HELP! Totally overwhelmed... ISO natural latex mattress!

I’ve been reading for like 2 months about mattresses and still can’t sort out all the info in my head. I’m looking for a non-toxic, environmentally friendly low/no VOC-emitting durable mattress with no metal in it. I THINK that means I’m looking for something with a Dunlop latex core, and either Dunlop or Talalay latex comfort layer(s). I’d like something with a washable, protective cover made with 100% organic cotton (not really interested in wool/animal fiber comfort layers) . A flippable mattress would be a bonus but not a necessity. No matter what search terms I use in Google, it seems basically the mattress companies that pay google the most just keep coming up, so i am getting nowhere in narrowing down companies that offer products like this!!

I’m in the Toronto, CA area and need a showroom where I can try out latex mattresses to see how they feel, as I’m pretty sure I’ve never once laid on one.

Is it true that only natural Talalay latex is low VOC? Is all 'memory foam" made from mostly polyeurathane?

Thanks!

Hi iamjennyt,

Welcome to the Mattress Forum! :slight_smile:

That’s a very common request! There is more about the different types of safety certifications such as Oeko-tex, Eco-Institut, Greenguard Gold, C2C, and CertiPUR-US in post #2 here and more about some of the differences between organic and safety certifications in post #2 here and there are also some comments in post #42 here that can help you decide whether an organic certification is important to you for environmental, social, or personal reasons or whether a “safety” certification is enough.

There is also more information about the three different levels of organic certifications in post #2 here and some of the benefits of an organic certification in post #3 here.

Most people that are looking for an “organic” or “environmentally friendly” mattress or materials are usually concerned more with “safety” than whether the materials have an actual organic certification, and they usually aren’t aware that an organic certification isn’t the same thing as a safety certification.

“Toxic” is a term for poisonous substances produced within living cells or organisms, although the term is often used in the mattress industry, but I understand your point. Toxicity is dose-dependent, and most people that are looking for “non-toxic” mattresses or materials are usually concerned most with “safety”, as I mentioned above.

The only reliable way to assess the “safety” of different materials in more general terms is based on lab tests and the certifications they have for harmful substances and VOCs (regardless of whether they are organic or natural or synthetic) so that you have some assurance than the VOCs are below the testing limits for the certification. If the materials in a mattress or the mattress itself has a reliable “safety” certification then for most people they would certainly be “safe enough”. Most of the latex you would be likely to come across (synthetic, blended or natural) would be offered with some sort of a safety certification, so I personally wouldn’t have a concern with choosing either Talalay or Dunlop latex, and would consider either a “safer” material.

Dormio Organic Beds, a site member here, is located in Toronto, and they offer all-latex mattresses. I think very highly of them in terms of their quality, value, service, knowledge, and transparency.

You can perform a forum search on Toronto (just click on the link) to find discussions and businesses that have been previously mentioned here on the site in your area. I have discontinued the provision of listings of potential retailers in various geographic regions (unless they are already approved site members), because of the difficulty of accurately maintaining such lists in a retail landscape that is constantly changing, and most importantly because of the confusion it was creating with the consumer members who incorrectly assumed that these businesses had indeed gone through the strict qualification process and were approved as members of The Mattress Underground. Such an assumption is unfair to both the consumers seeking assistance, as well as the very businesses and manufacturers who have indeed qualified the be members here of The Mattress Underground.

Aside from that, I would always confirm that any retailer or manufacturer that you wish to visit is completely transparent (see this article) and also make sure that any mattress that you are considering meets the quality/value guidelines here.

If you have any questions about specifications or certain products you’ve seen in a retail store, feel free to post back on the forum and I’ll do my best to provide answers.

No, all latex would general pass a reliable “safety certification” (see above referenced links) for “lower” VOC levels.

Memory foam is technically a style of slow-recovery polyurethane foam (isocyanate, polyol and water), so the answer is, “Yes.”

Phoenix