What You Need to Know About Mattress Certifications and Safety

The Avocado Mattress

Avocado takes its mattress very seriously when it comes to what goes inside it. They aim to be friendly to the environment and makes sure their products do not contain any sort of materials which could have a negative effect on their customers. The Avocado Green Mattress has a number of certifications and honors to go along with its excellent construction. This comes from their dedication to protecting the environment by using organic products and materials. As far as chemicals and such are concerned, Avocado received GREENGUARD Gold Certification for their materials from an organization named UL Environment. This means there are low chemical emissions, something which can be a concern to those who purchase foam mattresses. Foam, as wonderful as it may feel, is made up of some pretty harsh chemicals.

Since Avocado uses 100 percent latex for their mattresses, and natural latex at that, this simply isn’t a concern, and the certification proves it. Speaking of their latex, one can rest assured it is 100 percent natural, thanks to certification from the eco-INSTITUT. The organization has found all the ingredients which involve latex are up to their very high standards. The same can be said for the wool, which received certification from OEKO-TEX, and the cotton, which was deemed organic and certified by the Global Organic Textile Standard. Safety aside, it is also interesting to note the connections Avocado has to other noble organizations, such as Green America, who certified their business practices, and the U.S. Green Building Council, of which Avocado is a member. It is fair to say Avocado has the best interests of the customers, and the rest of the world, at heart.

The Leesa Mattress

The Leesa Mattress does not boast quite as many certifications as the Avocado Mattress, but that is likely because it is a much different product, featuring a more simple design. That is not to say, however, it is not a safe product. Quite the contrary, in fact. The Leesa Mattress features multiple types of foam which make up its comfort and core layers, so making sure these products are safe is important for the customer.

Every foam used in the Leesa Mattress has met CertiPUR-US standards and is certified by the organization. This means the foams have been made without chemicals which hurt the ozone; without mercury, lead and formaldehyde; and without phthalates which may cause health issues. It also means there are no chemical flame retardants. This may sound dangerous, but Leesa has it covered. Since the materials used in the mattress are not flame retardant, Leesa uses a special blend of fibers in its mattress cover. These are designed to provide comfort to the user and to keep their bed from going up in flames quickly in the event of a fire. There is some interesting science which goes into this cover, including the ability for it to somehow starve a fire of oxygen.

 

The Layla Mattress

There is not a lot to say about the Layla Mattress, save for the fact the materials used are CertiPUR certified, which is a good thing. This means sleepers will not need to worry about the chemicals in their mattress. They do not, however, specify anything regarding fire safety. In their Frequently Asked Questions section, they simply say their mattress stands up to all tests required by the government and no further details are made available. Considering CertiPUR certifications means there are no chemical fire retardants, at least not the ones for which they look, this leaves one to wonder how they keep the mattress safe in the event of a fire.

 

The Bear Mattress

When it comes to foam mattresses, CertiPUR-US certification is what it is all about, and the Bear Mattress hits all the high points. No prohibited phthalates, low chemical emission from the foam, no ozone depleters and everything else for which CertiPUR keeps an eye out. Additionally, the mattress meets federal safety regulations for fire retardancy thanks to the material used to the sock around the mattress. Much like the Avocado Mattress, the Bear mattress uses a special blend of fabrics and such to keep fires from growing once they hit the mattress. Also, if it is something which is important to you, you might like to know the Bear mattress is made entirely in the United States, with its cover coming from South Carolina, its foam from Georgia and its headquarters located in New Jersey.

 

The Purple Mattress

Science drives everything about the Purple Mattress, and this goes double for its safety measures. According to their marketing, 20 years of making and researching sleep products led to the creation of the Purple Mattress, but how does it stand on the safety front? Purple has a great post on their site detailing why safety in mattresses is so important, citing the harsh chemicals used in the production of products, and how it was even encouraged at one point in the late 2000s. They go on to say many of the problems stem from the use of memory foam, and that they do not use memory foam at all.

So, if Purple is not using memory foam for their mattresses, what are they using? Purple makes use of a special Hyper-Elastic Polymer material. It is a kind of foam, and it is CertiPUR-US certified, but there is something neat to point out. The material uses food-grade and food-contact-grade ingredients. This basically makes the mattress good enough to eat on, so one can rest assured it should be good enough to sleep on. On the fire front, they follow the same path as other mattress makers, opting to go with a protective cover fabric rather than use chemicals to get the job done. This barrier is made even more special since it is GREENGUARD Gold Certified, meaning it is king of the hill in the health department.

