What to Look for in a Greener Mattress

January 24th, 2010 BY nparkington | 3 Comments

A good night’s sleep is incredibly important for our mind and body. Do you have a comfortable mattress to help you drift off into sleep? Is it eco-friendly? We’ve been seeing more and more mattress options surface for the green shopper although with such a big ticket item less people have been able to make the switch over. A mattress is an investment piece that you will have for eight to ten or more years. You will spend about 22,000 hours snoozing on each mattress you have. I’d say that’s argument enough to ensure that what you’re sleeping on is good for your health and not the opposite.

Many mattresses include polyurethane foam (synthetic product that releases the neurotoxin toluene). The U.S. requires mattresses be flame retardant and are usually treated with PBDE’s (polybrominated diphenyl ethers which are chemicals that may cause damage to the liver or thyroid and may hinder neurodevelopment).

When shopping for a greener mattress, here are some categories to look for:

FOAM

- If you’re looking for a mattress with a foam core consider one made from natural latex foam (made from the rubber tree and can be sustainably sourced).

- Some have both natural latex foam and synthetic latex and will tend to be less expensive than the soley natural latex version.

- Note that chemicals can be added to both latex versions, but these are preferred over polyurethane foam.

SPRING

- If you’re interested in an inner spring mattress instead, select one padded with organic cotton (grown without pesticides). However, all-cotton mattress purchases require a doctor’s note as these mattresses are not fire resistant or retardant.

- Another inner spring mattress option is one that is padded with wool, which is naturally fire resistant. Nice! Wool meets the U.S. safety requirements without adding chemical fire retardants.

MEMORY

- Unfortunately there aren’t any green options in this category. Keep in mind that the popular viscoelastic foam (“memory foam”) mattresses are not sourced from any natural materials. They are made from polyurethane foam and emit toluene. Manufacturers warn that these chemicals are emitted for just a week however if you are sensitive to or prefer not to be exposed to chemicals, it is best to avoid these mattresses.

(Photo credit: Float bed by Okooko (eco-friendly mattresses))
N.Parkington

nparkington | My Bio & Articles

Natalie lives in San Diego, California and enjoys a healthy organic vegetarian lifestyle (with chocolate as the exception...). She does what she can for the environment and is constantly making adjustments to become greener in all...