In the next part of our ongoing sustainable series, CSIL shares its study on sustainability across the EU mattress and upholstered furniture value chain. Alessandra Tracogna, CSIL Senior Researcher, explains more.
In 2025, CSIL conducted a comprehensive analysis examining sustainability in the European mattress and upholstered furniture industries, as well as their supply chains. The study was commissioned by the European Association of Flexible Polyurethane Foam Blocks Manufacturers (EUROPUR) and the European Bedding Industries’ Association (EBIA).
The report aimed to provide informative content as a foundation for policy discussions between the associations and the European Commission, within the framework of the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR). The research was based on a literature review and extensive fieldwork, conducted through structured and semistructured interviews with one hundred sector stakeholders along the entire value chain.
The mattress and upholstered furniture industries rely on several supply chains; their material mix is broad and includes plastics, metals, textiles, leather, wood, and chemicals (glues, additives, etc). The selection and combination of materials and components in product design is typically driven by the need to strike a balance between aesthetic appeal and functional performance, between comfort attributes (e.g., softness, resilience) and support features (e.g., stability, firmness), as well as between quality and cost. What emerged in the study is that the role of sustainability in this matrix of criteria is gradually growing.
Around half of the sampled mattress and upholstered furniture manufacturers interviewed by CSIL stated that sustainability is becoming an important decision-making criterion in the choice of materials. Nevertheless, what is precisely a “sustainable material”? Interestingly, no unique and shared definition emerged, and different specific solutions are prioritised. That said, bio-based content, recycled content and recyclability at the end of life emerge as key attributes in defining sustainable materials along the value chain. During the interviews, product durability also emerged as a recurring theme.
A FOCUS ON POLYURETHANE FOAM
In the study, special attention was devoted to analysing the range of sustainable solutions available within the polyurethane sector. Despite at present the majority of the PU foam used in the EU remains of virgin and fossil origin, most PU foamers interviewed by CSIL declared to be expanding “sustainable foams” in the portfolio, including bio-based PU foam (for example made from soy, castor oil, rapeseed, etc.); (bio)-circular/mass balanced PU foam (for example made from cooking oil, forest waste or other feedstock other than PU foam); closed-loop recycled PU foam (for example Repolyol from post-industrial and post-consumption recycled PU foam); rebonded PU foam (mechanically recycled from postindustrial and post-consumption PU foam).
In most cases, the existing price differential between sustainable options and conventional PU foam emerges as one of the main obstacles to the adoption of these solutions. Still, CSIL study forecasts that the market share of the mentioned PU foam sustainable options will grow in the next 5 years.
THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE OF SUSTAINABILITY
CSIL analysis showed that sustainability is already reshaping the mattress and upholstered furniture value chain. This analysis, however, also highlights the complexity of the transition, which is shaped by the heterogeneity of the actors involved.
Companies across the value chain expect policy to play a central role in supporting the achievement of sustainability goals, above all by providing regulatory clarity and harmonisation. This was the most frequently cited support expected, even before financial support. The expectation is that policymakers should enable the transition from a linear to a circular economy by setting clear priorities.
Upstream the value chain, where investments in developing new solutions and technologies may require enormous resources, regulatory clarity is even more critical. Additionally, it was noted that the regulatory context should establish a level playing field for environmental specifications on imports to prevent market distortion.
It is expected that upcoming regulations, most notably the ESPR, will mark a crucial step, providing clarity, common objectives, and coherent pathways toward reducing emissions, waste and fossil feedstock dependence.
