why your mattress matters
y’all know throughout the last few years I’ve been working to switch out the toxic products in our home.
we know the classic culprits— cleaning products, beauty, personal care products, even our food! but it wasn’t until a few years in that I learned about how toxic our mattresses could be 😮 like dadgummmm, can we catch a break?! (ps: the answer is no, we can’t. most regulations are bs. so, if you care about the safety of the products you’re using you HAVE to do your research!)
here’s the deal with mattresses…they are known to emit toxic gases called volatile organic compounds (VOCs). many VOCs are classed as carcinogens — think formaldehyde, ethylene glycol, and chloroform. they are often found in things like furniture, rugs, mattresses, paints, glues, air fresheners, and cosmetics. and although many products that contain VOCs might fall into the “legally safe” range, if the majority of the products we own contain small amounts of VOCs, then we’re absolutely exceeding “safe levels” of exposure. i look at it like this…one puff of a cigarette might not hurt you. but if you take one puff of 100 cigarettes a day, you’re in trouble. and many studies have found that our indoor air — aka the air we’re breathing the majority of the time — is actually up to 5x more polluted than outdoor air because of all of the chemical-laden products that are off-gassing in our homes.
VOCs in mattresses are particularly harmful because studies have shown that body heat increases the release of the gasses. this is especially concerning for little ones. they’re much more vulnerable to these chemicals because of their weight and age. so a mattress that has a “legally safe” amount of VOCs for adults could actually exceed the safe levels of exposure based on weight and age adjustment.
you might not experience any visible side effects from the VOCs in your home, which makes it hard to justify getting rid of them. but we all know that long-term, repeated exposure to carcinogenic products is linked to cancer and an array of other health issues. and products like mattresses are found to off-gas for months and sometimes even years! it’s the cumulative, prolonged exposure to these chemicals that is particularly dangerous.
SO — I went down a rabbit hole, per usual. I started looking for a nontoxic, completely organic, certi-pur US certified, GOTS certified, green guard gold certified mattress that didn’t totally break the bank. and guess what…I found one!
it’s called sleep on latex, and we are obsessed with it!
we got the mattress back in january, so we’ve had it for three months now and I genuinely could not be happier with it! sleep on latex’s mattresses are as clean as they come! they are made from 100% organic latex, organic cotton fabric, and organic wool batting. they use no polyurethane, no formaldehyde, no chemical-filled fire retardants, and no synthetics whatsoever. and they have the certifications to back it. their products are oeko-tex certified, green-guard gold certified, ecoinstitut foam certified, and they meet the global organic textile standard and global organic latex standard. each of these certifications is extremely rigorous, so the fact that they have all of them is commendable and a testament to the purity of the products they’re selling.
here’s the other thing about their mattresses — given the quality and the certifications, they’re shockingly affordable. compare them to pretty much any standard mattress company and the prices are roughly the same. if you start comparing them to other certified organic, non-toxic mattresses, and you’ll be shocked at their affordability.
a few details about our mattress…
we got a king-size, medium firmness. our old king mattress was very soft, and although we wanted something a little bit firmer, I didn’t want it to be too firm. I spoke with a rep at sleep on latex who recommend we go with the medium-firm mattress and add the 2” soft topper. it was the perfect suggestion for us! the topper is soft enough to sink into a bit but the firmness of the mattress below it keeps us from *actually* sinking into the middle of the bed (which totally happened with our old mattress).
the mattress ships rolled up in a long, skinny box (and get ready to have some help because it is HEAVY). i was worried our whole room would smell like latex for weeks but that was not an issue in the slightest. there was a faint latex smell as soon as we opened the box and unwrapped the mattress but it dissipated almost immediately and there was no need to air it out or open any windows (if you have to do that with anything you purchase, that should be your first sign that it’s probably pretty toxic).
long story short, if you’re in the market for a new mattress — this is where you need to look. they’re a small company that puts great thought and care into their products, and I plan on being a customer for life!
if you have any questions about our mattress or sleep on latex, feel free to drop a comment or DM me on Instagram! I’m happy to help!
and if you need some good, clean bedding to go with your new mattress, I can’t recommend parachute home enough. we have their bedding and absolutely love it. links to everything can be found below!
