(NewsNation) — Beds with frames made from cardboard that athletes slept on at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics made headlines years ago, with rumors flying about why organizers were using them.

Some started referring to them as “anti-sex beds” after a tweet by 2016 Olympic medalist Paul Chelimo that went viral claimed the beds were “aimed at avoiding intimacy among athletes.” However, Olympic officials denied this, stating that the cardboard frames were actually because of sustainability.

Mattresses themselves were not made of cardboard but polyethylene fibers that could be melted down and repurposed, according to Airweave, the company that made them.

For this year’s Olympics and Paralympics in Paris, Airweave will once again be furnishing the Athletes’ Village, which will house thousands of Olympians and sports officials during the games. Airweave says it is equipping them with 16,000 beds.

“We know the media has had a lot of fun with this story since Tokyo 2020,” Olympic organizers said in a statement to Reuters. “But for Paris 2024 the choice of these beds for the Olympic & Paralympic Village is primarily linked to a wider ambition to ensure minimal environmental impact and a second life for all equipment used during the short period of the Games.”

Airweave CEO Motokuni Takaoka said the cardboard bed frames will be made in France and donated to organizations in the country, such as the army, Paris Opera Ballet School, Emmaüs and Ecole Hôtelière TSUJI and the TSUJI Culinary Institute Group.

“We promise to contribute to the Paris 2024 sustainability goals through our social good bedding,” Takaoka said.

While the idea of cardboard bed frames might not seem the most comfortable to some, Airweave says the mattresses, with three blocks in different firmness levels, lets athletes personalize their sleep experience. Users with “various body shapes and potential physical ailments” can customize their mattresses as well, per the company’s website.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.