Anyone heard of Gemma mattresses?

Hi, first post here. Great forum.

I have been looking for a new mattress and I am interested in a non-toxic or at least a certified low-voc mattress. I was at a store in San Francisco that claims they only sell non toxic mattress. There was a brand of all natural latex, some mattresses from bedinabox, and this brand called Gemma. According to salesman 60% of the material was bio-based, but I can’t confirm that on website.
http://www.gemmasleep.com/

but here is the site of the store which has the same claims:
http://nestbedding5.reachlocal.net/products/gemma-oeko-tex-certified-memory-foam-mattress

felt pretty confortable and it’s oeko-tex 100 certified. But I can’t find much about this brand online.

Does anybody here know the brand?

Thanks so much

Hi skubaman,

Welcome to the Mattress Forum! :slight_smile:

There is some information about the Gemma Mattresses in post #2 here and a forum search on Gemma (you can just click the link) will bring up more information and comments about them as well.

Post #13 here also has more information about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase that can help you make more meaningful comparisons between mattresses regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label which is not nearly as important as the type and quality of the materials inside a mattress.

Phoenix

Hi Phoenix, thanks for the response. I had looked for posts with word Gemma using a search on your site through Google but had not found anything. So thanks for the link.

I appreciate the feedback and had already read the guidelines for finding a good mattress, nonetheless I am looking for a non-toxic mattress what makes my options limited. Most brands I find have nothing about the toxicity of the material or make claims that are unsubstantiated by 3rd party certifications.

It seems that in my case I need either a 100% all natural latex mattress or a memory foam mattress with OEKO-TEX 100 certification, or at least Certi-Pur certification.

100% natural latex is very expensive and way above our budget. Looking to spend around $2k for a king size.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

Hi Skubaman,

Post #2 here and the posts it links to has more information about organic, natural, chemical free, green, and safe materials that should help you decide on which materials you are comfortable having in your mattress and to help answer the question “how safe is safe enough for me?”

If you are comfortable with an Oeko-Tex certification then any type of natural, synthetic, or blended latex would be suitable for you (all the latex you are likely to encounter would be either Oeko-Tex or Eco-Institut certified).

If you are comfortable with a CertiPUR certification then almost any foam material would be suitable for you since there are many polyfoam and memory foam options that are CertiPUR certified.

Your budget is certainly enough to include some very good quality all latex or latex hybrid mattresses. The better local options or possibilities I’m aware of in the San Francisco area (subject to the guidelines here) are listed in post #2 here and the mattress shopping tutorial includes this link to a list of the members here that sell mattresses online and many of them make latex or latex hybrid mattresses that use different types and blends of latex with a wide range of designs, options, features, and price ranges that would give you many choices.

Phoenix

Hi, thanks for the links. What are your thoughts in regards to Certi-Pur certification? I know it’s a certification created for the manufacturers themselves, so I wonder if the limits they used for the VOCs are indeed safe? I know it’s 0.5 parts per million, but when there are dozens of chemicals involved in the manufacturing and while 0.5 might be safe limit for one of them, might not be for another.

Would be great to hear your thoughts.

Thanks

Hi skubaman,

You can see my thoughts about CertiPUR in post #12 here. They use different limits for different chemicals that vary widely depending on the known “safe” limits for each chemical (you can see the specific testing limits here*) and IMO it is certainly a step in a good and and “safer” and more objective direction that can give most people a reasonable answer to the question of “how safe is safe enough for me?”.

ADMIN NOTE:*Always check CertiPur site for the latest guidelines available

Having said that … there will still be a smaller minority of people that are either more sensitive to even CertiPUR certified foams or that have health conditions such as MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivities) that may still find they experience some kind of reaction when they sleep on certain materials that for the large majority of people would be fine. Based on anecdotal feedback … this would be more common with memory foam, less common with polyfoam, and least common of all with latex. Some people may also find that they are only sensitive to specific versions of each of these materials made by a specific company and not to others or in some cases they may find that they are sensitive to specific batches of the same material and not to others because there may be some variation in the formulation of each batch or how it is cured or aired out during and after manufacturing. You can see an example of a specific product that I was sensitive to here although I am fine with most versions of memory foam.

Beyond a CertiPUR certification (or another legitimate certification) … the only way to know whether you are sensitive to a specific product that most others wouldn’t be sensitive to would be based on personal experience because foam manufacturers don’t release the specific details of the individual or amount of chemicals they use in their formulations which are proprietary. Some people that know they have a history of sensitivity to some versions of a specific category of foam may even choose to avoid that category completely just to reassure themselves and to have a larger margin of safety and lower the risk of their choices but these are all personal choices that would be based on “best judgement” that takes into account the specifics of each person’s history and circumstances.

Phoenix