Glossary

Satin is a noble fabric (in atlas binding), where the weft thread (cross-thread) only tunnels under every 4th - 5th warp thread. This results in smooth surfaces (bottom warp, top weft) with good elasticity. Satin is the first choice as a cover material for mattresses in the corresponding weight/quality class; cover variant 'F' in all Ergo mattresses.

Sanforizing (also known as shrinking) is a mechanical process in which cotton fabric is prepared for washing so that it does not shrink. The term goes back to the inventor Sanford L. Cluett, who developed the technique in the 1920s.

The choice of mattress size is an individual decision and depends on your sleeping habits. Almost all products are available in almost any width and length, up to max. 200 x 240 cm.
For the length, we recommend body height plus 20 cm. We recommend a width of 100 - 140 cm for people sleeping alone. Young couples are usually happy with a width of 140 cm, otherwise, 160 - 180 cm is usually a sufficient width for a good, shared sleep.
By the way: With increasing width, the mattress cover loses its elasticity. This means that smaller mattresses of the respective "design" are firmer than the larger ones.

A healthy sleeping climate is characterized by cool (17 °C) and oxygen-rich, relatively dry (55%) air; a bed made of natural materials with high climatic activity makes a good contribution to this.
Further information and advice are available from us or on the internet, under the key word building biology; here you can find an info page from "Das Haus".

Sleep takes place in different phases, which can be illustrated by different brain frequencies.
Sleep takes place in different phases, which can be illustrated by different brain frequencies. It begins with the so-called alpha-phase (meditative phase), here the brain has reached an oscillation frequency of about 13 Hz and we are in transition to light sleep, from there it goes quickly into a deep sleep and below 4 Hz, in between REM phases again and again, at the beginning of the night more deep sleep (1-2 hours), later more and more REM (1-2 hours), most of the time light sleep (3-4 hours).
At night, or when the body is at rest, the glands secrete large amounts of growth hormones, which are responsible for cellular regeneration. These glands can work best during sleep since most organs are less active.
During deep sleep, an important part of these vital and life-energy-creating processes takes place.
Well-being to the one who is bedded in such a way that it can take place, whose sleeping pad is so stable and elastic that the body can hold a secure position and also move without having to activate the whole muscle apparatus.
Movement occurs mainly in the REM phase, when jumpy moments of the day are discharged and, of course, in light sleep, so that all parts of the body remain in the various positions in a balanced way and the fluids can flow in a balanced way. 30 - 60 movements take place on average during the natural sleep process; here too, the base needs to be well elastic.
Just as interesting as unexplored is the Alpha Phase, the gateway to sleep, during which we can also float between consciousness and subconsciousness and make contact with others in an energetic way. It is also what characterizes the newly discovered short sleep during the day. This is only a very brief outline of a very complex process that we humans are still far from understanding - so far there are only a number of hypotheses about the meaning and function of the institution of sleep. The only thing that is certain is that it is indispensable for the Homo Sapiens and preferably takes place in the dark because we then produce more melatonin, the body's own sleeping pill.

Made of the whole wood, as opposed to laminated wood, plywood, multiplex, MDF, or chipboard; stick-glued wood is also considered solid wood.
Here is a well-designed carpenter info page with lots of wood science.

Sweating is a state of overheating in which the skin releases moisture to cool down by means of evaporative cooling, which works well if there is enough air around us. Under a blanket, however, which does not let the moisture escape satisfactorily, it comes to congestion, so that the moisture hinders the skin breathing, which wakes us up or causes twilight sleep, which is not enough for recovery ... continue reading the article natural hair duvets.

It is a difficult topic, and there are many stories and anecdotes about it. At this point, we would just like to explain why we do not emphasize test products and certificates.
As far as the area of tests/product testing or tested products is concerned, there are — as everyone knows — two organizations that have mastered this topic, Stiftung Warentest, a semi-governmental institution, which is credible in theory, due to its status, but whose test results are nevertheless only partially reliable, as one basically tries to keep the companies indemnified.
In the field of mattress tests, it is noticeable that the test criteria are sometimes so lax, that even really lousy products still score fairly well. Consumers looking for quality do not have any useful help in making a decision. Instead, the significantly larger group of "savings buyers" is approached, inferior products are evaluated in a separate group with simple test parameters, thus encouraging a decline in quality.
The other institution 'Ökotest' is a private publishing house and cannot guarantee the safe separation of advertising customers and test aspirants.
There are conclusive, reliable tests/test results from both sides, as well as those that require a lot of humor ... as long as you are not affected.
For example, in the field of natural mattresses, there are cases where one competitor who uses the same QuL-certified materials as others, was given a lower grade because different results were obtained in that batch of materials. It also could have been the other way around and in each case, it is clearly noticeable for the one with the lower grade, and consumers feel uncertain. Also one measures with double measure, with Ökotest a fully synthetic (and miserable in price/performance) Tempur mattress is found to be ' good' in the 2nd attempt (after 'sufficient' in the 1st test) (Stiftung Warentest: 'unsatisfactory'), while natural mattresses are immediately devalued, if they contain synthetic material shares. This is not comprehensible.
It is known from both Stiftung Warentest and Ökotest that products from certain manufacturers are preferred in the respective test, while other, equally relevant products do not appear. So if manufacturers do not do the appropriate 'lobby work', they have a reduced chance of being included.
The conclusion is that the test is too much of a marketing tool that is fought over by the industry but often does not offer quality-oriented consumers satisfactory support, especially since quality products often come from small manufacturers and - due to their low market significance - do not even appear in the test.
With time, we have gained enough experience with tests and test results from Stiftung Warentest and Ökotest (mainly positive ones) to make the decision not to work with the marketing instrument 'test result'.
We commit ourselves to remain true to our basic ethical rules and to achieve the quality goals that we are fundamentally striving for. And we want to present our information and statements, both written and oral, in such a way that every consumer can easily understand and comprehend them.
It is a similar matter to the certificates.
The certification criteria are often unclear to the consumer and it requires trust in the respective certification agency.
Products or manufacturers who receive a certificate from an organization must fulfill certain conditions for this purpose, but compliance with these conditions is not necessarily checked (or is not necessarily verifiable), but it is assumed that they are met. Thus, in the end, one must trust a company again. In effect, a certificate is also just a marketing tool.
If, for example, the certification of organic cotton is guaranteed by the fact that the manufacturer/processor sends a sample to a test laboratory once a year, you will ultimately trust this manufacturer/processor. If a textile product is decorated with an eco-label indicating that it has been tested for 200 harmful substances, it makes a good impression and lures us to purchase it. However, it is just as hard to tell whether it has been produced in a questionable way somewhere in Central Asia, as it is to tell whether it really comes from a certified organic farm because many conventional products also pass several tests for harmful substances. Also one must know, which test parameters are used and how much sense it makes.
There are also many examples and stories here that ultimately make it clear that it's all about trust, and we want to build this up through the greatest possible degree of openness in product presentation and consulting, rather than through a seal.
In order to make this clear, it should be mentioned that the author and founder of Futonwerk co-founded and built up the QuL, but turned away from this association due to an indifferent ethical attitude — in an already small circle of members — and corresponding courses of action. Today we are still a member of the IVN - the mother association of the GOTS.