NAOMI mattress standards

by Debra Lynn Dadd | Feb 10, 2009 | Q & A | 1 comment

Question from KP

Hi there, I was wondering if you know who created the NAOMI mattress standards? I think their standards look wonderful but their is only one company who is apparently certified by them so I kind of smell a rat. Also do you know anything about pure rest mattresses, do you feel they would pass your standards for organic? Thanks, Kristen

Debra’s Answer

Here’s a clue. There is no website for the National Association of Organic Mattress Industry (NAOMI). If you ask around, other organic mattress manufacturers don’t belong to it and say it doesn’t exist. So I would say that any website that states their mattress is NAOMI compliant is making fraudulent claims.

Yes, there is a good list of criteria supposedly attributed to NAOMI. But the organization itself doesn’t exist.

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Skeptical Father-To-Be on November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am
Ginny Turner referred to you as an inspiration for starting her company, and NAOMI: “Thanks to Debra Lynn Dadd for opening my eyes with all the great info in her book.” (http://www.purerest.com/About-Pure-Rest-Organics).

I was alerted to the “NAOMI” certification claim made by Ginny Turner after reading this paragraph from an article by Jane Sheppard (“Are Toxic Chemicals in Baby Crib Mattresses Poisoning Babies?”) (http://www.healthychild.com/safe-non-toxic-organic-crib-mattresses):

“Erroneous or Not-Quite-Truthful Claims by Organic Mattress Companies

Crib mattress buyers need to know that some companies stretch the truth or say misleading things to try to get consumers to believe they have the best mattress.

You may have seen some online organic mattress retailers claiming that their mattress manufacturer is a proud member of the National Association of Organic Mattress Industry (NAOMI). They list a set of standards that this organization endorses. The interesting thing is that if you go to the NAOMI website you’ll find that there is only one member. There are other organic mattress manufacturers that likely meet these standards but they are not members of NAOMI. Why is that? Well, NAOMI is not actually a real member organization. It was fabricated by the mattress company that happens to be the only member! NAOMI is merely a website created by a company who sells organic mattresses. It’s no surprise this company is listed as the only certified member. This is brilliant marketing, but misleading to consumers.”

Since I am skeptical by nature, I had to investigate the NAOMI organization in order to find out if it was real or a misleading marketing gimmick; I found that it is not a real organization. This is not only misleading, but unethical. Maybe Ginny Turner’s products are safe and well-made, but misleading claims and various marketing tricks are a real turn-off to me.

COMMENT FROM DEBRA:

I agree with you.

Before I published this comment, I contacted Ginny about this. What I am about to say is not a comment on the purity or workmanship of her mattresses (which I have no personal experience with) but only on the facts regarding her National Association of Organic Mattress Industry (NAOMI).

The first thing Ginny says is that it NAOMI is NOT a certification. It is a standard. Specially, here is the standard (as of October 2012)

NAOMI STANDARDS
1. Must be free of synthetic fabrics.
2. No fabrics may be treated with any chemicals suspected of being toxic, even at low levels.
3. All wool must be from sheep raised according to organic standards.
4. Wool must be processed according to organic standards and be free of Polyester fibers. This requires that the wool is processed at a facility that does not process polyester.
5. Any wool used must be tested for excessive arsenic or ANY lead.
6. All inner, hidden fabrics and fibers, must be certified according to GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standards).
7. All cotton batting used must be certified organic cotton and processed according to GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standards). Many facilities add chemicals to organic cotton batting such as boric acid, or silica.
8. Any other natural fibers used must be certified organic (cotton, silk), or thoroughly tested.
9. Fibers used must also be processed according to GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standards), no chemical processing allowed.
10. Any rubber used must be tested free of benzene, toluene, pthalates, SBR, petroleum additives, formaldehyde, arsenic, lead at under .001 ppm.
11. Any glue used must be free of formaldehyde, phenolated compounds and must be disclosed.
12. The only exceptions are: thread, metal springs, rubber as these have no certifications in the works anywhere in the world.
  These standards were developed after it was discovered that many manufacturers were not disclosing all ingredients used. They use Greenguard or Oeko Tex as their standard and these are not pure standards in the eyes of a consumer who desires a mattress that is free of toxic or unproven chemicals.
The problem however, is that she displays the NAOMI seal in the same manner as certification seals are displayed, so it is easy to mistake it for a certification.

There is no association, only Ginny Turner.

While she displays many certifications for materials used, she has no certification for “organic mattress” as a whole, nor any third party verification of materials she is actually using in her products.

I’ve repeatedly heard NAOMI called into question over the years, and yet she persists in using it.

She could easily just say here are the materials I use and here are the certifications for those materials. That would be a true statement.

.

I happen to agree with her statement that Greenguard and Oeko Tex are not “pure” standards. They are not zero emissions. And I agree with her standards. What I don’t agree with is the misleading character that these standards belong to an organization or that no other mattress but hers qualify. Other mattresses DO meet these standards. Compare for yourself.

Again, I’m not commenting here on her mattresses. Only the manner in which she describes them. Consumers have enough problems deciphering labels. No need to make it any more confusing.
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