I'm going to get letters for this.  It's just a given.

There is a company that basically works to control the bedding industry in the United States.  In fact, I would bet somewhere over 80% of all bedrooms in this country have some componant or piece of a bed or something made by this company, or one of its divisions.  This company is Leggett and Platt.

Just writing that has probably triggered one of their search worms and I'm sure this will show up on some corporate lawyer's monitor shortly after this gets posted, but someone needs to write it and I may as well be the one.

Let's forget, for a moment, that this company is trying to control the innerpsring business in the United States by restricting imports, undercutting the price of other domestic producers and ultimately buying them out.  In fact, this is pretty much what they do to most mainstream mattress suppliers.

So what has me so uptight?  Well, it was released today to the industry that Leggett and Platt is now going to head a new "Sustainability Council" for the International Sleep Products Association (ISPA).  Now, I ask you, what would a massive conglomerate interested in controling the mattress industry in the United States have to do with sustainablility?

The answer is absolutely nothing.  In fact, the answer is basically that "sustainability" to Leggett and Platt means that they can sustain their growth into more segments of the domestic mattress industry.

To be fair, many of our very best manufacturers of organic and natural mattresses use componants made by Leggett.  In fact, it is nearly impossible for someone to manufacture beds in America to do so without buying from them.

What has made me incredibly upset about this is that this company really does not know the first thing about sustainable practices.  If ISPA truly, REALLY wanted to have a credible sustainability council, they would ask Natura, Sleeptek, the Carwile brothers at Natural Bedroom, Angela Owen at Suite Sleep or any of the other upstanding manufacturers of bedding products that TRULY are sustainably produced and are, in fact, knowledgable about these practices and can take them to the broader industry.

For ISPA to sit there and blindly put together a council on sustainability and parade Leggett and Platt as the industry leader is quite honestly insulting to everything we in this segment of the industry hold as truth and honesty.  It seems that ISPA wants Leggett, a cash cow for the organization who they had to get on bended knee to come back to them just a few years ago, to put together the "Greatest Show for Earth" on behalf of an organization who saw the addition of mounds of chemical and synthetic laden flame barriers as a huge "opportunity." 

I'm sorry, I for one do not buy it.  Next time I go to the ISPA show, my name badge - which already says "Non-Member" - is going to have two words added after that:  "And Proud!"