ORGANIC MATTRESS DECEPTION
ORGANIC MATTRESS DECEPTION
Certified Organic: This is the term for anything 95% certified organic raw materials. Unfortunately the other 5% can be any chemical or synthetic fiber.
Natural: This varies among products so if it says “natural” ask questions
Innerspring mattresses for all ages are made with metal springs. Typically they are then covered with a fabric then a layer of organic cotton. This cotton is often treated during the carding process so make sure you ask. Even the manufacturer of the mattress is often unaware of this chemical additive. Others are aware that a fire retardant is added and will use the term flamebreakertm or boric acid to refer to this chemical fire retardant. As of this writing, the only natural chemical retardant is pure untreated wool. Then they often cover these mattresses with polyethylene (a synthetic plastic) or natural or organic wool quilted to an organic cotton outer. Manufacturers are often unaware that the wool picks up synthetic fibers and/or chemicals during the carding process unless it is carded in a certified organic mill. There is only 1 certified organic wool mill in the U.S. So make sure you ask. If a buyer really wants to be sure their mattress is pure, they need to ask to speak to the wool carder, the organic cotton carder as well as the manufacturer. Test results of these raw materials are also helpful if the item is tested after the carding process.
Rubber mattresses have a slew of problems due to the deceptive nature of manufacturer claims. Natural rubber is at least 80% natural and there are a lot of manufacturers overseas of the natural rubber. We have seen many types of rubber and their test reports showing many chemicals such as toluene, benzene, naphthalene, acrylates, phenolated compounds, formaldehyde, to name a few. The only way to prove your mattress is pure is to see a test report that shows NA in the column for each chemical tested at less than 50 ppb or .05 ppm (this is a $110 test so any manufacturer should be supplying this test result to their customer).
Talalay natural rubber is made with petroleum and contains dimethyl sulfate so a test would have to be seen that shows that it was not detected to 50 ppb to be valid as a pure mattress in the eyes of most.
Test results show that Latex Green is a very pure natural rubber. Now there is finally 100% certified organic rubber coming to the U.S. This rubber was tested by Pure-Rest and has passed with zero detectable chemicals. This is now the purest rubber available worldwide.
So how do you get a totally pure mattress?
Ask questions, not just from the manufacturer but from the manufacturer of the raw materials See test results from a third party lab of each raw material Research as much as you can or find a company you know has done the research for you, knowledge is power
Make sure you are not misled by the various, ever-growing, number of supposed certifications out there. In order to be pure, a mattress would comply with the NAOMI standard. No fee involved so any manufacturer can become a member by simply complying with the standards and providing proof of purity.
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