Latex/ organic search help

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
1

I have recently found your website as well as read some blogs from OldBedGuy and I realize now that there is so much information or misinformation out there. We are having a new baby and really wasn’t to have as little synthetic material and chemicals where we sleep and in the house in general. We were close to buying a Charles P Rogers Powercore Nano king mattress ($2319 after discount) after reading about it on the OldBedGuy blog and then going to the showroom and lying on their mattresses. However, it is unclear to us if their claim of using Talalay latex mean that is is all organic or passes GOLS standards.

Is there a list of the mattress brands that pass the GOLS standard? GOTS? or Oeko-Tex Standard.

I am all looking at Sleep on Latex which claims to be Green and 100% organic but I can’t find any certification. Clean Bedroom (which is very pricy) and Craig’s Bed’s here in NYC. any guidance would be appreciated.

Also any insight on Luxury E.C.O. Latex mattress on Overstock.com It appears that they are GOLS certified. Any info on this brand and comfort level. It is significantly cheaper than other options.

2

Hi sundance,

[quote]I have recently found your website as well as read some blogs from OldBedGuy and I realize now that there is so much information or misinformation out there. We are having a new baby and really wasn’t to have as little synthetic material and chemicals where we sleep and in the house in general. We were close to buying a Charles P Rogers Powercore Nano king mattress ($2319 after discount) after reading about it on the OldBedGuy blog and then going to the showroom and lying on their mattresses. However, it is unclear to us if their claim of using Talalay latex mean that is is all organic or passes GOLS standards.

Is there a list of the mattress brands that pass the GOLS standard? GOTS? or Oeko-Tex Standard.[/quote]

There is more information in post #2 here and the more detailed posts and information it links to about safe, natural, organic, “chemical free”, and “green” mattresses and mattress materials and components that can help you sort through some of the marketing information and terminology that you will encounter in the industry and can help you differentiate between them and answer “how safe is safe enough for me” or “how organic is organic enough for me” so you can decide on the types of materials you are most comfortable having in your mattress. These types of issues are complex and are generally specific to each person and their individual sensitivities, circumstances, criteria, beliefs, and lifestyle choices.

Most (although certainly not all) people that are looking for an “organic” mattress are usually concerned more with “safety” than whether the latex or the mattress has an organic certification. There is 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 and there is more about the different types of organic and safety certifications in post #2 here and more about some of the differences between organic and safety certifications in post #2 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.

If organic certifications are an important criteria for you then a retailer or manufacturer should be able to show you any certifications that would apply to their mattresses and/or the individual materials and components to confirm that any organic claims are legitimate.

As you probably know Sleep on Latex is one of the members of this site which means that I think highly of them and that I believe that they compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, knowledge, and transparency but as far as I know the only claim they make about organic materials that I have seen on their website is for their cotton covers. Their latex is 100% natural Dunlop.

Clean Bedroom carries some mattresses that use organic latex and/or covers.

I don’t see any mattresses at Craigs Beds that use organic materials or components.

This mattress only contains 2" of Dunlop latex which based on their description appears to be 100% natural but I don’t see anything in the description that indicates that it is certified organic. It also contains a 1.75" polyfoam transition layer and a 6" polyfoam base layer which of course are completely synthetic materials.

They don’t mention whether the polyfoam layers are CertiPUR certified.

They also don’t mention the density of the polyfoam layers but if you can find out the information in this article (particularly the density of the polyfoam) and post it on the forum I’d certainly be happy to let you know if there are any lower quality materials or weak links in the mattress that would be a cause for concern in terms of durability.

Without this information it’s not possible to assess the quality or durability of the materials or the mattress “as a whole” or make meaningful comparisons to other mattresses. I would avoid any mattress where you aren’t able to find out all the information you need to make an informed choice.

Hopefully you’ve already read the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice … and perhaps most importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones.

Two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you’ve read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort” and PPP that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists (based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you).

The better options or possibilities I’m aware of in and around the New York City area (subject to making sure that any mattress you are considering meets your specific criteria and the quality/value guidelines I linked in the last paragraph) are listed in post #2 here.

