Why An Organic Mattress Is A Safer Choice

You spend a lot of time sleeping in very close contact to our mattresses, right? It's no surprise, then, that you want to be safe while you sleep. And it is for that reason that organic bedding is a far safer and healthier choice.

It is under the guise of safety that manufacturers have been applying flame retardant chemicals to your mattress to keep them from burning too quickly (even with these chemicals, they still burn, but at a slower rate). What you may not know is that while these chemicals protect you from the unlikely event of a fire, they actually could be killing you slowly.

Mattress makers are free to meet fire safety regulations however they like, which means they can apply whatever chemicals they deem preferable. These can include chemicals such as atimony, boric acid, melamine and, polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs). Many of these chemicals have been found to be unsafe for human health, while others have not been tested sufficiently (or at all) for safety. Antimony, for instance, which is present in most fire retardants, has been found by the US Environmental Protection Agency to be 27.5 times higher than the recommended amounts for humans.

The most common fire retardants are known as polybrominated diphenylethers or PBDEs, a group of synthetic chemicals that have been linked to neurological problems like motor behaviour issues and brain dysfunction, as well as to liver cancer, liver hyperactivity, and thyroid problems. There are two types of PBDEs that were commonly used in conventional mattresses - Penta and Octa. If you own a mattress made before 2005, it is more than likely contaminated with PBDEs. Although PBDEs have both been phased out of furniture and foam items made in the US, there are no restrictions on these chemicals being added to imported furniture items or electronics (which is another major source of PBDEs).

A new law went into effect in 2008 that required all new mattresses to have even more flame resistance than before, which means a higher level of chemicals used to make them. For most companies, this means the use of boric acid. Employees in US manufacturing plants are responsible for applying these new chemicals, with many of them reporting an increase in health problems, including things like irritated eyes, chronic sore throats, bloody noses, respiratory problems, and skin rashes, none of which these people had before they worked at companies like Simmons and Serta. No doubt if the employees making these mattresses have experienced ill health because of the chemicals, a person who sleeps on one will to some extent as well. Though these companies say that they have tested their products for health and environmental concerns, many health and environmental experts disagree.

Mattress companies do not have to label what chemicals are used in their products, though if you ask them they are legally bound to tell you what they use to make their mattresses fire resistant. Today, the only way to guarantee that you have a chemical-free mattress is by prescription or by purchasing an organic mattress that is made from naturally flame-retardant components such as wool.

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