It often happens that what I want and what I get are two different things. Usually, that’s because the price of the thing I want is more than my husband, Anil, thinks we should spend. And that’s why, even though I’d love to have an OMI or Coco-Mat mattress, I’m continuing my search for an eco-friendly mattress at a lower price.
What I really want is an organic mattress—one that’s made of 100 percent natural materials that have been cultivated mostly from plants grown sustainably without pesticides or chemicals. I also want it to be manufactured in a hygienic environment and certified by a reputable third-party organization. Furthermore, I want an all-foam mattress, ideally one made of Talalay latex, with no metal springs, as many green designers and architects believe that metal attracts electromagnetic fields that can interfere with our bodies’ natural electrical systems. But the fact is that a mattress like this is quite costly—ranging anywhere from about $2,500 to $10,000 or more for a queen size mattress. And that doesn’t include the foundation or topper if you want or need those, too.
When you consider how much time you spend in bed, how long a mattress lasts and how important a good night’s sleep is, it’s easy for me to rationalize spending $2,500 on a mattress. If it lasts for 10 or 15 or even 20 years as a lot of warranties guarantee, that’s just $125-$250 per year to invest in your own good health. Still, my husband wants me to keep looking, so I researched the companies in the Sustainable Furnishings Council’s directory. I’m a member of the organization, after all, and I wrote about some of the member companies in my book Green Living by Design. Among the mattress companies that are members of the organization is one called Natura World. I checked out mattresses on Natura’s Web site to see if there was one with the 7”-8” profile that I need and I found one called Tranquil. So I called company’s president, Ralph Rossdeutscher, to find out more about it—and about eco-friendly mattresses in general.
“It’s a smoke and mirrors industry,” Ralph told me. “Some companies use very little green product in their mattresses—maybe 5 percent—and then call them eco-friendly, or they’ll include 4 ounces of organic wool, which has no benefit to the customer, and say the mattress contains organic material.” His company, on the other hand, is transparent about the amount of eco-friendly or organic materials in its mattresses. Its organic mattresses, for example, which are the most costly, are made of 99 percent pure natural materials, including up to 8 lbs. of compressed organic wool on top to wick away moisture (apparently we lose a pint of water each night through perspiration and breathing). Other mattresses, which are the most affordable, include about 65 percent natural materials.
The Tranquil mattress that I liked falls into the latter category. It’s got a 2” layer of the Talalay latex that I want on top of a 5” plant-based foam core, which is made from a mix of soy or castor oil and petroleum. “The best plant-based poly-foam that can be made at this point is about 30 percent natural and the rest is petroleum,” said Ralph, adding that manufacturers are currently working toward a 50-50 mix. Although there’s some petroleum in the poly-foam portion of the mattress, Ralph said that it’s manufactured so that it doesn’t off-gas toxic VOCs. The Talalay foam I want is like the other kind of natural rubber latex, known as Dunlop, in that both come from the sap from rubber trees. The difference is in the way in which they’re manufactured and converted into foam. Both are good, but Talalay is a little springier and lasts a little longer. The mattress is also topped with 2.2 lbs. of wool, an all-natural cotton cover, and aloe-vera ticking, which stimulates healthy skin
rejuvenation and creates an antimicrobial sleep surface. The mattress isn’t organic, but it is eco-friendly and it’s got most of the qualities I’m looking for. At $1,176 for a queen and $1,471 for a king, my husband might even be willing go for it. To find out more about Natura World’s mattresses visit its Web site.
