Young Bristol entrepreneur launches a sustainable bedding collection

Entrepreneur Sophie Lang, who grew up in Bristol and has recently moved home to make it the birthplace of her sustainable business, has announced the launch of Get Leisurely, a brand new sustainable bedding business.

Launched on Kickstarter yesterday, with the start-up campaign running until 25th April, Get Leisurely will provide sustainable bedding that both does good for the planet and allows people to slow down in an increasingly overstimulated world.

The clue is in the name when it comes to the mission for the project - Ms Lang wants people to be able to get leisurely in luxury, but with sustainability at the heart too, as opposed to over-consumption. Her aim is to allow people to buy indulgent sustainable bedding made from eucalyptus to help the burnout generation get the rest they need.

It’s all about creating the softest sheets, slowing down consumption, driving sustainable production in the process, and also, of course, protecting the planet.

So, where did it all start and how did Ms Lang come to be setting up a sustainable textiles business? Having worked in London in the fashion industry for a few years, although it was exactly what she set out to do, Ms Lang found she got burnt out by the lifestyle and didn’t enjoy the fast fashion, churning out clothes, machine.

“I took some time out to go and visit different suppliers in Peru and Colombia before starting to work in home textiles, which immediately felt better because you buy it once and use it a lot longer,” she tells us. “From there, I discovered Tencel and fell in love with it.”

The bed linen by Get Leisurely is made by Tencel, which is a form of lyocell made by Lenzing that comes from eucalyptus so it’s really breathable, antibacterial and very soft.

Lenzing guarantee that their Tencel fibres are sourced only from FSC and PEFC certified forests, where the wood is harvested sustainably ensuring a long and healthy future for the forests. The pulp is processed into yarn at Lenzing production plants which are run exclusively on renewable energy.

A closed-loop process is used so that any substances in production are reused indefinitely leaving no dirty wastewater. “It’s quite unique to use 100% Tencel,” she explains.

“A lot of people use bamboo, which isn’t actually very sustainable at all as it uses loads of toxic chemicals to turn it into a fabric. I know my supply chain completely, so it’s about being completely transparent - we can go right back to where the trees come from.”

For Ms Lang, it’s also about ensuring the products are designed well and therefore last a long time. “It’s not just using a sustainable fibre, it’s about designing a product that is going to last a decade,” she says. “On the consumer side of it, I really want to promote the ‘buy less, choose well’ message. You don’t need to have new bedding every season.”

But why bedding? “The more I looked into bedding, the more I realised it was a confusing market for consumers because there are so many different messages around sustainability and thread counts, so I wanted to make it simple,” she continues.

“In homewares too, in the same way that you have fast fashion, we’re starting to see fast homeware so I want to do something that goes against this.”

The pandemic marked the start of Ms Lang working on Get Leisurely as a concept fully, as well as moving back to Bristol. “The pace of life and proximity to nature in Bristol made me want to stay here,” she says. “I’m glad I did because the business environment is quite different here and there’s a lot of support for start-ups, sustainability, and independent business.”

For Ms Lang, a lot of the inspiration for her business idea came from the fact that she grew up in Bristol and that she has always been surrounded by the deep connection the city has to nature and the greener initiatives that the city showcases. It made sense that Bristol would become the home of her new sustainable start-up.

“I first came across the idea of ethical fashion when I was a teenager, making clothes in my bedroom, and I remember my parent’s friends would talk about sweatshops and know about sustainable fabrics - it was always a background conversation,” she tells us.

“In primary school, we’d go on school trips to the Create Centre and learn about recycling and things. Even the promotion of cycling in school became background sustainability noise.”

And the support for sustainable start-ups is huge in Bristol, too. “I joined Future Leap Bristol, which is a co-working place that is all about sustainable start-ups so there are events, training and it’s very accessible as a start-up,” she says.

“There’s always something green going on like a festival or event in Bristol. I live very close to the Downs and go there daily, so the proximity of nature is inspiring for sustainability.”

In fact, Ms Lang tells us that she is particularly inspired by the independent business scene on Wapping Wharf. “What they’ve done with Wapping Wharf is really encouraging as a small business, seeing new small independents popping up all the time,” she explains.

“That brings with it a community, so you can learn from each other as different independent businesses.”

Speaking of support, despite only being launched yesterday, the Kickstarter campaign is going incredibly well with lots of support pledged and backers already. “I’m trying to raise £10,000 towards the production of the product and to get full investment,” she says.

“We’re starting with quite a small range, which is a duvet set in five different colours. On the Kickstarter people can go on and pre-order the bedding. I want to promote that message of slow-living, and making the time to rest.”

So, what’s next for Get Leisurely? Ms Lang, naturally, given the sustainable and slow-living credentials of the business, tells us it’s all about consciously creating for her in the future.

“I’m looking forward to getting the bedding established and getting a retailer in the future. I’ll be tentative to release new products as it will go back to the question of what we really need,” she continues.

“But I’d like to do duvets and pillows using natural local fibres. There’s a company in Devon that make wool duvets and pillows, so doing something super local like this would be amazing. But I’m a slow-growth person - it’s about getting the foundations strong.”

To support the Kickstarter campaign, head over here to pre-order and back the project.