A Founder’s Passion for Eco-Friendly Living Revolutionizes Sleep
Colorado company luxuriates in linen
Beflax linens are natural, sustainable—and colorful. The company offers a range of nature-inspired hues. Bold and earthy in Terra, a warm orange, the Beflax duvet cover features button closures | Photo Masha Poland
Katerina Rothman always knew she wanted to be a business owner, but she did not know what she wanted to focus on until she experienced a common nighttime disturbance: bad sleep. Her husband was a hot sleeper, while she was not. Determined to solve the problem, Rothman did her research: “I bumped into linen bedding, and it did help. If linen was able to make my husband and me sleep better, I thought I could share this knowledge with so many people.”
Beflax Linen makes a quilted comforter featuring undyed linen on both sides and 100 percent cotton batting inside. | Photo Masha Poland
So Rothman founded Beflax Linen, which offers 100% linen bedding. Because it comes from the flax plant, linen is a natural fabric. “That’s where the name originates,” Rothman notes. “We want you to be flax. And Beflax rhymes so lovely with the word ‘relax.’” Considering that the average person spends one-third of their life sleeping (or trying to), finding the right bedding can be life-changing.
Katerina Rothman says when she founded the company, “All the puzzle pieces came together, ” including her commitment to sustainability and her love of linen. | Photo Masha Poland
Linen’s thermo-regulating property made Rothman a devotee. “It keeps you warm when it’s cold, and cool when it’s hot,” she says. “It’s an evergreen bedding—you can use it all year round.” This is particularly helpful in the mountains, where temperatures can change quickly. Travelers to Ouray, Colorado (the “Switzerland of America”), can experience sleeping in linen at the Western hotel, whose stylish rooms feature Beflax Linen.
Because humans spend approximately one-third of their lives in bed, Rothman encourages people to invest in quality bedding: “We’re putting all this plastic on us, which does not allow our skin to breathe—and skin is the largest organ.” | Photo Masha Poland
After Rothman discovered the other benefits of linen, she sought to spread the word. “I wanted to revolutionize sleep,” she admits. The material is hypoallergenic, making it a great choice for babies and people with sensi- tive skin. Linen is also antibacterial and anti-static, “so no fireworks while you move around at night. Best of all,” she adds, “linen has massaging qualities. Due to its structure, it gives you a micro-massage while you sleep.”
To be true to her own values, Rothman needed her company to be environmentally conscious: “I have a profound passion for eco-friendly living.” Besides being biodegradable, linen requires less water than cotton during the manufacturing process. “And flax roots will feed and regenerate the soil,” she says. The flax her company uses is ethically sourced from France and Belgium before it travels a short distance to a family-run factory in Portugal. Then it gets shipped in LimeLoop packaging, which is reusable up to 300 times, thereby reducing waste.
Combining different colors of Beflax Linen is easy, because the colors are meant to work together. Here, Mustard, Bone, and White pieces complement each other. “We’re different from other companies: we have bold colors,” Rothman says. | Photo Masha Poland
Most importantly, linen is natural. “It’s the original fabric,” Rothman says, “the oldest fabric found by mankind: I think they found a piece that was 30,000 years old.” She is also happy to point out that Cleopatra was a fan of linen. And Beflax Linen is boldly beautiful. “Our color line represents Colorado very well,” Rothman explains.
The Olive bedding is reminiscent of pine trees. Terra and Mustard pay homage to Aspen in fall. White calls to mind snow, of course. “Colorado is our home: that’s where we built our family and our business,” she declares. It seems fitting that linen gave Rothman good sleep, a great business idea—and an eco-friendly choice.
As seen in ML’s January/February 2024 Issue
