Thanks to an increased demand for natural, eco-friendly products, consumers now find it easier to purchase organic mattresses. There is now a wider variety of mattresses to choose from that even the traditional innerspring mattress now comes with a variant that makes use of organic cotton and wool. The steel coils are specially designed and manufactured so that these aren’t coated in toxic chemicals.
If you’re decided on buying an organic mattress, follow these tips to help you choose one that fits your needs.
Sniff around for VOCs.
Volatile organic compounds are released as gases from some liquid and solid materials. These compounds include variety of chemicals that have been found to have negative effects on health. Exposure to VOCs has been associated with respiratory problems and skin irritation.
Conventional mattresses that are made of polyurethane foam, petroleum-based polyester and nylon are known to emit VOCs. So when you are looking to buy a more health-friendly mattress, look for one that is free from VOCs.
Investigate the ingredients.
In line with checking if the mattress contains no VOCs whatsoever, you need to make sure that it’s made from organic materials. You need to avoid products that contain harmful chemicals such as flame retardants, boric acid, formaldehyde, antimony and synthetic latex.
It can be difficult to investigate what’s really in a mattress because manufacturers are not required to disclose what chemicals they use in making their products, so you would need to do some online sleuthing. Read all you can about organic mattresses, take note of product reviews and check out mattress layers.
You can also talk to the mattress company to ask if each component is certified organic, or to find out what makes a company’s mattress organic. Manufacturers should also be able to explain the eco-friendliness of each of the components clearly and say where the materials are sourced.
Seek out certification for materials used.
The problem with buying eco-friendly products is that the terms “natural” and “green” are often used by manufacturers without really specifying what makes a product natural or green. There are no set standards by which these terms are defined and used on products, so you have to be careful.
Ideally, you should choose a mattress that is made using organic wool, organic cotton and natural latex. For a product or material to be truly considered organic, it must be certified by a third-party organization that certifies products or materials to be organic.
- Natural Latex – organic latex derived from rubber treees should be certified by Control Union, under the Global Organic Latex Standard. If this material has been certified organic, it means that 95 percent of it is made from certified organic ingredients.
- Organic Cotton – this cotton is grown without the use of synthetic chemicals and does not undergo any sort of genetic modification.
- Organic Wool – sourced from organically raised sheep, this cruelty-free wool is all-natural and not treated with synthetic chemicals.
For organic wool, organic cotton, bamboo and other textiles used in bedding products, you can look for Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certification and Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certification. Oeko-Tex certifies that a textile is free of harmful substances, while GOTS certifies that a natural fiber has been grown organically (no synthetic chemicals) and processed sustainably.
Providing you with the information you need to get a better night's sleep...