How One Hotel Is Innovating To Support Wellness For The Environment & For Kids In Need

The mention of "Westin" calls to mind cloud-white beds, dreamlike and pristine. The beds are so iconic they have a name, "The Heavenly Bed." The mattress, linens, and pillows are available for purchase through the Westin store. All of this is to say Westin is serious about sleep.

Sleep is critical to wellness. One of our editors says it's arguably more important than exercise, nutrition, and mindfulness, which is why we dedicated seven days last year to Sleep Week. Westin gets it and gets the You. We. All. philosophy: that we can't achieve wellness individually; we can only reach real wellness as a community. We're all in it together.

Their latest initiative, Project Rise: ThreadForward, utilizes innovative technology to transform their Heavenly Beds into restorative nights' rest for those who need it most: children living in poverty. Worn linens are a major source of waste in the hotel industry, but by partnering with sustainability company Divergent Energy, Westin developed a way to unfurl linens back down to bare threads, which could then be rewoven into soft, safe children's PJs, and research this shows helps children to sleep more soundly. Over six months, Westin diverted 30,000 pounds of worn bed linens from landfills and transformed them into 2,000 pairs of PJs, leaving behind just 3 percent of the material unused. Those PJs will be given to children in New York, Toronto, Mexico City, and Cape Town to help them sleep easier.

"Wellness is in the Westin brand’s DNA, and Project Rise: Thread Forward is evidence that we can empower the well-being of our guests and associates as well as make a difference in the communities around us—hopefully inspiring change in the industry as a whole," said Brian Povinelli, SVP and global brand leader, Westin Hotels & Resorts.