Question from Dani
I’m looking for a safe mattress. Where I live, it’s difficult to get to a showroom where I can test organic mattresses. The one store I found carries a line of mattresses made by Berkeley Ergonomics. Is anyone familiar with this brand and is it non-toxic? I’ve heard that there is some synthetic latex out there. I’ve also heard that all latex in the U.S. is made in a facility in Connecticut, where they make both synthetic and all-natural latex. This is all very confusing!!
Debra’s Answer
I looked at their Berkeley Ergonomics website and it looks pretty good to me.
They use
- prewashed organic cotton
- organic wool
- 100% natural filler-free latex (not organic, but Oeko-Tex certified)
They list a lot of certifications but don’t show them on their website (“certificates are available”) so I can’t verify without asking them for certificates (my opinion is if someone says it’s certified, the certificate should be on the website.
All of their materials are from Europe, even though, being in California they could get Pure Wool from California.
On paper, it looks good, but I haven’t see their certifications. It would be better if they used organic latex, which is available.
Understand their Oeko-Tex 100 certifications doesn’t mean a material is organic. It means it doesn’t contain a list of 100 priority chemicals.
And no, all latex in the US is NOT made in one facility in Connecticut.
This is such a challenge in our industry and for years, we have been looking for ways to make our handmade in the USA green and organic mattresses, pillows and bedding, certified. Unfortunately, we have not been able to find a certification body that caters to hand crafting organic and/or green bedding in the USA.
We at White Lotus Home always offer free samples of all of our fibers. This allows our clients to have them tested and bring it to their doctors if necessary. We have 100s of doctor’s prescriptions on file, for White Lotus Home mattresses. This allows our clients to order mattresses made to their own needs and specifications, helping them have as much or as little fibers in their bedding. For those with sensitivities and allergies, this is a good way to go.
All of our fibers but one (Kapok grows on rain forests) are all made and grown in the USA. While fabrics and fibers we use have USDA Organic Certifications, we are not yet able to certify, the hand making process we use to make all of our products in the USA, since 1981. If any of you know of a source please share it with us. For now, 70% of our business relies on word-of-mouth and we have a 99% satisfaction rate. Thank you all for the good input and we hope you find the best sleeping surface possible. A good night’s sleep should not be this hard to find.
Thank you for your time!
http://www.omimattress.com/Certifications.php
https://www.lifekind.com/organic-certifications
https://savvyrest.com/certifications
OK what I see here is a certificate from OMI (expires February 2017 so they may not have had one in 2015 when I made my comment).
I see LifeKind is making a claim with no certificate displayed.
And SavvyRest is not claiming to be an organic mattress manufacturer.
Often a company will agree to sending samples of all the materials used in a mattress or piece of furniture. I’ve been saved from making some expensive mistakes by testing materials before making a purchase.
Yes, that is correct and always a good idea.
I’ve compared the organic claims of these three companies against Naturepedic at https://www.debralynndadd.com/q-a/comparison-certified-organic-mattresses/
Naturepedic who I think you are a fan of uses polypropylene . Guess I am missing the issue here .
It sounds like you are addressing me, but the comments about polyprolyene are made by others.
Naturepedic uses a very small amount of polypropylene as an “accesory,” which is included in their GOTS certification.
Berkeley Ergo does not have any organic certifications in their name.
Their coil mattresses contain a lot of synthetic Polypropylene even though the dealers presents them as “all natural”, “organic”, “natural” and more.
Berkeley’s web site touts all their components in detail being, organic, healthy, safe, natural and more but if you scroll half way down in FAQ, you will see their disclosure of SYNTHETIC POLYPROPYLENE covering all the mattress coils. Their coil mattress are neither organic, all natural, or natural.
The mattress is just 2″ of latex over coils. Nothing complex.
Unfortunately I bought one of their coil mattresses without doing any research. An expensive learning lesson for sure. Its not durable or comfortable and its HOT. I’m replacing it with an all latex mattress with a NON quilted top as soon as I can.
Also, the bed contains Polypropylene covering all the springs and NON organic latex so it is FAR from an organic bed. If you check their dealers sites, some claim just the wool is organic, some claim just the cotton is organic, the NY dealer claims the entire bed is organic, the Ventura dealer claims none of the bed is organic, instead it is just ‘all natural’. For a company that claims they ‘work closely with their stores to guarantee a buying experience that is based on sound and personal advice”, everyone seems to have a different story.
I made the mistake of buying the bed without asking for the certificates first and verifying what the sales man told me. I wish I had not bought it.
Always, always, always ask for the organic certificates, and make sure they are issued to the company making the claim and they are current.
I asked to see the certifications and they refused to send them to me. In fact they got very defensive. I would love to see them if you are able to get them. I am very suspect of any firm who makes organic claims but won’t provide the certificates. They should be PROUD of them, not want to hide them. It is my understanding that they get the fabric from Europe and do all the sewing themselves so they are handling the materials a LOT. I would be very interested to know if they are handling the materials in a fashion that maintains organic integrity.
Yes. With a mattress it is common to use organic materials but not manufacture the mattress in an organic way. The only mattress manufacturer I know of that is certified to be an organic mattress manufacturer is Naturepedic.
Actually OMI, Lifekind and Savvy Rest are organic.
Would you post links to their certifications please?