6 Reasons Why our Wool Duvets are Award Winners

At Devon Duvets we’ve been committed to helping people to sleep better for nearly two decades. We’re pioneers in designing and individually handcrafting luxurious, 100% British made, 100% British wool filled duvets – and we’ve been winning awards in recognition of this from national organisations and media publications, year after year. We believe that bedding should enhance your sleep, as naturally as possible.

Not only that, but we also believe that customer service isn’t only about selling a product but talking to customers about their requirements to help them find the product, or combination of products, that are best for them. So, we’re equally proud to be Feefo Platinum award winners for our customer service.

Here are the top 6 reasons that make us award winners:

1. The Sleep Experience

It’s only natural that you would want sleep that’s restful and restorative; where your bedding works with you to keep your core body temperature balanced throughout the night and minimises the chances of you waking up feeling too hot or too cold. That’s why wool makes such fantastic bedding. It does exactly that, by being breathable and moisture wicking, which helps with temperature regulation and puts it ahead of game when compared with synthetic or feather duvets, which can insulate by trapping heat - but can’t release it if you become too hot.

Wool is also naturally resistant to dust mites and micro bacteria and that makes it more hygienic too, as well as being a great option for those that suffer from asthma due to dust mite allergens.

2. Innovation in design

The design of our products harnesses the wonderful softness and benefits of wool and creates a luxurious sleep environment. For example, at the start of the Devon Duvets journey in 2008, our founders and owners, Dick and Pauline, discovered that a duvet with less stitching was more likely to drape better. This isn’t possible with synthetic fibres or feathers, as these are loose fillings, requiring box stitching in the casing to keep them in place.

With wool came the realisation that it could be needled into soft, air-filled layers that could be stitched into the casing. It meant that stitching only needed to run one way (top to bottom) therefore allowing the duvet to retain loft, be more flexible and drape better. The other advantage of having the wool layer stitched into the casing, rather than having a box stitched casing with loose filling inside, was that our wool duvets didn’t need to be shaken every morning to redistribute the filling.

3. The art of craftsmanship

Each duvet is individually handcrafted by our experienced seamstresses in our workshops on the edge of Dartmoor. We don’t prefabricate on large roller machines and then ‘hand finish’, our products are authentically individually handcrafted with high quality materials from start to finish. It takes an experienced hand and eye to get the right tensions in the stitching, the right lines of stitching for the best duvet drape to create a sleep environment that is cossetting and comforting.

In addition to making standard UK sizes, as each item is handcrafted by us, this allows us to create custom made options for special sized beds. Once our customer lets us know their requirements, all the team need do is walk a few metres and have a discussion with our head seamstress as to how it can be done.

This dedication to true craftsmanship and quality has led to us being awarded coveted membership of the Guild of Master Craftsmen – an association of artisans and tradespeople who undertake their craft or trade. Currently the only soft bedding company that has achieved it, membership is not automatically granted but follows a rigorous assessment by the Guild to ensure you match their values.

4. Responsible, sustainable, ethical and chemical-free

We believe that our bedding should create the most natural sleep environment as possible for you. That also means ensuring that the processes behind making our products are such that we minimise any harmful impact on our environment. This is one of the founding pillars of Devon Duvets and goes right back to before we even started making products, when we ensured we would only work with suppliers who were as equally committed to this ethos.

Our wool is sheared in the traditional way, from live sheep, owned by local British farmers who we know adhere to the highest standards of animal husbandry. All our wool is certified by British Wool as traceable 100% British wool and our farmers get a higher than market value price for their fleeces. Wool is a truly sustainable fibre, as the sheep regrow their fleeces in time for the winter. Our wool is thoroughly washed in British mills, and we do not use chemicals at any stage of this process.

Our cotton fabrics are woven to our strict specifications and are made from cotton fibres certified by Better Cotton, a global initiative that promotes more environmentally friendly cotton farming and supports fairer socio-economic working practices in the cotton growing communities.

When it comes to packaging, we’ve worked hard to ensure it’s as sustainable as possible – whether that’s the individually made, hand block printed cotton calico bag that comes with each product and can be used for storage or a laundry bag, the recyclable hygiene packaging, or the outer shipping packaging made locally for us, using cardboard from FSC sources.

Where others see wool and cotton fabric roll ends or scrap wool as ‘waste’, we see it as an opportunity to support a circular economy. We hand fluff our wool roll ends to create smaller products and use any scrap wool for composting. Cotton roll ends are used to make our smaller sized products. Furthermore, because our products are made with natural, chemical-free materials, when the time comes to eventually replace them, they will biodegrade, releasing nutrients into the environment.

We undergo voluntary ethical auditing with SEDEX, which covers every aspect of our business, from sourcing to packaging.

5. British Made

It’s good to know where something as important as your bedding is made. All our duvets, toppers and pillows are made in our Devon workshops, so by purchasing one of our products means less air miles, a lower carbon footprint, and energy efficient production as we are managing our operations from start to finish.

You can also be confident in the the knowledge that your bedding is being made by a company that values its staff and adheres strictly to British rules and regulations that ensure an ethical work environment.

We are members of Made in Britain, an organisation that promotes and supports British manufacturing. It has a strong focus on sustainable and responsible business practices within the British manufacturing industry and provides a registered trademark to members, which is recognised domestically and internationally. Devon Duvets has been Highly Commended for its sustainability in the Made in Britain Sustainability Awards.

6. Customer service

As Feefo Platinum award winners, we’ve had to consistently prove over several years that our customer service goes above and beyond – from pre-sales to sales and from delivery to aftercare. We know that everyone is different and that some customers like the reassurance of being able to speak to a ‘real’ person about their unique sleep requirements, rather than going straight to ordering online.

We listen to our customers and ask them questions to help guide them towards making the right choice to create their sleep environment – and can then take orders over the telephone if the customer prefers this option. We value feedback from our customers as this helps us to ensure we are always striving to achieve our high standards – and improving on anything that needs improving.

For more information about our 100% British wool duvets – or any of our natural and sustainable bedding ranges - please visit our website. If you have any questions, then don’t hesitate to contact the team by calling 01752 345399 or via email.