Louisa Pearson: ‘Are the geese and ducks happy about being plucked? Is hollow fibre a by-product of the oil industry?’

THERE’S a crick in my neck. It appears overnight and in the morning leads to me doing those side-to-side neck rolls that 100m runners do when they’re getting psyched up and waiting for “on your marks”.

The key difference being that they don’t have screwed-up, pillow-creased faces. OK, so they actually have better physiques than me but I’m trying to be body-positive. I need a new pillow. Mr Green needs a new pillow. Our year-old hollowfibre ones have let us down badly.

If you have ever Googled ‘orthopaedic pillow’ you will understand that such a search takes the pain from the neck up into the head. There is a baffling array of choices, from whole-body ones for pregnant ladies to the little ones you can use in a futile attempt to sleep on an aeroplane. Of course, it wasn’t long before the angel on my shoulder started whispering about the green credentials of these pillows. Are the geese and ducks happy about being plucked? Is hollowfibre a by-product of the oil industry? Sweet dreams are clearly a long way off.

Let’s start with goose and duck down and feather-filled pillows. The raw materials are a by-product of the meat industry (and there was me thinking the ducks waddled into a hairdresser’s and were given a quick brush over to remove any loose down before heading out to a nearby pond). In some countries (namely Asia and eastern Europe), they prefer to pluck the birds live as this gives a higher yield. Every six weeks they are plucked – it’s up to you to decide whether this sounds cruel or sustainable, but you can imagine what animal welfare charities think. So a number of companies, such as Marks & Spencer, don’t use feathers or down from live plucked birds as part of their ethical policy.

The other issue is feathers from geese that have been force-fed to produce foie gras. North Face and Patagonia were somewhat embarrassed in 2010 when it was claimed their down jackets used raw materials from this source – both companies subsequently decided to look for new suppliers. Given that the source of the feathers doesn’t tend to get mentioned on one’s pillow label, the only option as a consumer is to do your research in advance to see what guarantees the manufacturer gives.

Hollowfibre pillows tend to be made from polyester, a synthetic material, although you can get them made from recycled polyester – John Lewis has a selection made from recycled plastic drinks bottles. I’ve never fancied memory foam pillows since a friend told me they get really hot, but having found out they’re made from another synthetic, polyurethane, with extra chemicals added, I’ve really struck them off the list. Natural latex is the alternative if you need a bit of neck support, originating from the rubber tree and other plants.

On to the world of natural bedding. At www.welovesleep.co.uk you can find organic cotton pillows filled with things like millet and spelt – although, living in the country, I fear the field mice would find them and think they’d gone to heaven. The website www.greenfibres.com has a similarly imaginative range, including horsehair (from the manes of live horses – don’t worry it’s cut, not plucked) and kapok (the plant equivalent of down) pillows, while www.devonduvets.com has organic pillows stuffed with 100 per cent British wool.

So I’m no further forward than when I started out. In fact, I’m worse off. I want a pillow with a latex core, natural wool padding and an organic cotton cover. But can I find one? Can I heck.