The nontoxic certification organization MADESAFE issued a new report last week called Detox Your Sleep: Toxic Chemicals in Bedding, Safer Alternative & Certified Products for Healthier Sleep . It was sponsored in part by Naturepedic, manufacturer of mattresses and Coyuchi, manufacturer of bedding.
I want to tell you what’s good about this report and what—in my opinion—it’s missing.
The strength of this report is it’s research into the toxic materials. It contains about 20 pages about toxic materials used to make mattresses, with more than 200 scientific references. It’s a great reference for why we need to sleep on something other than the standard mattress.
But then, only three pages were devoted to the safer mattress materials.
And then three pages on chemicals in bedlinen. Formaldehyde on bedsheets, our most intimate contact with toxic chemicals was mentioned in passing without mentioning any health effects (formaldehyde causes cancer, among other problems).
From my viewpoint, this report really doesn’t tell us how to choose mattresses or bedding, only what the problem chemicals are and the MADESAFE certified brands. Even when you click through to the MADESAFE website, there is no standard for mattresses (beyond their usual does not contain their list of toxic chemicals), nor any description of the choices.
My biggest concern here is that the certified mattresses listed—Naturepedic, Happsy, and Avocado (in progress—are all presented as if they are the same, yet they are VERY different mattresses. Naturepedic and Happsy are both GOTS certified organic mattresses and Avocado is not. See my comparison of Naturepedic and Avocado here.
This gives a false impression that Avocado (and other mattresses that will be certified in the future) are as “made safe” as Naturepedic and Happsy when then are not. I know that often consumers look at a certification and think that all certified products are created equal. This is at least one example where they are not.
Still this report is worth reading if you are interested in the toxic chemicals used to make standard mattresses.
Hi there! Avocado’s website states their mattresses are GOTS certified. Was this a newer certification or am I interpreting something wrong? Thank you!
I believe it is a newer certification.
What if you can’t handle the smell of organic cotton and wool – smells like a wet sheep in Hawaii?
You’ll have to find a material you tolerate and make your own bed. My first natural bed was a pile of cotton thermal blankets on a metal cot frame.
I understand the ratings and I cannot find a reasonable priced GOT’s mattress any suggestions. Its really frustrating. Thanks for article
Have you looked at Happsy?