x24) 6 - 12 Years
• Standard Pillow (20x26) 12 & Up
• Queen Pillow (20x30) 12 & Up

Pediatricians recommend starting your child on a pillow around 18 months.  Of course, there may be some exceptions to this rule, so it is always best to consult your own pediatrician first.

The point of a pillow of course is comfort and support.  There are some children who may begin needing some nighttime lift as early as 14 months and then others who won't feel comfortable with added support until later.  Your child can be the best indicator of their needs so be flexible.  Many will let you know they are ready for a pillow by sleeping on their arm or a blanket. 

Also know that a pillow may not be necessary all night in the beginning.  Some parents have asked us if there is a problem because their child may be off the pillow by morning, wondering if the pillow is too high or too small.  It is quite normal for children not to need it all night.  

Given the rate at which children grow, it is important to provide pillows that match this growth.  Just as you wouldn’t dream of letting your child wear shoes too small or too big, the correct size pillow is equally essential.  After all, most young children will spend at least 10 hours out of 24 sleeping, a time during which they are also growing, so making sure they have the correct head and neck support is paramount!  The following is a recommend age and pillow list:

• Baby's First Pillow (10x16) 18 - 24 Months
• Toddler Pillow (13x18)  2 - 4 Years
• Child Pillow (16x22) 4 - 6 Years
• Youth Pillow (18x24) 6 - 12 Years
• Standard Pillow (20x26) 12 & Up
• Queen Pillow (20x30) 12 & Up

 

The style of pillowcase closure we use is the inner pocket style (or flap style), which combines the insertion ease of the open-ended style (but with no more exposed pillow) and the neatness and security of the fully enclosed envelope style (without the strain on the seams).

Simply insert the pillow at the open end and once fully inside the case, pull the internal pocket around the end of the pillow.

A 13" x 18" low-loft pillow is the recommended size for toddlers 2 - 4 years.  Although that may look small from an adult's point of view, or on a bed, remember the important factor is the comfort and support of your precious child; not the decor.  If you want pillows to fit the bed or the bedding that came with your sheet set, by all means use them during the day and give your child the appropriate size pillow for sleeping at night.

An additional advantage to our Toddler Pillow is that it comes with the ability to adjust the loft, or height, of the pillow.  This is a vital accommodation as that age grows so rapidly.  An invisible zipper on one end allows you to customize the support as your child grows.  You simply take out some fill to make it lower for the younger toddler and add more back for the older. 

In addition to the orthopedic reason behind a small low-profile pillow, the smaller dimension often encourages a restless child to move less during the night.  Many parents are surprised, but pleased, at finding that their toddlers are more stationary as they learn to stay on the pillow while sleeping.  Be aware though, every child is different and will adjust at different rates to a new pillow.  Many in the early months may not even use a pillow the entre night, preferring to come on and off of it as feels most comfortable to them. 

Our Fabrics:

The fabric we use for our pillow covers and pillowcases start in the cotton fields right here in the USA. The farmer that grows the cotton we use is from Texas and has been USDA Certified Organic since 1992.  The cotton then moves to the processing stage (ginning, spinning, knitting, finishing), which is also USA-regionally local to us.

Our Fill:

The BPA-free water bottles from which our stuffing is made are collected from recycling bins all over the USA before being cleaned, chipped, extruded and finally clustered into our 100% eco-friendly Flex-Fill....just down the road in the Carolinas.

Bits and Bobs:

Our zippers and thread originate in the Peach State.  We love knowing that our efforts to keep our transportation and carbon-footprint small are proving successful and we continue to shrink that radius with new, local sources for sustainable packaging.

Sewing & Shipping:

All of the above pillow and pillowcase components arrive here in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia where our business headquarters and sewing facility happily reside under one roof.  Our Team is made of local people who gather together to cut-out and sew and iron and fluff and package and discuss the goings-on in the world.  And if a little gossip creeps into the conversation from time to time, well, we are only human after all.

 

 

 

 

 

Flex-Fill is a clustered polyester fiber made from 100% recycled BPA-free plastic water bottles (aka RPET), similar to the ones used in recycled food containers, garments, fabrics such as fleece, and even shoes.  The bottles are first sanitized, labels removed and then ground into pellets which are then mechanically processed into long threads.  From that point, the shorten strands are tumbled in a machine which forms the unique tiny clusters that give our pillows such wonderful support and squishiness.   

DID YOU KNOW: These plastic bottles are made from a PET resin.  PET is a biologically inert material that doesn't react with foods or beverages and is resistant to attack by micro-organisms. It's been thoroughly reviewed and approved as safe for contact with foods and drinks by the FDA, Health Canada, the European Food Safety Authority and other health-safety agencies. It has also been used by consumers around the world for more than 30 years without any known adverse effects. Extensive testing of PET and PET packaging has repeatedly shown it to be safe. PET itself is biologically inert if ingested. (Source: PETResin.org)

When you buy one of our pillows, you can feel good knowing that you are helping keep numerous homeless plastic bottles out of our oceans and landfills.  For example: It takes 39 plastic bottles to make just one of our standard size pillows.

Our fill is made from RPET, aka Recycled PET, aka Recycled PolyEthylene Terephthalate which is a form of polyester similar to the clothing fabric. PET contains NO (and never has contained) BPA.  Nor does it contain phthalates or endocrine disruptors.

"PET has been approved as safe for contact with foodstuffs and beverages by the FDA, Health Canada, the European Food Safety Authority and virtually every other health-safety agency in the world. It has been used for food and beverage containers for decades without any known adverse effects. Extensive studies of PET and PET packaging have repeatedly shown it to be safe."  Source: petresin.org

For more information on the nitty-gritty of PET, click here.