Costco Connection - September 2008

Bedroom energy savings uncovered

Soft to the touch, and easy on your wallet, these colorful Kirkland Signature sheet sets offer a superiorvalue.

FRANCE FREEMAN

Quality assurance is implemented and scrutinized at every manufacturing stage, from cotton certification to weaving, finishing and shipping. Additional analysis is performed in India by Bureau Veritas, a highly respected third-party independent testing lab.

There’s also Costco’s in-house quality-assurance laboratory, which conducts random spot checks right off the warehouse floor. I visited Costco’s lab and watched technician Diane Brittain put the new sheets through a battery of tests, including size verification, shrinkage after three wash/dry cycles, spectrophotometer color fastness and fabric weight. All passed with flying colors. Diane reports, “Costco is one of those rare retailers that take this extra step and test internally.”

IRIDIO PHOTOGRAPHY

sateens weighing in between 200 to 300. The new Costco sateen sheet is 600 thread count.

A higher TC may yield a more pliable yet durable fabric with less shrinkage, but consumers need to watch out for bogus counts. It seems some manufacturers continue to switch to less expensive and thicker two-ply (strand) yarns and then misleadingly double the thread count. Costco does not allow this practice. The Kirkland Signature sheets are true single-ply 600 TC.

Excellent sheet integrity is also maintained, even after repeated uses, because the sheets are Sanforized (preshrunk), mercerized for added strength and color evenness, finished with a wrinkle-reducing agent and singed to eliminate annoying pilling. Such treatments are not necessarily found in all sheet brands, including those proclaiming a high thread count.

Invaluable assets

The Kirkland Signature easy-care, four-piece queen, king and limited-distribution California king 100 percent Supima 600- thread-count sets (flat sheet, fitted sheet and two pillowcases) arrive in most warehouses by mid-October. The bottom sheet is oversize to fit mattresses up to 17 inches deep. Fall colors include ocean blue, leaf, ivory, white, chocolate and wine. Fresh, trendy color palettes are periodically added.

As for price, I experienced another one of those “you have got to be kidding” moments when I found a sateen 100 percent Supima 600-thread-count king sheet set online for $249.50. (Neither the ply nor shipping costs were mentioned.) Costco’s price for 600 TC sheets is the same as for last year’s 540 TC:

LOOKING FOR A way to notch down your fall heating bill?

Harvard University’s Green

Campus Initiative reports, “For each degree you turn down your thermostat, you’ll save 3 percent on heating bills. ” So lower the heat a little and still stay comfy by piling your beds high with Costco blankets and comforters.

IMAGESOURCE

Look for Pacific Coast Feather^® renew-able-resource down comforters and down blankets, Berkshire Serasoft^® and Royal Sateen^® plush blankets and faux fur and chenille throws in warehouses. You can click on costco.com for more down comforters, Australian wool-on-top magnetic mattress pads (magnets are thought to invigorate bloodflow), Italian-made Mongolian cashmere–Australian merino lamb’s-wool blankets and other luxurious winter beddings.

And for those who like to sleep wrapped up like a big ol’ teddy bear, consider flannel sheets, available in most warehouses, or fleece sheets, available in select warehouses and at costco.com. You’re sure to sleep grrreat!—PV

$64.99 queen, $74.99 king and Cal king. Costco.com carries all sizes, as well as extra pillowcases. Costco.com prices are $74.99 (queen) and $84.99 (king, Cal king), $19.99 (two standard pillowcases) and $21.99 (two king-size pillowcases), including delivery.

On a personal note, I’m thrilled Costco requires care instructions to be sewn into each piece’s hem and attaches a sample fabric hang tag on the outside package so members can feel this scrumptious sheet for themselves before purchasing.

Making my bed and lying in it has never been so Supima good. C

Quality assured

Costco quality standards are strict, with little wiggle room. For example, many companies allow a 2 to 5 percent tolerance on the finished thread count. This means a 600 TC sheet can finish at 570 to 588 TC. Costco allows no fewer than 600.