Finding a truly green mattress can be challenging for eco-conscious shoppers.
Sometimes Green Means Stop
More than ever, consumers realize that everyday products may contain toxic ingredients or materials that put them, and their families, at risk. Unfortunately, marketers have exploited the lack of product information and confusion around their products with claims to be organic, natural, and green. Savvy consumers have found they must look closer to find out if a product that claims to be green really is. Nowhere have they found the task as challenging as when it comes to buying mattresses. Here’s what you need to know.
“Green Mattresses” Aren’t Always Green
Just because a company dresses up a mattress description with eco-sounding terms like “natural” or “organic” doesn’t mean the product you’ll be sleeping on is truly green. A memory foam mattress may sound good, but it’s a petroleum-based mattress with volatile organic compounds that will off-gas as you sleep. A recycled memory foam mattress is just more of the same. Bamboo’s biodegradable and antimicrobial qualities may sound promising, but they usually don’t survive the manufacturing processes—which involve chopping up the plant and dissolving it in toxic solvents to create fabric. As a customer, when you don’t know what goes into a product, it’s hard to know what’s true and what’s false. But sometimes the company itself hasn’t taken the time to really understand what makes a product green.
Choose Your Materials Wisely When Buying A Green Mattress
At European Sleep Works, our materials are certified by the independent Oeko-Tex Test Association, which tests textiles for pH-value, formaldehyde content, pesticides, heavy metals, preservatives and more. And all of our mattresses are free from chemicals—they do not contain fire retardant.
A Part Isn’t The Whole
Some mattress makers claim their product is green based on a narrow, but incomplete, set of attributes—such as using soybean or castor bean oil to create “a new kind of foam from renewable resources.” Claims like these refer to modest, if any, environmental gains. But the fact that the company uses petroleum-based polyurethane hasn’t changed. The foam still is made from Tolulene diisocynate (TDI). And the company’s overall greenhouse-gas emissions and toxicity are pretty much the same as before. An equally accurate description of this product would be “a nonrenewable foam, using a new, renewable ingredient plus the same chemicals we used to use.” But that’s not going to sell as many mattresses.
An “All Natural Mattress” Isn’t Necessarily a “Green Mattress”
Many products announce themselves as “all natural.” But “all natural” can often be so much more marketing-speak designed to turn your attention away from the materials that went into the mattress’ manufacture. Cotton is all natural, but it can also be sprayed with chemicals that off-gas in your sleep.
How Do You Choose A Green Mattress?
While the variety of false claims may sound troubling, there’s a way through this maze of misinformation. First, find out what really goes into the materials. Are they organic? Are they certified? If they’re certified, do the certifications match the marketing? Second, will the claims really lead to a better night’s rest? A mattress with a special green tea treatment may sound pleasing, but what’s it really providing? And is the polyurethane foam any less toxic? Just because something’s masking the odor doesn’t mean you’re not breathing it in. Finally, has the retailer done their homework? Do they know their suppliers? Do they know the materials that go in to the materials that make up their mattresses? Do they care about how you sleep? Some retailers really want to create the greenest product possible. Others want to make a buck.
