Is Your Mattress Toxic?

We all know we are surrounded by all sorts of toxin sources that can affect every aspect of our health.

And I know that sounds pretty defeating.

But, there are a lot of toxin sources that we do have control over and that’s what we’ll focus on!

Because with each toxicity source that we reduce, we reduce the burden on the body.

Reducing the toxic burden on the body improves health.

I have talked about a lot of small steps that you can consider for this.

This time around I want to bring attention to a big potential toxin source.

So let’s talk mattresses!

Considering how important sleep is, we’ll also want to make sure the thing we’re sleeping on isn’t toxic.

How can a mattress be toxic?

Depending on materials used they will off gas and you’re right there to inhale that.

Let’s look at some certifications:

GOTS – Global Organic Textile Standard. This certification covers the everything from the processing and manufacturing, to packaging, labeling, trading, and distribution of textiles.
GOLS – Global Organic Latex Standard. This certification is specifically for latex products, and for this standard the product must contain more than 95% of certified organic raw material.
Eco-Institute – This doesn’t label anything as organic, but it tests for emissions of chemicals such as formaldehyde, VOCs, heavy metals, pesticides, and phthalates.
OEKO-TEX – This one considers the textiles, as well as the materials used in the finished product. Their list of banned chemicals includes: all flame retardants, carcinogenic and allergy-inducing dyes, pesticides, heavy metals, and formaldehyde, among many others.

Big picture, I’m looking for GOTS certified because it actually means the product is organic.

It certifies the whole mattress and the manufacturing facilities.

The other certifications (there are others than the ones listed as well), do a decent job but can still let toxins slide and allow for synthetic materials…

And I know a lot of people then wonder what mattresses I would recommend.

This is purely based on certifications, not in terms of chiropractic ideals, because that is so varied and very individual.

Here are some mattress companies that are GOTS certified.

Note: there can be variations between their products so always make sure to read their descriptions!

Naturpedic (adult & crib/children’s mattresses)
Happsy (adult mattresses)
LifeKind (makers of OMI and OrganicPedic lines – adult & crib/children’s mattresses)
Savvy Rest (adult mattresses)

There will be other good companies as well, I’m sure, but this is a great place to start!

But with mattresses being such big ticket items, what other options do you have if a new mattress isn’t an option right now?

You might consider a mattress topper (check out the ones from the same companies as for the mattresses listed above).

Another smaller step you can take is looking for organic bed sheets and pillow cases.

The company I like for organic bedsheets is Pact (they are organic and fair trade).

They don’t only make organic clothing!The organic bed sheets won’t stop the off gassing form toxic mattresses, but it will decrease the toxic burden by not adding even more toxins!