The Floks wool pillow takes you 'from grassland to dreamland' - it's a naturally cooling essential

With a name like the 'Floks Luxury British Wool Pillow', you should know exactly what you're getting yourself in for: hotel-quality softness, natural materials, and a chemical-free experience. The Floks does all of that and at a reasonable price tag too. So, what's the catch?

My short answer is that there isn't one, which is why the Floks Luxury British Wool Pillow has to make our shortlist of the best cooling pillows on the market. It was a dream to sleep on and rivals the likes of Woolroom and Putnams to no end.

So, if you want to find out more about what this is like to use as well as why wool is actually a very clever way to stay cool when you sleep, here are all the answers.

First impressions

As you might expect from the Floks Luxury British Wool Pillow, this arrives packaged in all recyclable cardboard, with a canvas bag. The top zips across, with large handles that easily loop over the shoulder. It's so robust and simple, I'm almost tempted to swipe it to add to my 'shopping totes' collection, but I think the idea is that you'll keep it to store your old pillows or sheets in. This kind of packaging is what sets the Floks apart from cheaper brands that opt for plastic and non-recyclables.

Alongside the pillow, you'll get a cardboard leaflet that tells you a little more about your Floks bedding and how to care for it. I'll give you more detail on each aspect of the composition and care further down this review, but it's also nice to have laid out for you at the beginning. You can peruse it now if you have the zoom function to hand.

Composition

I'm afraid that there are no prizes up for grabs if you guess what the Floks Luxury British Wool Pillow is stuffed with. The traceable British wool is perfect for people who need a hypoallergenic, temperature-regulating pillow as wool naturally ticks both of those boxes. You get to choose whether you want your pillow filled to a soft or medium firmness, unlike some other wool pillows which zip open to let you remove or add extra wool.

The case also plays an important role in keeping your pillow together and keeping you cool. The organic, unbleached cotton outside doesn't look crisp and white like some pillows, but that's because it's not been treated with chemicals. It only goes to reinforce the hypoallergenic, gentle, naturally cooling properties offered up by the Floks Luxury British Wool Pillow.

Who would it suit?

There are two key demographics that I see the Floks Luxury British Wool Pillow suiting and both have a large overlap. The first is those who are looking for sustainable, eco-conscious pillows to sleep on. Floks is a certified B-Corp that prioritises using all-natural materials, hence the traceable British wool and unbleached organic cotton. You won't get a pillow that scores higher for sustainability than this one. The lack of chemicals and unusual materials also makes it very naturally gentle on the skin, so if you have allergies or sensitive skin, these pillows are perfect.

As a result of all the extra-special, natural extras, the Floks Luxury British Wool Pillow comes at a cost. If you're in the market for a luxury pillow and ready to invest in your rest, this won't be a problem, but savvy shoppers might need to look for alternatives (although you won't find a wool pillow with these credentials for any less money).

You have the option to choose a soft or medium pillow in regular, large, or square, which means that just about every sleep style and position is covered, except for front sleepers who will need very thin pillows or a wool pillow with adjustable filling (more on that later). As you can see though, this has a lot to offer.

What is it like to sleep on?

As a newly converted back sleeper, I opted for the softer pillow, because I still chop and change my position in the night and I wanted to keep spinal alignment in all positions. Generally, I'd recommend the average back sleeper goes for a medium firmness pillow, because the soft filling really delivered a sink-in feeling.

Each night, I felt my head cushioned in the pillow, which would normally make me feel very hot and uncomfortable, but the Floks Luxury British Wool Pillow actually kept me pretty cool. After a whole month on this, it's been comfortable, cushioning, and supportive, helping to keep me in my routine of back sleeping.

I consider myself to be a hot sleeper at the best of times, so when I didn't have any issues come up with the pillow I wanted to check that I wasn't having a freak reaction. My mum suffers from night sweats badly, so I handed this to her for two weeks and she loved it. "I definitely felt cooler in the night, even when the weather was warming up and our heating got stuck on hot. Normally, my head is the first part of me to feel hot and that keeps me awake when I'm up, but this kept me at a normal temperature, so when I woke up in the night, I was more aware of the rest of my body being hot. That's a problem for another part of my bedding though, isn't it?" Luckily for her, I was also testing the Floks Wool Mattress Topper, so she got to use that too.

Is it good for the environment?

You'll have already guessed that this gets top marks for its sustainability, but I want to give you some more information, because Floks really goes above and beyond. Their traceable British Cheviot wool and organic cotton is top quality, 100% renewable, and it doesn't come with the same air miles that wool flown over from New Zealand might. On their site, you'll also see that Floks buys through the Traceable Wool Scheme, which means that farmers get a fair price for their wool and they're not forced into using synthetics, harmful chemicals, or anything else that could be harmful. There's no compromise on these biodegradable, recyclable, and naturally hypoallergenic pillows.

How does it compare?

I've mentioned a few other brands that make wool pillows, because they're seeing a bit of a boom at the moment. The Floks Luxury British Wool Pillow scores top marks for its sustainable credentials, but these are identical to that of Woolroom's Deluxe Washable Wool Pillow. The key difference, is that Woolroom's pillow is almost always more expensive (unless you can find a discount). I can see why the Woolroom is more expensive: the case is removable and washable, which makes cleaning it a lot easier, and you can adjust the fill yourself. This means that you can buy one pillow and essentially customise it to suit your exact sleeping needs. The Floks is fixed, which is fine if you know exactly what you want, but it doesn't leave much wiggle room.

If you like the idea of a cooling, natural pillow, but wool sounds a bit too soft for you, I'd recommend having a look at this latex pillow. I didn't realise that latex could be 100% natural (made from freezing and heating tree bark), but it can be and it's almost as cooling as wool. Again, it's a little more expensive than your average polyester pillow, but it's incredibly good.

Should you buy it?

If you want an all-natural, gentle, sustainable, cooling pillow, the Floks Luxury British Wool Pillow will undoubtedly be money well spent. Whilst it's not customizable like some more expensive options, it naturally kept me well-supported, cool, and comfortable all night long.

How we test

Some might say that testing pillows is just an excuse to nap on the job, while others think it’s bringing work to bed. For me, it’s the perfect combination of both. As someone passionate about all things sleep, I love putting the latest innovations to the test—and the Levitex pillow certainly stands out.

Every pillow I review goes through a series of in-depth tests to assess comfort, support, and overall performance. I also do plenty of research to determine who it’s best suited for and whether it’s worth investing in. If you're curious about our testing process, check out our dedicated page on how we test pillows.