Question from Bonnie
I have a friend who recently purchased a foam mattress from a company called CertiPUR-US. It claims to be a green item with very little off gassing. I have an older mattress in my guest room and was thinking about replacing it. Any info on them?
Debra’s Answer
CertiPUR-US certifies polyurethane foam that is advertised by various retailers as “certified nontoxic foam.”
CertiPUR-US is a registered certification mark of Alliance for Flexible Polyurethane Foam. The Alliance itself has no website.
The Polyurethane Foam Association describes the Alliance as “A voluntary testing, analysis and certification program developed by members of the global foam industry in response to an increase in substandard imported foam products.”
And on a promotional piece published by the Alliance, it says “The Alliance for Flexible Polyurethane Foam is a joint program of The Alliance for the Polyurethanes Industry and the Polyurethane Foam Association.”
So this is not an independent third party certification program, but rather the industry certifying itself.
This CertiPUR-US “certified nontoxic foam” is a petrochemical polyurethane foam that has been tested and certified by an independent lab to meet specific standards for “physical performance, indoor air emissions and environmental stewardship.”
CertiPUR-US does not perform the independent lab test themselves, but instead directs manufacturers to a CertiPUR-US approved laboratory. Then the signed application and all test data are sent to CertiPUR-US for review and certification. www.certipur.us/pages/for-foam-suppliers/#how
www.certipur.us/about-our-seal/
The CertiPUR-US emissions criteria are:
- Made without ozone depleters
- Made without PBDEs
- Made without mercury, lead and heavy metals
- Made without formaldehyde
- Made without phthalates regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission
- Low VOC emissions (less than 0.5 parts per million)
Their website (www.certipur.us/about-our-seal/) explains the CERTI-PUR claims as follows:
* Made without ozone depleters
“Ozone’s presence is important in our upper atmosphere, where it provides a shield from the sun’s radiant energy. The Montreal Protocol, adopted in 1987, mandated that industries eliminate ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) by the year 2000. U.S. foam producers were well ahead of schedule in complying with this regulation. Unfortunately, in some parts of the world, CFCs are still used to manufacture foam. The CertiPUR-US label prohibits the use of any CFCs, or other ozone depleters, in the foam manufacturing process.”
NOTE: US manufacturers don’t use ozone depleters, so any US foam qualifies
* Made without PBDE flame retardants
“These controversial fire retardants have been linked inconclusively to chronic illness in cats and humans. Some PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers) were used in foam to meet certain state flammability requirements, but those PBDEs were effectively banned in the U.S. by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in January 2005. U.S. foam producers no longer use PBDEs. Laboratory testing verifies that CertiPUR-US certified foams are made without using PBDEs.”
NOTE: PBDEs are no longer used by US foam producers at all because they were banned by the EPA in January 2005. This certification does not guarantee that there are no fire retardants, only PBDE is disallowed, which is not even legal to use any more. Even if they add more single flame retardants to their list, the field of chemical flame retardants is broad, and any of these chemicals could be present in the foam.
* Made without mercury, lead and other heavy metals
“Though not common components of foam chemistry, heavy metals in food (mercury in fish) and in the home (lead paint in children’s toys) have made the entire heavy metal family an area of concern. CertiPUR-US laboratory testing subjects material extracted molecular analysis capable of detecting even trace amounts of heavy metal content. CertiPUR-US verifies that registered foams are made without mercury, lead and other heavy metals.”
NOTE: heavy metals are not commonly used to make foam
* Made without formaldehyde
“Like heavy metals, formaldehyde has never been used as a raw material in foam. Formaldehyde has been labeled as a cause of poor indoor air quality. The absence of formaldehyde in foam is verified in CertiPUR-US-certified foam by a small chamber emission test.”
NOTE: formaldehyde has never been used as a raw material in the making of foam
* Made without phthalates are prohibited for certification.
“Phthalates (pronounced ‘thal-āts) are mainly used as a softening agent in the manufacture of some consumer products. The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (2009) eliminated the use of seven specific phthalates for use in children’s toy and child care items. CertiPUR-US goes a step further by requiring detailed laboratory analysis of foam extractions and prohibiting the use of phthalates regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission in all CertiPUR-US certified foams.”
NOTE: Only the prohibited phthalates are prohibited for certification. This certification does not guarantee that there are no phthalates, only the seven regulated phthalates are disallowed.