Phoenix

3

Phoenix,

Thank you for being so thourough with your study and insightful educational essays on an industry that I feel is one of the most uninformed!! The decision is important and I feel like I am taking a 100 level class at this point. Unfortunately you are right; there is a great deal of mistrust when our field trips to the showroom and we encounter salespeople who clearly are quick to dispel other brands are are pushing their products with sales that are ending (but are never really ending). I also warn others to be cautious and not get caught in their trap. My girlfriend wants to just have this decision made and move on but I feel that this decision is so much more important than a car. A car can be for show or for family safety, or speed but our beds play such a larger, more integral part of our daily lives

I am finding that there isn’t a list of specs that would be shared from mattress to mattress so you can compare the beds like you would other important purchase like a car. I can only hope that this industry becomes more transparent and clear in what we are buying.

We are both side keepers so I think I have eliminated Charles P Rogers Powercore Nano. Though if they were more transparent with their materials and reasonable priced I don’t think it would be a bad choice. We are thinking about buying online, and the choices that remain are Brooklyn Bedding. I do see that it is not 100% latex but the website is very transparent on the make up of the bed and the price is fair. I would assume that there must be some off gassing with the foam layer. This bed will most likely be used for our guest bed. For our main mattress we are choosing between a king bed from My Green Mattress and Sleep On Latex. I will call tomorrow and speak with each but would appreciate any knowledge you have of these companies.

Sundance

4

Phoenix,

I have just read a review here and it was informative on both sides of the debate regarding My Green Mattress.

I was wondering if all latex bedding have metal framing in them and what information you could share with me about it.

5

Hi sundance,

While the mainstream industry isn’t particularly transparent about the quality and durability of the materials in their mattresses … there are many good manufacturers and retailers that are happy to share the information in this article with their customers and these are the ones that I would deal with.

Brooklyn Bedding and Sleep on Latex are both members of this site which means that I think highly of both of them and that I believe that they compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, knowledge, and transparency.

While they sell different types of mattresses … neither one of them have any lower quality materials or weak links that would compromise the durability or useful life of their mattresses relative to any weight range.

As you plan to do anyway … when you can’t test a mattress in person then the most reliable source of guidance is always a more detailed phone conversation with a knowledgeable and experienced retailer or manufacturer that has your best interests at heart and who can help “talk you through” the specifics of their mattresses and the properties and “feel” of the materials they are using (fast or slow response, resilience, firmness etc) and the options they have available that may be the best “match” for you based on the information you provide them, any local testing you have done or mattresses you have slept on and liked or other mattresses you are considering that they are familiar with, and the “averages” of other customers that are similar to you. They will know more about “matching” their specific mattress designs and firmness levels to different body types, sleeping positions, and preferences (or to other mattresses that they are familiar with) than anyone else.

I’m not clear what you are asking … could you rephrase your question to make it a little bit more clear.

If you are asking about bedframes and foundations then there is more information about support systems (bedframes and foundations or platform beds) that are generally suitable for different types of mattresses and some examples of each of them in post #1 here.

Phoenix

6

I WAS REFERING TO THIS LINK

https://forum.mattressunderground.com/t/my-green-mattress-quality-sleep-shop-review

7

Hi sundance,

Yes … I read the post you linked and I also made a long and detailed reply in post #3 in the same topic but I’m not clear about what you are specifically asking me.

This is the part that I don’t know what you mean. I don’t know of any latex mattresses that have “metal framing”.

If you are referring to metal innersprings and some of the “controversy” about electromagnetic fields then you can see my comments about this in post #8 here and it’s certainly not something that would in any way concern me.

Phoenix

8

I was reading over it quickly and I see that the initial post referred to

That being the case, I know would like to inquire which surface is best for latex mattress support; platform, slats or box spring?

9

Hi sundance,

You can see my reply to this in the last paragraph in post #5 in the topic (you can just scroll back)

An all latex mattress will generally do best with a firm, flat, and evenly supportive support surface underneath it that has minimal to no flex under the mattress and for larger sizes with at least one center support beam that has good support to the floor to prevent any sagging in the middle of the mattress. The components need to be strong and durable and stable enough to support the weight of the mattress and the people sleeping on it without some of the parts bending, sagging, or breaking over time. The support surface under the mattress should have enough surface area to prevent the mattress from sagging through any gaps or spaces in the support surface over time but still allow some airflow under the mattress. I would suggest that in a slatted support system (either a foundation on a steel or wooden bedframe or a platform bed with a slatted support surface) that any gaps between the slats are no more than 3" (with 1 x 3 slats) although less than that would be better yet.

Phoenix