 

Tempur-Pedic Mattresses

Tempur-Pedic is one of the best-known mattress companies out there, and for good reason. They almost single-handedly brought memory foam from NASA into the public realm of the mattress world. Memory foam had been around for a while before, but it was Tempur-Pedic who made it a household name. You would think a company such as this would take extra strides to achieve safety standards, but that is not especially clear when looking at the information they provide on their website. Nowhere do they mention any sort of certifications or safety testing. It took some digging to even find the information stating their mattresses meet government fire flammability standards. They also do not speak of the quality of their foam. This is not to say it is not up to CertiPUR-US standards, but the company is not listed on the official CertiPUR-US page of companies with certified products.

 

The Casper Mattress

Does a mattress which shares a name with a certain ghost need to be spooky? Just like Casper, the Casper Mattress is actually pretty friendly. Every layer of foam in each of their three mattresses lives up to CertiPUR standards, making it easy for anyone to sleep without worry on them. Casper also uses a special sock to keep the mattress from being too combustible, though they are a little more open about the materials than other companies. A combination of polyester, acrylic, nylon and rayon wrap a special yarn they make which has a silica core. According to their documentation, as the yarn burns, it creates a barrier between the interior of the mattress and the flames, stopping them. To top it off, all the materials used in the sock are lacking any sort of toxic chemicals and are OEKO-TEX certified.

 

Tuft and Needle Mattress

The OEKO-TEX certification is not something easy to achieve. For the most part, mattresses have parts of them which get certified, such as the outer layers, but until the Tuft and Needle Mattress did so in June of 2017, no mattress had ever been 100 percent certified by the organization. What this means, specifically, is that OEKO-TEX tested the mattresses for more than 300 chemicals which are of some concern, and it was found to have harmful levels of none of them. This earned the mattress, inside and out, the STANDARD 100 certification. Not too shabby for a company which has only been around for half a decade. If that is not enough for you, Tuft and Needle has also been certified by CertiPUR-US and earned GREENGUARD Gold certification. Also, as can be expected, the mattress stands up to all the necessary testing for being fire retardant thanks to a fire sock which is made up of four inert fibers which keep fires from spreading. No chemicals required.

 

The Brentwood Mattress

Brentwood is very open about how they make their mattress, and about how good it is to have a non-toxic mattress. Right on their website, they include everything you need to know about the product. They use wool from New Zealand, which works as a fire barrier. A silk and cashmere blend is used to help repel moisture, thus preventing mold and mildew. They use natural latex and organic cotton. A special layer of silica sand is used to further prevent the fire from spreading. For the cherry on top, their gel memory foam is CertiPUR-US certified, as well as certified by eco-INSTITUT. Each of the three mattresses Brentwood creates live up to these same standards, so it is hard to go wrong with one of them.

 

Nest Bedding

Nest has a line of six mattresses, all of which use foams which are made in the USA and are CertiPUR-US certified. They go into a bit more detail, however, about one of the mattresses, the Q3, which is a latex mattress. Whereas the other mattresses use a hydrated silica layer to meet federal fire safety standards, the Q3 uses a special wool layer. The Q3 also takes things a step further on the renewable front. It uses organic cotton, in line with Global Organic Textile Standards, has certification from OEKO-TEX for its blended latex, and its wool and latex portions are both certified by Global Organic Textile Standards. It should also be noted that, while Tuft and Needle is the first full mattress system to receive the STANDARD 100 certification by OEKO-TEX, Nest Bedding was the first memory foam mattress to be certified by OEKO-TEX way back in 2014. This is not the STANDARD 100, but it is still something to cheer about.

 

The Fleep Mattress

There is some extra manufacturing which goes into the Fleep Mattress thanks to its multiple levels of firmness.  It uses several types of foam, which they say are similar to latex foam, but are not the same. They do not, however, state anywhere that the foams they use are certified by any organizations. Fleep does make note that their mattress does not use chemicals to meet flame retardant standards, for “environmental and safety reasons,” but they do not go into detail about whether or not they meet the standards set by the government.

 

Amerisleep

Amerisleep is very open about how they feel about their mattresses. In several blog posts, the company details common conceptions about memory foam and the issues they have had over the years. They also detail what they have done to make their product better. This includes using a plant-based foam rather than petroleum. Their mattress is CertiPUR-US certified, and other parts have received either the GREENGUARD Gold standard or OEKO-TEX certification. Amerisleep also boasts their manufacturing process is the only one which reaches the standards set by the Clean Air Act, particularly when it comes to their Green Memory Foam mattresses.

