Did you know that 90% of the mattresses sold in Europe today are totally synthetic? And that polyurethane mattresses, once their life cycle is over, cannot be recycled in any way? It seems impossible, yet our home environments are often more polluted than those outside. This must have been on Davide Ballotta and Antoine Loredo’s minds when they founded Kipli in 2018, which produces and sells 100% natural home products online.
Natural latex
Kipli was established in 2018 when Davide Ballotta, born in 1985, decided to start a business in the wake of family tradition. After graduating in engineering and spending some time in Paris, he took up and enhanced his uncle Mario’s idea of producing mattresses with natural latex, a material derived from a tree, the Hevea Brasilensis.
Natural latex has several advantages: it guarantees maximum breathability and lasts twice as long as its acrylic competitor, polyurethane (15 years versus 7). Moreover, at the end of its use cycle, the mattress is entirely biodegradable, thus reducing its impact on the environment.
Health at home…
‘We spend a third of our lives sleeping; the mattress is perhaps the thing we use the most, but strangely enough, in 90% of cases, we ignore its composition and materials.‘ So says the company’s website, and it is hard to say otherwise, given that the focus on people’s health is mainly on food. And yet, things are changing if it is true that in 2020, during the pandemic, perhaps due to the long time spent at home, Kipli doubled its turnover, closing the year at 10 million euros.
… and a cleaner environment
Kipli mattresses are produced in a factory in Caronno Pertusella, Lombardy, one of the few in Europe capable of producing mattresses in natural latex. The production of this type of mattress is, in fact, more complex than that of a traditional mattress, and few factories are able to guarantee it.
However, according to the parameters of Ademe (Agence de l’Environnement et de la Maîtrise de l’Energie), the environmental impact of a Kipli mattress is approximately 22% lower than that of a conventional mattress throughout its entire life cycle, from the extraction of raw materials to disposal.
Not just e-commerce
Today, Kipli is a leader in the online sale of natural latex mattresses marketed in six European countries (Italy, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, and Switzerland) at an affordable price and without intermediaries. In addition, there are two stores in Paris and Lyon, and a physical presence is also planned in Italy in the near future. Kipli, which in its first three years of life has reached a turnover of over ten million euros and has 23 employees, aims to position itself as a point of reference for natural furniture, also offering sofas and handcrafted beds in solid wood.
Congratulations to those who respect the environment and bring Italy to the world!
Discover other outstanding companies in Lombardy.