“I’m from Thailand, and my family lives in Thailand, so I usually travel there at least twice a year to visit them,” says Phantila Phataraprasit, co-founder of Sabai, a sustainable furniture brand that focuses on durable, repairable pieces with longevity in mind. “I’ve lived in the U.S. now for, I think, over 15 years, so I’ve done a lot of long-haul flights. I have a good amount of experience trying to get comfortable in plane seats.”
A lot of us are well aware of the economy-class struggle with getting comfy on long flights.
“I never really found a good solution until I was doing some research and found the Trtl travel pillow,” Phataraprasit says. She’s had hers for three years now. “It’s been such a lifesaver for me. I can sit in even a middle seat and be totally fine.”
What makes this pillow the perfect solution for just about any seat on the plane is its unique design: “It’s basically like a one-sided neck brace that you wrap around,” she says. “You put it on whichever side of your neck you want, then it has a cloth and Velcro that you use to attach it.
“It really props up and supports your neck, and then you’re just lying like that. It’s not going to give you a crick in your neck,” she says. “It’s really comfortable and really feels supportive.”
‘It’s not a traditional pillow’
While the neck brace setup makes this pillow feel a little more unconventional, that’s part of the appeal for Phataraprasit.
“The traditional travel pillow has never worked for me because it just doesn’t go high enough to support the neck,” she says. “I also never want to bring it because it takes up so much space. Obviously, once you arrive, you don’t want to be lugging around a big pillow.”
The Trtl’s design changes all of that, thanks to its unique shape. “One thing that’s really nice is that, because it’s basically a neck brace, it’s very thin,” says Phataraprasit. “It doesn’t actually take up that much room in your bag when you’re traveling. It’s not a bulky pillow that you have to attach to the side of your bag or fit inside. It’s very thin.
Plus, “it comes in its own little pouch, and I put an eye mask in there as well. I create a travel kit with it. It’s very lightweight and thin, which is really, really helpful,” she says. “I think the combination I found is the travel pillow plus an eye mask, and I’m out. I’m an easy sleeper, so I don’t need to take anything — just those two things really work for me.”
Durability that holds up
“Unless you spill something on it, it’s not something that is difficult to take care of,” she says. “It’s very durable. I haven’t had any issues with it. I know they’ve come out with a few newer models since I’ve had it that I think allow you to adjust the height of the support structure, but I’ve found mine to be totally great.”
And while it’s not technically “sustainable, per se” according to Phataraprasit, her decision to keep using the same pillow despite newer models being available reflects a principle central to Sabai: holding on to products that still work.
“I think that’s one thing that really differentiates Sabai: We think about that in the design process for all of our products,” she says. “I understand that accounting for every single thing is impossible, but we wanted to make sure that we were thinking about as much as possible, whether that’s the materials that go into our products, where we’re manufacturing, how we’re manufacturing, or whether we’re designing for longevity and repair.
“From the onset, the thought with our approach to sustainability was one where we wanted to be as comprehensive or holistic as possible,” she says.
“We launched our Revive program, which is where, if you have a Sabai piece and need to move on from it for whatever reason — you’re moving or whatever — we’ll take it back from you and sell it ourselves as secondhand, and you’ll get a commission on that. We’re making that process easy so that you’re not leaving it on the curb and it’s not going to a landfill.”
