Thursday, June 11, 2015

Nightmares in the Bedding Industry

Dotspiracy: Connecting the dots in the mattress industry.
Ask the average person the details of their day and they can recall a great deal of information, from what time they got up, what and where they ate, clothes, cars, people and places they went, but for some reason, the part that we spent the most amount of time doing everyday we tend to recall the least details about.
And maybe that's just what they want.

This is the first part in a multi-part investigative article that looks for answers to some eye raising questions regarding the bedding industry. With annual manufacturing in excess of $10 billion dollars, double digit year over year retail sales growth for the past 20 years, almost zero industry oversight, and an ever shifting group of board-members, politicians, doctors, and lobbyists who all benefit from the lack of transparency, it's no wonder that most of us have no idea how much we AREN'T seeing.

Some Unsettling Coincidences


Who is SLEPT?
The Slumber League of Enterprising Professional Traders 

SLEPT, (Originally Economic Planning Alliance of the Western State. EPAWS) was created as a research and lobbying group in the late 1930's by two brothers who owned a manufacturing plant in Texas, the owner of Codas Department Stores, an economics professor from Hadlor University, and a physician who previously specialized in lobotomies until he almost lost his license for unresolved medical irregularities in his patient's survival rate.
EPAWS was originally formed as a think tank for overcoming economic recessions in the mid west and was largely funded by public money until resources were diverted due to World War 2. The group did make significant steps towards preparing for an economic slowdown, but with the war picking up momentum, productivity and industry boomed, and the group managed to position themselves directly in the limelight.
With public opinion vastly towards smaller and smaller government oversight, it was an easy sell for the group to realign under a less "communist" form of regulation and shift towards a more private capitalist group.
While there was an inherent value in the resources and political relationships already formed with EPAWS, it ultimately came from the professor, Dr. Stern Fauster, who proposed a more specific area to focus their efforts. A little known, hardly regulated industry that maintained continual growth, high margins, and a focus on simple manufacturing processes. Mattresses.
The final approval to change it's structure had to come directly from the Department of Agriculture, and conveniently, Henry Wallace happened to be good friends with the Secretary of Agriculture, as he once held the position himself before he became Vice President of the United States. Wallace had a deep connection with EPAWS, as his wife happened to have inherited the Hi-Bred Corn Company when her parents passed, which required their approval for all manufacturing expansion requests in Iowa. It is estimated that over $34 million dollars has been directly attributed to EPAWS funding requests in the 8 months leading up to becoming disbanded.
Henry Wallace signed off on the final refiling amendments and EPAWS was removed completely from federal funding classifications. With a brand new organization made up of the same core group of individuals, approval to keep the $14 million in cash reserves, and a very comfortable relationship with Vice President SLEPT was formed.

A few months later, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Veep Henry Wallace, along with Dr. Beinhardt (The former lobotomy doctor) of SLEPT introduce one of the most disruptive federal policies of all time. Daylight Savings Time.

SLEPT has grown from it's humble beginnings of select retailers and manufacturers to the 8th largest lobbying group operating outside of the alcohol, tobacco, firearms, automotive and pharmacy umbrellas. It includes sub organizations of chiropractors, sleep supplement manufacturers, consumer advocate groups, and an ever increasing amount of other groups that, on the outside, look like they have nothing to do with the bedding industry. That is...until you start to connect the dots.

More to follow.

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