Delft Airbeds Go Global

At large festival campsites, it's a familiar sight: mountains of broken tents and air mattresses left behind after the event. Sam Ninaber van Eijben thought there had to be a better way. He founded OOMPH Industries, a company that produces recyclable air mattresses.

“Whether you have a $10 or a $300 air mattress, one thing is certain—they always end up breaking,” says Sam. “I wondered, what if we accept that as a given and instead make an air mattress with the smallest possible environmental impact?”

Healthy Sleep

His quest led to an ultra-light air mattress that you inflate once and then recycle easily afterward. “Regular air mattresses contain a lot of plasticizers,” he explains. “They're bad for your health and make recycling impossible. We use plastic without plasticizers, similar to food packaging materials. It’s better for the environment and healthier to sleep on.”

Testing at Festivals

The first real test came at the major Dutch festivals Lowlands and Down The Rabbit Hole, where the mattresses have been rented to visitors under the brand Zzz Land® in recent years. Festival-goers could pick up a ready-inflated mattress for a small fee. The mattresses proved remarkably reliable—during a multi-day festival, only 1.7 percent needed replacing.

From Mattress to Mattress

After the festival, all air mattresses are returned to the factory, where the plastic is high-quality recycled into new mattresses. This reduces the total environmental impact by 97 percent compared to traditional air mattresses. “Many people initially find it odd because usually, reuse is considered better,” says Sam. “But with air mattresses—which quickly break and are often used only a few times a year—the calculation turns out differently.”

“It’s a human right. With Soku, we aim to provide dignified rest wherever and whenever it’s needed.”

Also for Crisis Situations

This summer, the mattresses will be used at more than forty festivals across Europe. The next step? “We know we have a high-quality product and can quickly deliver large quantities. That's why we're now providing the mattresses as the Soku Minute Mattress for disasters and other emergencies.”

200 Sleeping Spots

This solution is ideal for airports, which must accommodate thousands of people during power outages or severe weather, and also in disaster zones where many sleeping spots are needed quickly. Traditional cots are often limited in number, difficult to transport, and take considerable time to set up. “Our mattresses come in rolls of fifty, making them easy to store. With just one inflation device, someone can create two hundred sleeping spots in an hour.”

Dignified Rest

Having a place to rest during a crisis isn't a luxury, emphasizes Sam. “It’s a human right. With Soku, we aim to provide dignified rest wherever and whenever it’s needed.”

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Translated by AI. Original Dutch article: https://www.delft.nl/delftse-luchtbedden-gaan-de-wereld-over

Photo by Erwin Dijkgraaf