Question about blended latex vs natural (toxicity)

Phoenix,

I am revisiting the idea of purchasing a blended latex topper over a natural one because I find the blended to be less bouncy, more “dense” (a but more similar to the way memory foam supports.) In fact in Spindles showroom they have a small heavy hand weight; one end is resting on blended latex and the other end is resting on natural latex and you can see the difference I’m trying to describe.

So I would like to try blended but am still concerned about toxicity issues.

In doing some research on your site today I found your comment:

“As far as toxicity goes, both blended and natural latex are very safe and while they may sometimes have a smell which ranges from “vanilla” to “rubbery”, this generally dissipates quickly and is not harmful. Most quality latex foams have been tested for toxicity and outgassing by reputable testing organizations and are completely safe … even for babies. Your choice between NR and SBR at least can be based on your personal preferences rather than which one is “safer”. If your preferences are towards completely natural, then both Talalay and Dunlop come in natural versions (they do not use SBR in their production) and Dunlop is also available in a certified organic version. There is no certified organic Talalay.”

So my questions are:

  1. Is SBR (styrene butadiene) in all “blended” latex of the type I describe above?
  2. If so, how could “blended” latex be safer than natural?

Thanks
LookingNow

Hi LookingNow,

When two substances are chemically bound together then they are different from either one individually. For example water is a chemical that is composed of hydrogen and oxygen that are chemically bound together.

Salt is also a chemical that is made from sodium and chlorine and chlorine by itself is also toxic by itself but isn’t toxic when it is chemically bound to something else.

Styrene butadiene is a copolymer of styrene and butadiene that are chemically bound together.

All the latex you are likely to encounter (Dunlop or Talalay and made from natural or synthetic rubber or a blend of both) will have been tested for harmful substances and VOC’s by either Oeko-Tex Standard 100 or by Eco-Institut using some very stringent testing protocols (see post #2 here) and would be “safe” for almost everyone with the exception of those who may have unusual sensitivities to the chemicals used to formulate and cure the latex or who have allergies to natural latex itself (see post #2 here for more about latex allergies).

Yes … blended latex is by definition a blend of natural rubber (NR) and synthetic rubber (SBR). The blend would vary but all blended latex will include some percentage of SBR.

I don’t think that either one can be considered to be “safer” than the other because both have been tested with the same protocols for harmful substances and VOC’s. The exception would be if someone had a type 1 allergy to natural rubber then for them synthetic rubber would be safer than natural rubber.

Phoenix

Thanks. This was a fun one.

So, am I correct about these conclusions:

  1. mostly it is that if the type of rubber is a main consideration for someone this would all be important information

  2. all latex with these certifications are “safe” but many people enjoy the even safer qualities of having less % of synthetic

  3. for me with my MCS, I should see if the certifications’ standards are ok for my personal needs - but I can have higher hopes since I’m not allergic to curing packages or latex itself? I’ve been concerned about SBR needlessly perhaps, since I was looking at each ingredient separately but together they are, would you say, “neutral”?

Hi LookingNow,

There are really only two ways to know whether a material is safe enough for you (vs being safe enough for someone else).

The first of these is based on testing that identifies any harmful substances or VOC’s in a material.

The second is based on your own personal experience and history with certain materials.

Beyond this … there is really no way to quantify whether one material is “safer” than another one and decisions become a matter of “best judgement” or “risk management” based on your individual history, circumstances, and beliefs.

While the testing protocols used for latex (synthetic or natural) indicate that any harmful substances and VOC’s are “safe enough” for the large majority of people … those that are more sensitive or that have certain medical conditions may feel more comfortable choosing more natural materials over others as part of “risk management” even though there may be no evidence that a synthetic material would be harmful. This is where personal choices and how you feel “about” certain materials may be more important than whether they are actually harmful to you.

In very general terms and based on anecdotal evidence (which is not scientific) … the most likely foam material that some people may be sensitive to is memory foam followed by polyfoam followed by latex. There are many examples of people that have MCS that don’t have any issues with synthetic or blended latex but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are comfortable with the “idea” of having it in their mattress because there are many people who believe that all synthetic substances are more harmful than natural substances and whether this is actually correct is less important than how they feel “about” synthetic materials.

Different types of latex have a different “feel” and respond differently when you sleep on them and they also have different prices so for most people the choice between different types of latex is generally a preference issue or a cost issue. There is more about the different types and blends of latex in post #6 here and there is more about the differences between Dunlop and Talalay in post #7 here.

I’m not so sure that this would be a correct assumption because the only way to know which one was safer would be based on actual testing or personal experience. Rather than trying to decide which one may be “safer” for you which really isn’t possible to know … a more effective approach would be to decide whether either one would be “safe enough” for you. For most people … the answer would be that both are “safe enough”.

While there is justifiable concern with having certain harmful chemicals in mattress materials … for the most part the belief that “all chemicals” or “all synthetic materials” are harmful is not justified and there is little evidence to support it … at least as a blanket statement. These types of overly generalized beliefs can often lead to the need to make choices that are much more restrictive or may be much more difficult than they need to be. There are certainly some chemicals or synthetic materials that some people would choose to avoid because their history indicates that they are or may be sensitive to it or because there is more anecdotal evidence that some other people who are in similar circumstances or situations may be sensitive to it but for the most part the choice between natural and synthetic latex wouldn’t be an issue of safety and would be more about performance and “feel” and cost.

Phoenix

Ok, thanks.

I’m thinking of trying a blended topper for the comfort factor. I will research the issue of how safe it might be for me by talking to some sellers.

Thanks