Weaving sustainability into the fabric, mission and vision of Janesi Comfort
By Mike McGregor
Photos: Courtesy of Mike McGregor
Janesi Comfort was founded to create a legacy for my late wife, Jo, in a manner true to her core values of dignity, environmental activism and uncompromising beauty. After experiencing the dehumanizing lack of agency found throughout modern medicine, we decided to reimagine comfort and support for those hospitalized, with chronic illness, and in long-term care.
It was imperative that in order to round out her story that long-term sustainability must be woven into the fabric, vision, and mission of Janesi Comfort.
We create ethically-sourced robes and blankets for those in treatment, recovery, and beyond. The idea was born from a personal place: in honor of Jo, who fought for her life in one hospital after another before her passing at the beginning of 2019. My experience in the hospital with Jo was sterile and impersonal, and I was left to my own devices to try to bring comfort, dignity, love and support to my wife when she needed it the most.
I was dismayed to find that while there are a variety of get-well gifts on the market, all fail to address the actual needs of the patient. At the most vulnerable point in someone’s life they don’t need fluff and well wishes; they need physical comfort and the peace of mind that comes from being mindful of the environment.
So we started with our materials. Our gowns are 100% Tencel™;—a biobased fiber derived from sustainably-sourced beach wood, from forests and sustainably managed plantations, with a closed-loop life cycle.
The Tencel™; manufacturing process uses 20x less water than cotton and eliminates the negative environmental impacts of traditional fiber processing. Among other awards, Tencel™ is certified as BioPreferred® by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture)—and encapsulates just what we were looking for: environmentally forward-thinking, super soft to the touch, and naturally anti-microbial. You can find out more about Tencel™ here.
Our blankets are made with 80% recycled cotton (made from upcycled cotton) and 20% PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) and are designed to fit standard hospital beds– bringing comfort to patients without compromising our commitment to sustainability.
Then we looked at production and packaging. Sustainability isn’t solely assessed by the materials we use, but also through the quality of life & work embodied in our partner companies, our factories, and our people. We partner with ethical factories that follow eco-standards and pay their workers a living wage.
By weaving sustainability into the fabric of our company—from our products and our people, to our mission and our vision—from the start, we are making the environment a priority. We are on a mission to constantly improve upon our practices, and encourage open communication so that we can continue transforming what comfort, support and sustainability look like in the hospital setting and beyond.
For more information, visit www.janesicomfort.com.
Author Bio
Mike McGregor is the founder of Janesi Comfort, a new company that reimagines comfort and support for those hospitalized or in long-term care—all in honor of his late wife, Jo. Janesi Comfort are pioneers in patient luxury; creating luxurious, ethically-sourced, and hospital approved gowns and blankets that introduce rich possibilities into treatment wardrobes without compromising function. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.
Mike is also NYC-based celebrity portrait photographer, and proud father of two children. For more information on Mike’s photography, visit www.mikemcgregor.com. █
