Musician will.i.am, W Hotels and Coca-Cola are getting into bed together for a new collaboration to roll out eco-friendly EKOCYCLE sheets at W properties around the globe. The trio launched the new initiative at the W New York last night with a sheetastic soirée showcasing the bed coverings, which are made using a type of polyester that contains recycled plastic bottles. According to EKOCYCLE, each one of the king-size sheet sets is made with approximately 31 recycled 20 oz. plastic bottles – that’s more than 268,000 bottles across all W Hotel beds in North America.
“The EKOCYCLE brand mission is to excite and inspire people around the idea that waste can be valuable and create new, desirable products,” said Bea Perez, Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer at The Coca-Cola Company. “Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has been a like-minded innovator of sustainable solutions and longtime partner of Coca-Cola. We’re delighted that W Hotels is joining the EKOCYCLE movement and providing hotel guests worldwide with the opportunity to experience sustainable luxury with EKOCYCLE brand sheets.”
W Hotels plans to begin its sheet swap-out at its North American properties before taking the change global. The EKOCYCLE sheets are made out of a material called rPET (recycled polyethylene terephtalate), and contain a minimum of 30% recycled plastic. The eco-bedding is just as comfy as regular sheets (we tried them out ourselves at the event’s Bosco photo booth), and EKOCYCLE also says the material is more durable and can save money since they can be washed up to 100 times more than the hotels’ current sheets.
But the sheets aren’t the only thing W Hotels is changing. They’ll also be equipping the nightstands in their rooms with the colorful “Mobile Charger and Accessory Valet” (MCAV), an all-in-one USB charging device, valet, night light and alarm clock that is also made of recycled bottles. The multi-tasking gadegts are designed by Taipei-based firm Miniwiz, and will be available in gold, red, hot pink, black, white and silver.
“I am very excited to bring the EKOCYCLE movement to W Hotel guests around the world,” said will.i.am. “When it comes to finding partners for the EKOCYCLE™ initiative, Coca-Cola and I want to work with those who understand our message: that being more sustainable can be stylish. The new EKOCYCLE sheets and chargers that will now be at W are further proof that we can transform so much of the way we live through more sustainable, recycled materials.”
W Hotels is also making it easy for guests who enjoy their EKOCYCLE sheets and chargers to take them home with them by purchasing them at the W Hotels store in the near future.
Lead image: The Bosco. All other images ©Yuka Yoneda.
