I just wanted to express my sincerest thanks to Phoenix for taking the time and energy to put together this great resource for us. I ended up here because I was searching for a crib mattress for my 20 month old. I wanted a mattress without any flame retardants, plastics and off-gasses. I assumed that meant “organic.”
Upon reading a recommendation from a blog, I was set on Obasan. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), they do not ship crib mattresses to the US anymore. So, I ended up researching other “organic” crib mattress companies and dug further into the rabbit hole. That’s when I learned more about greenwashing and other deception by omission tactics used by companies to sell their “organic and natural” crib mattresses. A few companies that I looked into:
Naturepedic: Looked like a great choice until I found out that they use polyethylene to waterproof their mattress.
Colgate: Their Certi-PUR-US foam sounds like polyfoam.
The Natural Mat: Looked like a great choice also. Almost pulled the trigger on their Coco Mat but upon further research a rep confirmed that their cotton quilted covers are NOT organic, despite what the Amazon product descriptions say.
Nook: Liked that the mattresses are breathable and non-toxic, though I still have reservations about the plastic foam.
Greenbuds: Organic quilted cotton cover, organic wool, coconut coir, latex – so far, so good. E-mailed the company about the purity of their latex. Received a generic “100% natural latex” response. E-mailed back to ask for a more detailed reply. Awaiting reply but am already starting to have doubts.
Essentia: I admit that their website and claims of the “world’s only natural memory foam” looked appealing. Was seriously thinking of purchasing from them until I finally stumbled upon this site.
I also briefly looked at OMI, Natura, Oeuf, Lifekind and Savvy Rest, but did not dig deeper because that’s when I found this wonderful resource. Based on the recommendations from this forum, I am going to go with the SleepEZ crib mattress. Great customer service, quality products and great value? I’ll take that.
I hope that by sharing my experiences it can help someone else in their crib mattress jourmey.
Lastly, I was wondering if all mattresses are required to have flame retardants (even those with wool components)? I heard that wool does burn so therefore manufacturers have to use it. Like boric acid?
