BEAUFORT, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Harris Pillow Supply’s innovative Pillow-Vac® is contributing to premium vacation company Celebrity Cruises’ efforts to make strides toward furthering waste reduction. Committed to delivering a high-quality, luxurious vacation experience while proactively minimizing its environmental footprint, Celebrity Cruises installed the innovative Pillow-Vac machine on nine of its 10 ships earlier this year, extending the lives of its pillows and reducing waste in the process.
“The logistics to renovate pillows on a cruise ship is easy,” said president John Harris, Harris Pillow Supply. “We simply designate to a specific ship each order of new pillow ticking and fill needed to renovate the pillows, and then ship it to a Celebrity warehouse for ease.”
The Pillow-Vac, designed and manufactured by Beaufort -based Harris Pillow Supply, extends the life of an average pillow, which can reduce significant deposits of old pillows in landfills. An ozone-emitting germicidal light, used to kill bacteria, sanitizes and deodorizes the filling, provides fresh, clean pillows and allows Celebrity to significantly reduce pillow waste. With about 21,500 beds using about 43,000 pillows, this has a considerable impact on Celebrity’s efforts to minimize waste, which has a positive impact on the environment as well as on cost savings.
“The cost and space required to dispose of large numbers of pillows on a regular basis is counter to Celebrity Cruises’ environmental principles,” said Jamie Sweeting, Vice President of Environmental Stewardship, Celebrity Cruises. “The installation of the Pillow-Vac not only helps to reduce this waste, but also represents another example of taking an innovative approach to the way that we use materials on our ships and lessen the impact of these materials on the world around us.”
Pillows are cut open and emptied into a tumble chamber. In the chamber, rotating brushes expose everything to the germicidal light while breaking up clumps that have formed. The machine fluffs up the filling (feathers/down/loose fiber/shredded foam) and sifts out any dust trapped in the pillow. More new filling may be added to bring it back to the density of a new pillow. At the end of the cycle, all the filling is blown back into a brand-new, 100% cotton feather- and down-proof ticking. The entire process takes an average of three to four minutes per pillow.
The installation of Pillow-Vac machines on nearly all of its ships (except the 92-guest mega-yacht Celebrity Xpedition, which sails year-round in the Galapagos Islands), aligns with Celebrity’s comprehensive environmental program, Save the Waves ®, a core tenet of which is to reduce the consumption of materials, recycle as many waste streams as possible, and responsibly dispose of any remaining wastes.
About Harris Pillow Supply
In addition to manufacturing the
Pillow-Vac, popular with hotels and dry cleaners, Harris Pillow also
manufactures a complete line of pillows for the hotel and lodging
markets worldwide, including a variety of down, synthetic blends and
hypoallergenic pillows. Harris Pillow Supply is a family-owned business
that has served the hotel and lodging industry since 1958. For more
information on the Pillow-Vac or pillows by Harris visit www.harrispillow.com
or email sales@harrispillow.com
or call (800) 845-8240.
About Celebrity Cruises
Celebrity Cruises’ iconic “X” is the
mark of modern luxury, with its cool, contemporary design and warm
spaces; dining experiences where the design of the venues is as
important as the cuisine; and the amazing service that only Celebrity
can provide, all created to provide an unmatchable experience for
vacationers’ precious time. Celebrity sails to Alaska, Australia/New
Zealand, Bermuda, California, Canada/New England, the Caribbean, Europe,
Hawaii, the Pacific Coast, Panama Canal, South America, and year-round
in the Galapagos Islands. Celebrity also offers immersive cruisetour
experiences in Alaska, Australia/New Zealand, Canada, Europe and South
America. One of the fastest-growing major cruise lines, Celebrity’s
fleet currently consists of 10 ships, with one additional Solstice Class
ship, Celebrity Reflection, scheduled to join the fleet in Fall
2012. For more information, dial 1-800-437-3111, visit www.celebritycruises.com
or call your travel agent.
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