Crib mattress help

I have been searching for a non toxic crib mattress for my baby and am looking for some advice after reading the other posts on crib mattresses.
I know non toxic and organic mean different things to everyone so what I am looking for is organic cotton and wool with latex and coconut coir. Avoiding flame retardants, heavy metals and chemicals.
I had narrowed down my choices to Natural Mat, Greenbuds Baby and Obasan. After reading some not great reviews I am having mixed feelings about them. My other concern is mattresses not made in the states may be treated upon arrival which I dont want after paying for something pure.
This has lead me to reading about others here who have went with SleepEZ, which I am now considering, but would like some feedback or guidance on which you think may be a better choice.
Any help is greatly appreciated!

Hi EcoMom,

I think any of the choices you are looking at would be a good choice for a crib mattress and I would personally consider any one of them to be a good quality and suitable purchase.

Some of them have more than one crib mattress option but comparing the Naturalmat Latex Mat, the Greenbuds Magnolia Deluxe (which is 1" thicker and a little more costly than the Primrose Deluxe but is otherwise similar), the Obasan Terra Nova II, and the SleepEZ Natural Latex crib mattress …

All of them have an organic cotton cover with either natural eco wool (SleepEZ) or organic wool (Obasan, Greenbuds, Naturalmat) quilted to an organic cotton cover (SleepEZ and Obasan and Greenbuds) or as an actual layer under the cotton cover (Naturalmat) which can add to the breathability and provide good temperature and moisture regulation to the sleeping surface.

Two of them (Greenbuds on one side and Naturalmat on both sides) have coir underneath the wool which can add additional ventilation in the deeper layers as well but this may not be as important with the wool and cotton in the layers above them. The coir in Greenbuds is natural and in the Naturalmat is certified organic.

Three of them (Greenbuds and Obasan and Naturalmat) have a removable cover which can be helpful with cleaning or airing out in the case of more serious accidents (although a good protector would prevent this and would be an important part of a crib mattress purchase). Two of them have a cover that can be washed either by hand (Greenbuds) or in a machine (Naturalmat).

Three of them (SleepEZ and Obasan and Naturalmat) are two sided with the same firmness on each side while one of them (Greenbuds) is two sided with a different firmness on each side. Having a different firmness level on each side provides the option of having a firmer side when your baby is younger and a slightly softer side when they are a little older but all of these mattresses are an appropriate firmness for a baby or toddler IMO. Having a mattress that is the same on both sides means you can flip it without changing the feel or firmness of the sleeping surface which can help even out the compression in the wool and add to longevity but all of these mattresses would be a durable choice anyway.

SleepEZ and Greenbuds and Naturalmat use 100% natural latex while I believe Obasan uses organic latex (although it doesn’t say so on their site). All of these are high quality materials that are also very suitable for infants in firmer versions. There is more about organic latex vs 100% natural latex in post #6 here but outside of the actual certification they are functionally the same and are both “safe” materials with the same certification for harmful substances and VOC’s. There is also more about organic certifications in post #2 here.

All of them are a suitable thickness (6" or less) and size so there wouldn’t be any gaps in between the crib and the mattress and wouldn’t be too thick for a crib.

All of them would be durable choices that should easily outlast the length of time your child will be using them.

I’m not sure which reviews you were reading or the issues that they were mentioning but I would take all mattress reviews with a big grain of salt (either positive or negative) because they are usually written shortly after a purchase by consumers with limited knowledge about mattresses and the materials inside them and often contain comments that are only partly accurate or relevant to someone else or which are sometimes completely inaccurate and irrelevant so they can be more misleading than helpful (outside of comments about the business itself rather than the mattress). There is more about reviews in post #13 here.

I’m also not sure what you are referring to here but if you mean fumigation then this would only apply to mattresses that are shipped on untreated wooden pallets which would be very unusual and I don’t believe would apply to any of the mattresses you are considering (see post #2 here).

In terms of “value” all of them are a fair price but outside of some of the pros and cons earlier in this post … I would probably give the edge in terms of “commodity value” to SleepEZ which contains more latex than the others and is a lower price.

Phoenix

I appreciate your response Phoenix, it is helpful to see everything each mattress has to offer listed out.
My concern for mattresses made overseas was fumigation, I should have clarified that. But I have also read that mattresses made in Europe can have graphite added to the latex to make them flame retardant. Have you heard of this and is it safe? I am waiting to hear back from Natural Mat to find out if they do this.
I like the SleepEz mattress, it seems to be a great buy, my only reluctance is that it does not have a removable cover, which is a definite bonus to me. If I am not able to wash or dry the cover, what is best to do when it gets soiled? I will have a cotton allergen encasement and wool pad over the mattress but am trying to figure out if I had to spot clean it, how would I dry it without mold setting in?

Hi EcoMom,

Fumigation wouldn’t be a concern for me with any reliable manufacturer that knows to ship their cores on pallets that don’t need fumigation.

Yes some manufacturers add graphite both to help with the fire retardancy of latex and to customize the properties of the latex but all the latex you are likely to encounter would be tested for harmful substances and VOC’s by either Oeko-Tex or Eco-Institut (which are both reliable testing protocols) and I would consider any latex whether it was Dunlop or Talalay and made with natural rubber, synthetic rubber, or a blend of both to be safe yes (see post #2 here).

I would use a good mattress protector to prevent this from happening but if it did get soiled then it would need to be spot cleaned (see post #2 here).

Phoenix