A Greener Approach to Your Bed

It might feel like an odd time to be alive when green marketing comes to the world of mattresses, but alternative materials are here and consumers are naturally asking about their impact. That’s a good thing! Choice is good, and the overall cost of a mattress has gone down over time. Mattresses themselves have also gone a more eco-friendly route, using more sustainable farming practices for a greener product. If you’re wondering about how much your mattress is contributing to your carbon footprint, read on for a full breakdown of just how un-green mattresses can actually be.

“Mattresses have gone a more

eco-friendly route, using more

sustainable farming practices

for a greener product.”

Production

Let’s begin with production, where a lot of the eco-unfriendliness happens. Well-intentioned manufacturers coat their products in chemicals that are designed to fend off fires. That sounds great, until you realize those chemicals may be contributing to respiratory problems. The Green Science Policy Institute says it has also been linked to cancer and birth defects. That’s a classic case of good intentions gone bad.

If you’ve ever heard the terms organic mattress or natural mattress, you’re probably wondering why eco-marketing has come to your bedroom. Organic, in this case, refers to the ingredients used in the construction of these mattresses. An example of an organic mattress is Essentia which uses the milky-white sap from organically grown rubber trees to create natural memory foam. (Image source:)

A side effect of buying organic is that organic farmers need to practice sustainable farming techniques. Crop rotation is just one of many natural remedies farmers can use to respect the soil they use to produce the crops they need to do business. Buying organic encourages more farmers to take this ethical stance, thereby cutting some of the waste out of farming to create an industry that can sustain long-term growth.

Waste

Have you ever driven through a neighborhood and found an old mattress on the side of the road waiting for pickup? It’s an instant turn off for anyone passing through, and who knows how long it will stay there before someone picks it up? You can’t throw a mattress away using traditional means, so many people will avoid the hassle of proper disposal and just dump them anywhere. Some will even dump them in unpopulated regions, like those of a national park, just to get rid of them. That’s a terrible blight on the land. (Image source:)

Organic foam tends to last longer, which cuts down on that unwanted waste. It will be years before the top layers of your mattress began to show any signs of wear, and recycling foam is a very simple process.

“With costs lowering, and materials

more accessible than ever, there’s never

been a better time to take an eco-friendlier

approach to your bedroom.”

Alternatives

Today, we are fortunate enough to live in a time of choice. Organic rubber is not the only source for healthier bedding. Natural fibers, like organic cotton and non-toxic dyes, are being used more in bedding. That also helps put a dent in the respiratory problems that can be traced back to the bedroom. Bamboo and down pillows also contain no added chemicals used as flame retardants.

The more you start to examine the materials used, the more you’ll find that natural fibers are no longer in short supply. With costs lowering, and materials more accessible than ever, there’s never been a better time to take an eco-friendlier approach to your bedroom.

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