Pehmustus

Pehmustus is a Finnish noun referring to padding or cushioning material that softens impacts, provides comfort, or fills space. It denotes the padding layer within a product as well as the concept of padding itself. The term appears across several industries and consumer contexts.

Common applications include furniture upholstery, where pehmustus provides seating comfort; automotive seating and interior panels; packaging inserts used to protect fragile items during transport; medical devices and prosthetics where padding reduces pressure and irritation; and sports or protective gear that requires impact protection. The word is also used in clothing and footwear to describe padded zones.

Materials and construction methods vary by application. Typical padding materials are polyurethane foam, memory foam, latex foam, polyester fiberfill, cotton batting, and felt. Padding can be produced as pre-shaped inserts or as bulk material that is cut, layered, and covered with fabric, leather, or other finishes. In manufacturing, pehmustus may be glued, sewn, laminated, or molded to achieve the desired thickness, density, and shape.

Linguistic notes include related Finnish terms such as pehmuste (cushion) and pehmustaminen (padding or padding process). The word derives from the broader Finnish family of terms linked to softness. In English-language contexts, pehmustus is usually translated as padding or cushioning.