Question about organic latex certification (Savvy Rest, Lifekind and SleezEZ)

[phoenix]

Hi Lulu0915,

Although it seems you’ve read this … for the sake of others that may not have there is more about the three “levels” of organic certifications in post #2 here (which is where your quote came from).

On the Savvy Rest website it says “Our Dunlop latex supplier’s rubber tree farms are certified organic to U.S. standards. Their latex foam processing is certified by the International Control Union to the Global Organic Latex Standard (GOLS).” So does Savvy Rest fit at least the first two, where their dunlop isorganic because the latex trees are organic and then the processing is certified by GOLS as organic as well? But they never refer to an organic latex core? And they never refer to organic dunlop anywhere on their website. If the trees are organic and the processing is organic wouldn’t the dunlop made from it be organic?

The 100% natural Dunlop layers that Savvy Rest uses are GOLS certified as organic but the mattress “as a whole” wouldn’t be. If you choose one of their mattresses with the 100% natural Talalay then these layers wouldn’t be organic (there isn’t any certified organic Talalay). If you choose one of their mattresses that only included their Dunlop layers then you would have a mattress that included all organic materials but the mattress itself “as a whole” wouldn’t have an organic certification. Organic certifications apply to every step of the manufacturing and production process of a particular final product.

Then I looked at the Lifekind website and called them. They said their latex mattress cores are “certified to the Global Organic Latex Standard.” What does that mean that their cores are “certified to” GOLS? The processing? The trees? Both? So does that mean their raw materials are not organic but their processing is? Lifekind though does refer to organic dunlop all over their website.

Their 100% natural Dunlop layers have the same GOLS certification as the 100% natural Dunlop in the Savvy Rest although the latex is made by a different latex manufacturer. The USDA organic certification would apply to the agricultural crop (the liquid field latex that was tapped from the tree) and the GOLS certification would mean that the raw field latex that was used to manufacture the core was USDA certified as organic and also that the manufacturing process for the foamed latex that was made from it was also certified organic (it would need to have at least 95% organic field latex to be an “organic” latex core and the manufacturing methods of making the core would need to pass the GOLS organic criteria as well). In the case of Lifekind their Dunlop layers are GOLS certified organic but their actual factory also has an organic certification so they could legitimately call their mattress “organic” rather than just selling a mattress that “contained all organic materials”.

And what about SleepEZ? Phoenix mentioned in a previous post that “Latex Green (who supplies the dunlop for SleepEZ) has just finished certifying their latex core so they are now the first certified organic latex core rather than just being a latex core that uses certified organic latex.” So again is the actual latex organic and the processing organic as well?

SleepEZ uses Latex Green 100% natural Dunlop that isn’t certified organic which is basically the same as the Latex Green 100% natural Dunlop that is certified organic except that the liquid field latex doesn’t come from an organic plantation (Latex Green makes both certified organic Dunlop and 100% natural Dunlop that isn’t certified). They can provide the GOLS certified organic version of the same material by special request if the certification itself (and the additional cost and possibly a delay in shipping your mattress that would go with it) is important to you.

Latex Green was the first foamed latex manufacturer that passed the GOLS criteria to have their latex cores certified but in the few years since then there are now several others (including CoCo latex that Savvy Rest uses) that make certified organic Dunlop cores as well.

Phoenix