Question from TA
Are you familiar with the Natural Sense brand of latex mattress? When looking for mattresses, there is so much to be aware of — whether or not fire retardants are used, whether the wool was processed organically, whether it’s truly natural latex or a blend with synthetic latex, and so forth. These mattresses appear to be the real deal, but I want to make sure I’m not overlooking something that would indicate that they aren’t actually non-toxic.
They are sold on the Foam Order website, as well as their own site.
http://www.foamorder.com/organic-mattress.html
http://www.organicmattressshop.com/
I find their website a bit confusing. And there is alot of info on the sites. It’s alot to take in. But from what I can tell, it seems like a decent product. Your thoughts?
Debra’s Answer
Evaluating latex is a major subject to write about. I’ve been researching it for over a year and some major changes have taken place. I’ll write about it soon, but for now I’ll just comment on Natural Sense.
Well, first of all there is a mistake on their site. It says the natural latex foam is “FCS certified” but it isn’t. When you click on the link it takes you to a certification for Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certification, which means it does not contain a long list of chemicals.
There’s another mistake, “nontoxic organic rubber.” It’s certified nontoxic by Oeko-Tex but I don’t see any organic certification for the latex at all. They have a certificate for organic cotton and organic wool, but not organic latex.
And, they refer to their mattresses as “organic mattresses.” They actually can’t do that. An “organic mattress” means the entire process of materials and manufacture is organic and certified by GOTS. I don’t see any GOTS certification.
Their product may be just fine. But they don’t seem to be aware of what’s going on in the field of mattresses to know how to properly describe them.
When I see this, it makes me wonder if they really know how to make a natural mattress. I’ve never seen their mattress, I don’t know them at all, but this is what it looks like to me. When I see a site like this, I just pass. I could correct them, but what I’m really looking for are people who really know their stuff. People I can learn from because they are on the inside and can see and experience what is going on. That’s not the impression I get here.
Check out cozypure.com
*sigh* – It’s a complicated issue, and a frustrating one! As I mentioned to you previously, I am looking for a non-toxic AND affordable guest bed (not a futon or other bed-like option), and because it is a guest bed, not in use every night, we’re not looking to spend the $3000 that many natural latex mattresses end up costing. Do you know of any other company selling non-toxic mattresses you would be comfortable recommending that are affordable for guest room use? We’re needing to get something right away (after spending months looking!) and are feeling stuck.
We have a Soaring Heart organic cotton/wool/latex futon in our guest room that has received favorable reviews from guests. All the materials used in this mattress are certified organic. Also, it is made with a zipper so it can be rebuilt in the future, if needed. I’m not sure what size you are looking for, but a queen is $1,900. (see https://www.organicandhealthy.com/soaring-heart.html#futons) Soaring Heart ships in 1-3 weeks.
We are also having a sale on Pure-Rest natural latex mattresses which are made with organic cotton, natural latex, and eco-wool that are all tested for contaminants. A queen is $1,818 for a 7″ mattress (see: https://www.organicandhealthy.com/latex-mattresses.html). The sale ends April 30th, but I can extend the discount for a few more days. Pure-Rest can often ship within a few days.