You may want to check out: Amerisleep Mattress

Saatva

When it comes to luxury, Saatva is one of those names which stands out. They make some great mattresses, but do they stand up to the rigorous standards set forth by the various organizations out there? In short, yes. Some of them, anyway. In particular, Saatva points out their CertiPUR-US certified memory foam as part of their goal to be sustainable in what they do. They also go the extra step by using organic cotton, and a huge step farther by using recycled steel for any of their mattresses which use innersprings.

 

The NECTAR Mattress

The one thing NECTAR boasts on the safety front is certification from CertiPUR and “five other rating groups.” While this is not as forthcoming as some would like, it is still good to know the mattress has achieved that certification. This means any chemicals used in the process of creating the mattress should not be harmful to sleepers. They do not go into detail about fire standards, but NECTAR does point out the materials they use make the mattress naturally resistant to bed bugs, which can be a huge deal, depending on where you live.

 

Loom and Leaf

While Loom and Leaf does not claim to be 100 percent organic in their construction, they do say they get as close as possible without having to raise costs for the consumer, which is an honorable endeavour. According to their frequently asked questions section, they get pretty close. For the foams in their mattresses, they use 30 percent organic materials mixed with the usual players, such as polyurethane and other items. That 30 percent typically comes from soy and corn oils. Other parts of their mattress are also designed with green concepts in mind. The visco-elastic memory foam layer is CertiPUR-US certified, and they have an organic cotton cover. The icing on the cake is what they use to meet fire retardancy standards. Instead of silica or some of the other materials seen, Loom and Leaf uses a layer of thistle, made up of wood pulp and a bonding agent.

 

Helix

When it comes to their mattresses, Helix has your health in mind. Their two primary foams, high-grade polyurethane foam, and a special Helix Dynamic foam, are both certified by CertiPUR-US to be free of any sort of nasty chemicals. Helix has also made sure their mattresses are up to snuff when it comes to the fire standards set by the government. This is done using a fire retardant sock which contains silica. With the mattress wrapped up in it, it is less likely to burn.

 

The Zenhaven Mattress

Zenhaven is an offshoot of Saatva, so one might expect it to live up to the standards set by its parent company. This would be a mostly accurate assumption. While it does live up to the standards, it also exceeds them. Simply looking at the name of the product, you can see they have something specific in mind. Their slogan, “Zenhaven brings the purity of nature to your bedroom,” is right on. The latex mattress is not pumped full of chemicals. Its latex layers are made of 100 percent natural latex, and the organic will which is used as its fire barrier is 100 percent organic wool. This is not to say the mattress is 100 percent organic, however. Zenhaven takes the time to point out a small amount of non-toxic material must be put in with the latex to make it more solid. Their openness is certainly worthy of praise. And, since their latex meets the STANDARD 100 certification requirements by OEKO-TEX, one can rest easy on the mattress.

 

Cocoon by Sealy

Can you feel safe bundled up in a cocoon? If it is the Cocoon mattress by Sealy, yes, you can. CertiPUR-US has certified their memory foams are being safe. Sealy also takes things a little further with some additional testing.They do not specify all of their procedures, but do point out they have been making mattresses for some time and know how to do proper testing. For fire protection, the Cocoon mattress also uses a fire-retardant sock to protect its sleepers in the event of a fire.

 

DreamFoam Bedding

On each of the DreamFoam Bedding mattress pages on their website, the CertiPUR-US logo is exhibited proudly. It stands right next to another important icon: The OEKO-TEX certification logo. What does this mean? Well, if you have read through this whole thing, you know this mattress is free of chemicals which are suspected of being dangerous to consumers. Not much, however, could be found regarding their efforts to keep the mattress safe from fires. Their frequently asked questions section is somewhat lacking, but seeing the certifications on the product pages is great.

 

The Hyphen Mattress

Everything you need to know about the Hyphen mattress is right there on the product page. Sure, their foam has been certified by CertiPUR-US, but that was not good enough for Hyphen. In addition to making sure their mattresses are hypoallergenic, Hyphen also made their foams and fabrics antimicrobial. How does that work? It is hard to say, but if they claim it, it is likely true. According to Hyphen, their mattress not only kills bacteria and viruses, but it also keeps fungus from growing, which is important in areas with high humidity.

 

The Lull Mattress

Need to Lull yourself to sleep at night with thoughts of safety and certification? Lull has got you covered. Lull creates their mattress with a huge slant toward sustainability and safety. On the safety front, they make sure their foam is CertiPUR-US certified. Part of this also includes making sure their environmental footprint is small. They work to keep carbon emissions low and to not use products which cannot be recycled.