* Low VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) emissions for indoor air quality (less than 0.5 parts per million)
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are a major component of air pollution. VOC emissions from household products are also a concern for indoor air quality.CertiPUR-US certified foams are tested using a small chamber test standardized by ASTM International. In the test, foam samples are conditioned for 72 hours after which emissions of total organic compounds are measured. Results of this test verify that CertiPUR-US compliant foams can be identified as low emission.
NOTE: Low emission does not mean “no emission.”
So pretty much every foam manufactured in the USA could be certified.
My conclusion is that this certification gives consumers a false sense of security that the CertiPUR certified polyurethane foams:
- are certified by an independent third party certification program, to
- meet a higher standard than other foams manufactured in the USA.
But in fact, it’s the polyurethane foam industry certifying that the foams that carry the seal meet a standard for which any polyurethane manufactured in the USA could qualify.
Hi, I would so appreciate your comments.
I am looking to buy the Brentwood Oceano mattress. I’m looking to find the most natural/organic/non toxic mattress that fits into my budget and is comfortable. This company touts itself as selling non-toxic mattresses and has lots of positive reviews, but the foam topper is polyurethane based.
Here is some info about the foam topper on the mattress. What do you think? How unhealthy is a polyurethane based foam topper? I understand from reading your post that Certipur-us certified foam doesn’t mean much.
The foam that we use in all of our products is polyurethane based and is CertiPUR-US Certified and has been tested to meet CertiPUR-US rigorous standards for emissions, content, performance, and durability. Specifically, the foam is:
✓ Made without ozone depleters✓ Made without PBDEs, TDCPP or TCEP (”Tris”) flame retardants✓ Made without mercury, lead, and other heavy metals✓ Made without formaldehyde✓ Made without phthalates regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission✓ Low VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) emissions for indoor air quality (less than 0.5 parts per million)
All of our mattresses are made without the use of chemical treatments. To meet federal safety requirements we use a bamboo-derived rayon fabric infused with natural silica sand (the same compound as the gemstone Opal) that prevents flames from spreading to your mattress. When exposed to flames, the hydrated silica fire barriers naturally char and self-extinguish without the use of chemicals.
Thanks!
As Debra stated previously, the CertiPUR-US certification is issued by the foam industry and there is no indicated third party testing. The claim that it is made without phthalates regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission does not mean that there are no phthalates. Also, low VOC does not mean that there are no VOCS.
Thank you for keeping the information on this website up-to-date. Excellent timing – I was just looking at sofas. It’s disappointing that brands I’d like to trust use this material given that it isn’t independently tested. Do you know of any independent testing that has been conducted on Certi-Pur foam? thank you
Unfortunately, I do not.
Thanks a lot for this informative article. It’s exactly what I was worried about! I was actually wondering, do you know what the VOC emissions concentration is for foam that isn’t certified? an average number, or a high? I am just wondering how much lower (if at all) the 0.5 ppm is than any regular polyurethane foam. I can’t seem to find any numbers, do you have any info? Thanks!
Actually there are some emissions tests.
Here’s one from 2014 on polyurethane foam used in crib mattresses: UNIVERISTY OF TEXAS: Crib Mattresses Emit High Rates of Potentially Harmful Chemicals.
This article expresses the emissions in micrograms per square meter per hour, so I don’t know how to compare these numbers to the Certipur number, but researchers considered them “high.” Please read this article because it gives many details, like emissions are higher in the sleeping zone than in the room at large, and mentions many specific chemicals that were found.
However, not all polyurethane foam is the same. There are many different types and formulas, so to just say “polyurethane foam” doesn’t really say how toxic it may or not be.
When I read the VOC emissions meet a standard of 0.5 ppm, that tells me it could be 0 or 0.5. We don’t know.
I can tell you my wool mattress from Shepherd’s Dream is zero. There are just no materials of any question at all that emit VOC’s.
So the Certipur standard isn’t good enough for me.
Thanks so much for your reply! I meant to write back right away and do the conversion and post the results here (We can use this for example: http://www.lenntech.com/calculators/ppm/converter-parts-per-million.htm), but it’s trickier than I thought because besides the conversion, we also need to know more about how the tests were run with respect to time. So it gets tricky because we don’t have all the info we need to be able to compare apples to apples. I would need to do some digging on the experimental methodology of both Certi-pur and the experiments in the study to be able to do a proper comparison.
I agree with you though, the Certipur standard isn’t good enough for me either. Thanks again for all the info and if I have time to do the digging and converting, I’ll post here. Thanks also for the link to Shepherd Dream mattress. I looked into it, but I am looking for something with springs and natural fibers. I’m afraid that without springs it will be too firm. How do you find yours?
