100% Natural latex recommendation

What 100% Natural Latex mattress/company would you recommend?
I have been researching mattresses for weeks now, and am unable to “pull the trigger” so to speak, on a mattress.

We are interested in an organic 100% latex bed. Unglued. extremely natural. literally the latex, wool or some sort of non toxic fire barrier, organic cotton.
Also preferably with exceptional certifications: Oeko-Tex, GreenGuard, GOTS, GOLS, etc

I’m currently looking at Plush Beds since they offer both a wool, and a vegan option, with all the requirements above.

(I went to a local store here in Portland which sells latex and wool, and I became very itchy after laying on their wool topper. Not sure if I would have the same reaction once a mattress pad and sheets are put on, but it makes me a bit concerned)

So, what would be your number one go to mattress company for organic 100% natural latex?

I just want to make sure there is nothing “better” out there, or maybe that is a little lower in the price area, if possible. (PlushBeds Wool option for a CalKing is $2199, and for the Vegan option CalKing $1899)

Thanks in advance!

PS Has anyone heard of BioSleep Concepts, if so, thoughts?

Hi mamaccino,

There are far to many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved for anyone to recommend a specific mattress (or even a specific company) for someone else out of all the thousands of different options that are available in the market (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here). Having said that … the tutorial post here has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help with “how” to choose a mattress that is the best match for you based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.

[quote]We are interested in an organic 100% latex bed. Unglued. extremely natural. literally the latex, wool or some sort of non toxic fire barrier, organic cotton.
Also preferably with exceptional certifications: Oeko-Tex, GreenGuard, GOTS, GOLS, etc[/quote]

If you are looking for an organic mattress then the first step would be to decide on “how organic” you want your mattress to be because there are different levels of organic certifications. There is more about this in post #2 here and the posts it links to.

I would also clarify whether “natural” or “safe” materials are also acceptable to you because some of the certifications you mentioned are about “safety” in terms of harmful substances and VOC’s (Oeko-Tex and to a lesser degree GreenGuard beause they don’t publish their testing standards) and some are about organic certifications (GOTS and GOLS) which are very different. Eco-Institut is another “safety” standard that publishes their testing criteria. There is more about some of the differences between organic, natural, safe, and green materials in post #2 here and there is more detailed information yet in post #2 here and the posts it links to about all the complex issues surrounding organic, natural, safe, and green materials.

Once you have decided on the level of organic, natural, or safe materials that meets the criteria that are most important to you then it will be much easier to make sure that any mattress you are considering meets your specific criteria and you can assess any mattress based on the materials inside it rather than the name of the company.

A forum search on Plushbeds (you can just click the link) will bring up much more information and feedback about them. They are certainly a “better than average” option and they use good quality materials but for most people they wouldn’t be in the “best” value range compared to some of the other options that are linked in the tutorial post. There is also no organic Talalay latex and the Dunlop they use isn’t organic … just 100% natural although this may turn out not to be as important to you after reading the previous information.

If a mattress is vegan then it would need to have some other fire barrier other than wool (normally a viscose/silica fire barrier) or you would need a prescription from a health professional to have no fire barrier at all.

A forum search on Biosleep (you can just click this link as well) will bring up more information and feedback about them but based on my conversations with Christian there he is certainly knowledgeable about his products and is “good people” as well.

Phoenix

I want it all! haha. Safety and Organic.
Thats why I was considering Plush Beds because they appear to offer everything: Oeko-Tex certification, Organic USDA, GOLS, GOTS, GreenGuard. Their certifications seem to run the gambit.

But I am really into Bio Sleep Concepts. Possibly because their prices are incredible, and they offer a lot of the above certifications (not all of them, though) AND they are a California company (I was born and raised in California) but they produce in Portland Oregon (where we currently live) So I feel I am supporting some local businesses if I purchase.

Today my husband and I went to a local shop which carried 100% dunlop latex mattresses, and the cost was pretty high. A Cal King for $2200-$2500. And I was really not impressed. (The mattresses were produced by two companies: 1) 45th Street Bedding based in Seattle, and 2) Washington and Oregon Mattress Company)

I guess I feel like I should be getting some quality workmanship out of the product for that price. Not just some layers of foam stacked together, and covered. Seems a bit “easy” for the cost. Or am I being too judgmental?

Also, the lady in the store who was talking to us, told us that latex “hardens” as the night progresses with you sleeping on it. She said it “pushes back” on you, so be prepared. Does this happen? I thought latex supports and contours your body. Now I am just more confused.

Hi mamaccino,

The Dunlop in the Plushbeds mattresses is GOLS certified organic … and 100% natural but all the latex you are likely to encounter (either Dunlop or Talalay and whether it uses natural or synthetic rubber or a blend of both) will have either an Oeko-Tex certification or an Eco-Institut certification. The cotton in the cover is also organic.

If you are in Portland then the better options and possibilities I’m aware of in the area are listed in post #2 here.

There is more about how I would assess the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here. There are also many factors involved in the final cost of a mattress (see post #14 here). The bottom line though is that a mattress is more than just a commodity where the value can be measured by the cost per inch of foam or the price per yard or pound of fabric or fibers and value always depends on how it compares to all the other mattresses you are considering in terms of suitability (how well you sleep on it), durability (how long you will sleep well on it), and the other parts of your personal value equation that are important to you.

Latex doesn’t “harden” over the course of the night but she may have meant if your mattress is firmer than your ideal and creates pressure points then you will feel this more over the course of the night as the pressure builds up but this is true for any mattress that is too firm for you. Latex can also be deceptive because it has an unusual combination of softness and elasticity combined with good support because it firms up more quickly than other types of foam as you compress it more deeply. Latex is a highly resilient material (resilience is measured by the percentage rebound of a ball that is dropped on the material) which means that it “rebounds” or “pushes back” against pressure just like any other resilient material. Unlike slow response materials which have no resilience at all … it has a more “on the mattress” feel rather than an “in the mattress” feel and is more “motion friendly” rather than “motion restricting” that is more common with low resilience materials. It is less resilient than innersprings and more resilient than most polyfoam. There is more about the properties of latex in this article and in this article.

Phoenix

I was just reading Plush Beds certifications, and they do hold a GOLS certification. They also have a Oeko-Tex certification on their latex.

the link below will take you to where you can view the certs.

Hi mamaccino,

Their site doesn’t mention GOLS certification in their mattress description pages such as here (it just mentions 100% natural) and the link you posted also doesn’t say that they use GOLS certified Dunlop (although it does have a GOLS image at the bottom of the page) but it does mention it on their blog page here and on the main overview page here so you are correct that their Dunlop latex is GOLS certified organic (although I would ask them specifically just to confirm this) and I’ve edited my previous reply to reflect this. Their Talalay is 100% natural and not organic because there isn’t any organic Talalay in the world at the moment. Almost all latex is Oeko-Tex certified (and the manufacturers that aren’t are Eco Institut certified) and this is a de facto “standard” for latex of any type whether it’s natural or synthetic.

Thanks for pointing out my mistake :slight_smile:

Phoenix