I love my mattress from Shepherd’s Dream. I have mine on a wood slat bedframe.
See the Beds & Bedding page on Debra’s List for all the mattress companies I recommend.
What about harmful isocyantes used in making the polyurethane? Last I checked Dow had the market cornered for production of polyurethane products as a whole and that a presidential award was given to Hybrid Coating Technologies Inc in 2015 for being granted the worlds first patent for a non-isocyante polyurethane and the worlds first true green polyurethane base product.
Isocyanates are toxic and disposal of them is harmful to the environment. I’m happy to hear there are now non-isocyanate polyurethanes.
But isocynates are not the major problems in polyurethane foam with regards to toxic exposure to users. Making polyurethane is like making soap in that soap is made from fat mixed with highly corrosive sodium hydroxide (lye). If you put lye on your skin, it will burn right through it. But mixed with fat there is a chemical reaction that creates soap. Same thing with polyurethane. You have zero exposure to isocyanates from sleeping on a polyurethane foam mattress. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t other toxic exposures from other chemicals used to turn the polyurethane into foam, plus fire retardants, etc.
how legit is the organization centerpur? there’s a claim on another website that it’s sponsored by the chemical companies. if so then it’s not independent and their findings are suspect. it’s like the pharmaceutical companies funding their own research on drugs to prove it’s safe. anyone have info on this ?
I haven’t done research on this first hand, but Furniture World says
I haven’t been recommending CertiPUR-US approved polyurethane foam. This is just another reason that supports my earlier decision.
Thank you Debra, this is exactly what I was looking for; conclusive evidence of what CertiPUR actually is. You rock!! 😀
Caveat emptor: Reactions to urethane (whether combined or, as some marketers like to claim, “bound” with other chemicals) are very common, especially among people with chemical injuries.
The website states that they are made without PBDEs? I s that the only flame retardent used? I am still researching this company.
PDBEs are not the only flame retardant used. There are many others.
Debra, I am curious as to your actual thoughts on Certi-PUR foam vs. typing their description. It seems to up the quality level of polyurethane foam, making it less toxic. No?
I see that some of my original post was lost in the transfer to this new site platform, so I restored it.
Basically, it’s polyurethane foam, and I don’t see anything about it that makes it any better than any other polyurethane foam. It doesn’t say “flame-retardant-free” for example, just that it doesn’t have the banned flame retardant.
Yes i would like to hear from some people with MCS on their experiences with CertiPur-US Certified mattresses. We purchased one and have had problems, but we also made other bad changes around the same time, curtains and paint and a pressed board dresser. This was before we learned about all the chemicals in everything, and sickness is what made us figure it out. I’m thinking that the cover isn’t tested for anything and will have the most flame retardants so we are going to take the cover off and replace it with an Organic GOTS certified cover. If that doesnt work we are going to get a mattress with layers of latex. We actually just ordered the bottom layer of firm latex 3″ that I thought we might just sleep on and get rid of the other mattress all together. But im just wondering how good this Certipur standard really is and are other people having problems from them as well.
Hi, Bridget. I’ve been MCS for around two decades. I walk a line between the synthetic and natural/organic worlds. We are all a bit different in our sensitivities.
I start off with a fragrance-free-clean “safe” empty room and add in one thing at a time like you would do with food allergies. (Your list of curtains, paint, and new dresser would all need to be isolated in order to figure out what is causing the problem.) I’ve used some CertiPur foams with success. I always have to air them out for days or a week (Sunshine will break down foam, so you want to avoid too much direct sun).
Currently, I have a foam mattress that has a non-chemical fire-retardant layer in the fabric. I’ve been fine with it from an MCS standpoint. I did air out each layer of foam (the thick fabric cover has zippers). Unfortunately, years have passed, and now I need to shop for a new mattress–all that sunshine on the foam probably accelerated breakdown. You name it, and I’ve probably tried it. I’ve had an organic mattress. Latex is not an option for me–allergic. Wool is also problematic. Even organic cotton is problematic–for me. I’ve used air mattresses and had a waterbed for a number of years. My goal is a new spring mattress with synthetic foam for comfort layers.
I go with the least-problematic options that I can tolerate. Hope some of this helped.
Daliya Robson has had mcs for 25 years and longer of you could the 48 undiagnosed years.She can direct you to besit deals in making your own natural rubberr certifed organic mattresses. Her phone is 1 800 968 9355
These are not on the web. daliya